House AI Task Force member optimistic Congress will move on group’s recs later this year

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who served on the House AI Task Force during the previous Congress, told GovExec last week that he remains hopeful the group’s recommendations will receive renewed legislative attention later this year. 

The bipartisan House AI Task Force was created in February 2024 by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to provide lawmakers with policy recommendations for the safe and secure use of the emerging technologies. Beyer was one of the 24 representatives — 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans — who served on the task force. 

The group released a 273-page final report in December that outlined more than 80 policy recommendations and endorsed over a dozen AI-focused bills designed to curb potential misuses and abuses of the advanced technologies. 

Speaking during a webinar on AI in Congress that aired on May 27, Beyer said the task force’s work provided “a great running start” for lawmakers to create guardrails around the trustworthy use of AI tools. 

He noted that all 24 members of the group endorsed 14 specific legislative proposals. While some of these bills advanced out of their respective congressional committees during the previous Congress, Beyer said they failed to make it to the full House for a vote “for strange but real reasons.”

“The hope was that we built a base, a foundation, that future Congress’ could build upon,” he added.

The task force’s legislative recommendations have not yet made progress in the current Congress. Beyer said other issues — such as passing a continuing resolution and President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” — have hogged much of the lower chamber’s immediate attention.

“I'm hoping that as things settle down, that we will be able to address all those legislative priorities we had,” he said, noting that all of the previously proposed bills have been reintroduced but have not yet been taken up by any committees. Beyer said he is hopeful that a number of these proposals will advance to the House floor “in the coming months.”

One of the “wildly bipartisan” bills Beyer pointed to was the CREATE AI Act, which he introduced in March 2025 with Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif. Obernolte, along with Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., served as the task force’s co-chairs. 

Beyer said his proposal would permanently establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource initiative and “really make AI — the tools of AI, not just ChatGPT — but the building tools of AI, available to every American.”

The congressman said lawmakers are uncertain about the establishment of a House AI Task Force “2.0” effort during the current Congress to build upon his group’s work, although he noted that Republicans and Democrats have been “encouraging” Johnson to create a follow-up body.