March 28, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Don Beyer, member of the bipartisan Task Force On Artificial Intelligence and vice-chair of the bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Caucus, issued the following statement today on Vice President Kamala Harris’ announcement of government-wide policies from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to promote beneficial uses of AI innovation and mitigate AI risks in federal agencies:
“Today’s OMB policies announced by Vice President Harris are a big step forward in the federal government’s approach to AI. I strongly support the actions to advance responsible AI innovation, which dovetail with our bipartisan bill the CREATE AI Act. The directive to scale up AI expertise in the federal government and establish Chief AI Officers at federal agencies will improve the federal government’s ability to harness innovation. The effort to strengthen AI governance and build agency expertise builds on last year’s executive orders, and Congress should also take action to support this work by passing our bipartisan Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act. I am thrilled to see this forward-thinking strategic approach from Vice President Harris and President Biden.”
Today’s announcement built on the Biden-Harris Administration’s executive order on AI, issued in October. It requires federal agencies to advance responsible innovation in AI, grow AI expertise in the federal workforce, expand AI transparency, and strengthen AI governance.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) is a member of the bipartisan Task Force On Artificial Intelligence, convened by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Mike Johnson. He serves as Vice Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus and Vice Chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s AI Working Group. He is the author of the AI Foundation Model Transparency Act and a lead cosponsor of the CREATE AI Act, the Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act, and the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act.
Beyer previously served for eight years on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and is currently attending George Mason University as a part time student pursuing a master’s degree in machine learning, in part to help inform his work on AI in Congress.
