Tech bills of the week: Codifying NAIRR; Protecting government employees’ data; and more 

Establishing NAIRR in statute

On Wednesday, Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced the Creating Resources for Every American to Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act, a bill that would codify the creation of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource. 

The Senate version of the bill follows the introduction of a House version in 2025, led by Reps. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Don Beyer, D-Va. The National AI Research Resource, or NAIRR, was originally piloted by the National Science Foundation in 2024. It is intended to support workforce training and research and development efforts, among other initiatives to help diffuse AI innovation. 

“The United States cannot cede leadership in AI development to China. For both our economic and national security, we must harness AI’s potential and mitigate its risks,” Young said in the press release. “By establishing the National AI Research Resource in statute, the CREATE AI Act will give incredible access and resources to America’s brightest, allowing for advancements in AI innovation, deployment, and safety for our country and ultimately the world.”

The bill stipulates that NAIRR would be housed within NSF, specifically within the Office of Advanced Cyber Infrastructure. 

Protecting public sector employees 

A bipartisan duo introduced a new bill to fortify public workers’ data in response to threats, tasking the Department of Homeland Security with developing a framework of best practices for government workers to protect their personal information. 

Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., introduced the Providing Resources and Oversight to Ensure Confidentiality of Those who serve — or PROTECT — Act, citing rising threats and acts of violence against government employees, including lawmakers. 

“In a time of rising political violence, bad actors are taking advantage of the wealth of online information to attack public figures,” Goldman said. “The bipartisan PROTECT Act will direct the [Department of Homeland Security] to provide guidance to public servants across government agencies with the best practices to protect themselves. Public servants should be able to serve those whom they represent while feeling safe and secure.”

The press release states that the guidance would include recommended actions that public sector officers, officials, employees and contractors can take to protect their personally identifiable information. Should the bill get signed into law, this guidance would be disseminated and available across federal, state, local and tribal governments.

Amending the Public Health Service Act with AI provisions

House lawmaker Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., introduced an amendment to update the Public Health Service Act of 1944’s quality standards for mammography facilities that are using AI to facilitate diagnostics. 

Introduced on April 27, the amendment was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

AI use in FISA efforts

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., introduced a bill on April 27 that seeks to require law enforcement agencies to report their AI usage in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act operations. 

The bill, referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary following its introduction, requires a report on the collective use of AI systems “with respect to access to unminimized information collected” pursuant to FISA investigations. 

Improved AI literacy for students

The same week, Schiff teamed up with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to introduce new legislation that bolsters students’ general AI knowledge and literacy. 

The Literacy in Future Technologies Artificial Intelligence Act aims to improve the quality of learning about AI at the K-12 level. Specifically, this bill asks the National Science Foundation to establish a program for the research and development of an AI literacy K-12 curriculum and evaluation methods. 

The bill also supports more professional learning opportunities for educators and school leaders to improve their AI literacy and knowledge through courses and mentoring, as well as the creation of hands-on learning tools to assess AI literacy proficiency. 

“With the growing adoption of artificial intelligence across industries, it’s crucial that our young people and workforce are equipped to succeed in this evolving landscape,” Schiff said in a press release. “I’m proud to join Senator Rounds in introducing this bicameral, bipartisan legislation to ensure that students and educators have the resources they need to enhance their knowledge around AI and how to use it to compete in our modern economy.”

Child Safety chatbot accounts 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced another child safety bill on Tuesday that would grant parents the ability to monitor their children’s chatbot usage.

The bill would require the creation of family accounts for children if they are going to use AI-powered chatbots. It also calls for verifiable parental consent for teenagers using chatbots.

Collecting data on AI’s workforce impact 

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., are pushing legislation that would create a federal framework for collecting voluntary data on AI usage provided by developers to help guide federal policymaking decisions. 

Their measure, introduced on Wednesday, would direct the Labor Department to collect this data from both the public and private sectors, and then publicly disseminate it so industry and agencies can understand how the deployment of the new capabilities is affecting the U.S. workforce.

A section-by-section rundown of the legislation provided by the lawmakers’ offices said this collected data would “allow for evidence-based policymaking based on secure, trusted, and protected data sharing.”

Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance are among the organizations and firms that have endorsed the proposal, known as the Workforce Transparency Act.

“As AI is being developed, deployed, and integrated across industries, we’re already seeing it have a measurable effect on the U.S. workforce, and we know that its impact is only going to grow,” Warner said in a statement. “It’s critical that everyone has access to accurate and timely information that can prepare them for a changing labor market.”

Requiring age verifications for AI chatbots

Reps. Blake Moore, R-Utah, and Valerie Foushee, D-N.C., introduced legislation on Wednesday that would regulate children's access to AI chatbots in response to the tools’ health impacts on adolescents. 

Their measure, the Guidelines for User Age Verification and Responsible Dialogue — or GUARD — Act, would require that AI chatbots implement age verification measures, disclose that users are interacting with a machine and prohibit the tools from presenting themselves as any type of licensed professional. The proposal would also establish new criminal penalties for AI providers that allow users under 18 years of age to access companion chatbots that solicit or produce any type of sexual content.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also introduced a companion bill in the upper chamber. That legislation unanimously passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

“While our AI development agenda should seek to innovate and break barriers, it must also protect children from addictive and manipulative technology," Moore said in a statement. "The GUARD Act is a critical step to draw lines in the sand with Big Tech and ensure that minors are protected from chatbots that mimic romantic and social companionship. Parents and policymakers alike need to ground our children’s development in real-world interactions rather than push them further into the unaccountable black hole of frontier technology.”