H.R. 7158

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7158 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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).''.
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