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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7158 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7158
To support a broad and diverse interdisciplinary research community for
the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-powered
innovation through partnerships and capacity building at certain
institutions of higher education and other institutions to expand AI
capacity in populations historically underrepresented in STEM, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 20, 2026
Mrs. Foushee (for herself and Mr. Nunn of Iowa) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support a broad and diverse interdisciplinary research community for
the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-powered
innovation through partnerships and capacity building at certain
institutions of higher education and other institutions to expand AI
capacity in populations historically underrepresented in STEM, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding AI Voices through Capacity
Building Act'' or the ``Expanding AI Voices Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDING CAPACITY IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SCIENCE.
Section 5401 of the National AI Initiative Act (15 U.S.C. 9451;
enacted as part of title LIV of division E of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021;
Public Law 116-283) is amended by--
(1) redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
(2) inserting after subsection (f) the following new
subsection:
``(g) Expanding Capacity in Artificial Intelligence.--
``(1) In general.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation, in consultation with the heads of Federal agencies
the Director considers appropriate, shall make awards on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible institutions of
higher education specified in paragraph (2) or eligible
nonprofit organizations (or consortia thereof) to broaden
participation in artificial intelligence research, education,
and workforce development by increasing the ability of the
United States to increase capacity and partnerships for
artificial intelligence research and development.
``(2) Eligible institutions of higher education
specified.--Eligible institution of higher education specified
in this paragraph the following:
``(A) An institution of higher education, that,
according to the data published by the National Center
for Science and Engineering Statistics, is not, on
average, among the top 100 institutions in Federal
research and development expenditures during the 3-year
period prior to the year of the award concerned.
``(B) A historically Black college or university.
``(C) A minority-serving institution.
``(D) A Tribal College or University.
``(E) A consortia of any of the entities specified
in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
``(3) Collaborations.--A consortia receiving an award under
this subsection may include the following:
``(A) Mutually beneficial partnerships with
institutions of higher education, nonprofit
organizations, Federal agencies, State, local, Tribal,
and territorial governments, and private sector
entities.
``(B) Developing partnerships with artificial
intelligence research institutes established as part of
section 5201 of this Act (15 U.S.C. 9431) or recipients
of other relevant awards made by the Foundation.
``(4) Use of funds.--In carrying out the activities under
this subsection, an eligible institution of higher education or
eligible nonprofit organization (or consortia thereof) shall
carry out one or more of the following:
``(A) Development or expansion of research programs
in artificial intelligence and related disciplines.
``(B) Faculty recruitment and professional
development in artificial intelligence and related
disciplines.
``(C) Bridge programs focused on preparing post-
baccalaureate students for graduate programs in
artificial intelligence and related disciplines.
``(D) Provide or broker access to research
resources, including computing resources, networking,
data facilities, and software engineering support for
artificial intelligence research and development.
``(E) Community building activities to foster
mutually beneficial public-private collaboration with
Federal research agencies, industry, Federal
laboratories, academia, and nonprofit organizations.
``(F) Development and hosting of intra- or inter-
institutional workshops to broaden workforce
participation in artificial intelligence research and
development.
``(G) Activities to integrate ethical and
responsible practices and principles into education
programs in artificial intelligence and related
disciplines.
``(H) Other activities necessary to build research
capacity, education pathways, and workforce development
pathways in artificial intelligence and related
disciplines.
``(5) Outreach.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall--
``(A) conduct outreach to eligible institutions of
higher education and eligible nonprofit organizations
to apply for awards under this subsection; and
``(B) engage participants from all regions of the
United States, especially individuals from underserved
communities and groups historically underrepresented in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
``(6) Duplication.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall ensure awards made under this section are
complimentary to, and not duplicative of, awards made under
existing programs.
``(7) Additional considerations.--In making awards under
this subsection, the Director of the National Science
Foundation may also consider the following:
``(A) The extent to which eligible institutions of
higher education and eligible nonprofit organizations
applying for awards under this subsection support
students from diverse backgrounds, including first-
generation undergraduate students.
``(B) The geographic diversity of such institutions
and organizations.
``(C) Relative resource constraints of such
institutions and organizations.
``(8) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Historically black college or university.--
The term `historically Black college or university' has
the meaning given the term `part B institution' in
section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1061).
``(B) Minority-serving institution.--The term
`minority-serving institution' means a Hispanic-serving
institution as defined in section 502(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)); an Alaska
Native-serving institution or Native Hawaiian-serving
institution as defined in section 317(b) of such Act
(20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)); or a predominantly Black
institution, Asian American and Native American Pacific
Islander-serving institution, or Native American-
serving nontribal institution as defined in section
371(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c)).
``(C) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit
organization' means an organization which is described
in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such
code.
``(D) Tribal college or university.--The term
`Tribal College or University' has the meaning given
such term in section 316 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
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