H.R. 5466

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5466 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5466

To authorize the Secretary of Defense to establish a National Security 
and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 18, 2025

Mr. Jackson of Texas (for himself, Mr. Fallon, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Nehls, 
and Mr. Williams of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Defense to establish a National Security 
and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute, 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 ``Growing University AI Research for 
Defense Act'' or the ``GUARD Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 
INSTITUTE.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense may establish at least 
one National Security and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute 
(referred to in this section as an ``Institute'') at an eligible host 
institution.
(b) Institute Described.--A National Security and Defense 
Artificial Intelligence Institute referred to in subsection (a) is an 
artificial intelligence research institute that--
(1) is focused on a cross-cutting challenge or foundational 
science for artificial intelligence systems in the national 
security and defense sector;
(2) establishes partnerships among public and private 
organizations, including, as appropriate, Federal agencies, 
institutions of higher education, including community colleges, 
nonprofit research organizations, Federal laboratories, State, 
local, and Tribal governments, and industry, including the 
Defense Industrial Base and startup companies;
(3) has the potential to create an innovation ecosystem, or 
enhance existing ecosystems, to translate Institute research 
into applications and products used to enhance national 
security and defense capabilities;
(4) supports interdisciplinary research and development 
across multiple institutions of higher education and 
organizations; and
(5) supports workforce development in artificial 
intelligence related disciplines in the United States.
(c) Financial Assistance Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may seek to award 
financial assistance to an eligible host institution, or 
consortia thereof, to establish and support one or more 
Institutes.
(2) Use of funds.--Financial assistance awarded under 
paragraph (1) may be used by an Institute for--
(A) managing and making available to researchers 
accessible, curated, standardized, secure, and privacy 
protected data sets from the public and private sectors 
for the purposes of training and testing artificial 
intelligence systems and for research using artificial 
intelligence systems with regard to national security 
and defense;
(B) developing and managing testbeds for artificial 
intelligence systems, including sector-specific test 
beds, designed to enable users to evaluate artificial 
intelligence systems prior to deployment;
(C) conducting research and education activities 
involving artificial intelligence systems to solve 
challenges with national security implications;
(D) providing or brokering access to computing 
resources, networking, and data facilities for 
artificial intelligence research and development 
relevant to the Institute's research goals;
(E) providing technical assistance to users, 
including software engineering support, for artificial 
intelligence research and development relevant to the 
Institute's research goals;
(F) engaging in outreach and engagement to broaden 
participation in artificial intelligence research and 
the artificial intelligence workforce; and
(G) such other activities as may determined by the 
Secretary of Defense.
(3) Duration.--Financial assistance under paragraph (1) 
shall be awarded for a five-year period, and may be renewed for 
not more than one additional five-year period.
(4) Application for financial assistance.--A eligible host 
institution or consortia thereof seeking financial assistance 
under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of Defense an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
(5) Competitive, merit review.--In awarding financial 
assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall 
use a competitive, merit-based review process.
(6) Collaboration.--In awarding financial assistance under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may collaborate other 
departments and agencies of the Federal Government with 
missions that relate to or have the potential to be affected by 
the national security implications of artificial intelligence 
systems.
(7) Limitation.--No financial assistance authorized in this 
section shall be awarded to an entity outside of the United 
States. All recipients of financial assistance under this 
section, including subgrantees, shall be based in the United 
States and shall meet such other eligibility criteria as may be 
established by the Secretary of Defense.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible host 
institution'' means a senior military college (as defined in section 
2111a(f) of title 10, United States Code).
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