Cantwell Tells OSTP Director Kratsios that White House AI Action Plan Tenets Align with Bipartisan Bills Previously Passed by Commerce Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, called for the passage of seven previously approved bipartisan AI bills that align with components of the White House AI Action Plan during a subcommittee hearing today on the Administration's artificial intelligence strategy. Just prior to the start of the hearing, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the Trump Administration is pursuing a proposal that would allow the federal government to take 50 percent of profits from patents that are the result of university research supported by federal funding.

In a statement following the hearing, Sen. Cantwell made clear Lutnick's proposal would do great harm to the nation's R&D efforts, directly impacting the ability of the United States government and private sector to execute on the AI Action Plan.

"Secretary Lutnick's proposal demanding 50 percent of profits from university patents resulting from research supported by federal funding is wrong-headed," said Sen. Cantwell. "Secretary Lutnick ignores the basic fact that the U.S. taxpayers do get a return on their investments in these innovations -- successful companies using these patents pay taxes on the profits they make. That is how the system works when we reinvest tax dollars to support our workers, our public institutions, and in partnership with private businesses. At today's hearing Director Kratsios of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy stated, '…our office has been a fierce advocate for basic R&D across all of our university systems.' We all need to join Director Kratsios in defending the premier R&D system in the world today, so that the U.S. can continue to lead the global economy tomorrow."

The hearing itself was focused on what actions Congress can take to ensure the United States maintains its leadership in AI innovation and global competitiveness. Sen. Cantwell immediately highlighted the fact that the Committee passed seven bipartisan bills supporting America's AI leadership last year.

"I want to, first of all, just thank everybody on this Committee who worked in a bipartisan effort to get, I think, seven different bills out of the Committee, unfortunately they were held up, and it's good to see the [Action Plan] goes down that same list of issues: education; training; trying to build capacity; trying to streamline, both with NIST and the rest of OSTP, how we can continue to move forward in a very fast way," said Sen. Cantwell.

Last year, the Committee passed the following legislation with bipartisan support, all of which support America's AI industry and the AI Action Plan:

• The Future of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Act, which authorizes the Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop guidelines, best practices, and standards to promote long-term advancements in artificial intelligence, such as testing, evaluations, and benchmarks for AI models.

• The CREATE AI Act that establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), a cloud computing resource that will democratize development and use of artificial intelligence.

• The TEST AI Act, which directs NIST to coordinate, through a memorandum of understanding, with DOE to establish testbeds for testing and evaluation of trusted AI systems.

• The Artificial Intelligence Research, Innovation, and Accountability Act, which establishes a framework to bolster innovation while bringing greater transparency, accountability, and security to the development and operation of the highest-impact applications of AI.

• The National Science Foundation Artificial Intelligence Education Act, which directs the National Science Foundation to establish scholarships, fellowships, research awards, and education centers to promote the development and deployment of artificial intelligence in educational institutions and in workforce development programs.

• The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training Act, which requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop and disseminate resources for small businesses relating to artificial intelligence (AI).

• The Validation and Evaluation for Trustworthy (VET) Artificial Intelligence Act, which requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop voluntary guidelines and specifications for internal and external assurances of artificial intelligence systems, and for other purposes.

A transcript of Sen. Cantwell's opening remarks is HERE and the Q&A is available HERE. Video of her opening remarks is HERE and of her Q&A is HERE.

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