{"id":425,"date":"2026-06-26T11:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=425"},"modified":"2026-06-26T11:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:09:23","slug":"federal-ai-security-center-measure-advanced-by-house-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=425","title":{"rendered":"Federal AI security center measure advanced by House Science"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A measure that would put into law a key federal office focused on artificial intelligence advanced Thursday out of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, as part of a slate of AI-focused and data center bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The committee advanced the bills on a bipartisan basis, but put off potential changes regarding funding levels for the Center on AI Standards and Innovation within the Commerce Department\u2019s National Institute of Standards and Technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The center was previously known as the AI Safety Institute under the Biden administration. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the bill that would codify the center, which would see its name changed to the\u00a0Center for AI Security and Innovation, according to the bill text.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Chairman Brian Babin, R-Texas, acknowledged the question of funding. The bipartisan-backed bill, by Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., would authorize $20 million per year for the center for fiscal years 2027 through 2032. Babin said he supported increasing that level.<\/p>\n

For fiscal 2026, Congress appropriated up to $10 million for the center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should, however, ensure that we authorize CAISI in a manner that does not undermine future progress on the bill,\u201d Babin said. \u201cAnd I commit to working with the sponsors to ensure that we get that number right going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obernolte offered an amendment to increase\u00a0the authorization level, which he called \u201cinsufficient,\u201d to $100 million per year. He said that the center would have too many responsibilities for the lower funding level, but eventually withdrew the amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I acknowledge that it is not possible right now to know exactly how much money is required to allow CAISI to do its job,\u201d Obernolte said. \u201cI think when we finally get this bill ready for some floor action, we\u2019ll have a better idea of what the correct amount is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obernolte also offered an amendment to remove a cap on the number of \u201ccritical technical experts\u201d the center could hire. He acknowledged that the appropriate number was not yet clear and then withdrew the amendment.<\/p>\n

The committee also voted, 29-0, to advance a bill that would put into statute the National AI Research Resource, which was established as a pilot program in 2024.<\/p>\n

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Obernolte, the bill\u2019s sponsor, said it would codify the resource as a \u201cshared national research infrastructure to provide AI researchers and students with access to the complex resources, data and toolsets that they need to develop safe and trustworthy AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obernolte noted the high computing power required to train AI models.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern is that as those resources continue to increase, advanced AI research might only be done behind closed doors by large companies that have access to those resources,\u201d Obernolte said. \u201cWe believe it\u2019s very important that advanced AI research continues to also be done in settings like academia in schools across the country as it is right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the bills considered in Thursday\u2019s markup, Obernolte is also leading a bipartisan draft AI framework with Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., that would combine codification of CAISI and NAIRR with preemption of many state AI laws, provisions for frontier model safety and others for monitoring workforce impacts from AI.<\/p>\n

Most of the other bills were approved on unanimous votes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The exceptions were Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, opposing a bill to direct the National Science Foundation to support programs for K-12 AI literacy and Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., opposing a bill to direct NIST to improve how data center energy and water use are measured.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neither lawmaker commented on their votes at the markup.<\/p>\n

The data center impacts bill led to a small dust-up.<\/p>\n

Rep. Luz Rivas, D-Calif., said she originally planned to offer an amendment that would \u201callow NIST to better understand the impacts that data centers\u2019 energy and water use are having on surrounding communities and their resource demands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority threatened to pull the bill if I even offered this amendment,\u201d she said, adding that she wasn\u2019t sure if the decision came from staff or from Babin. Ultimately she did not offer the amendment.<\/p>\n

Babin responded by saying that he encourages \u201crobust debate\u201d but that \u201cit should never be assumed that by offering an amendment this idea will automatically be considered or adopted.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Other bills approved on Thursday would:<\/p>\n