H.R. 7968

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7968 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7968

To authorize the Department of Commerce to carry out a study on 
challenges faced by United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 17, 2026

Mr. Subramanyam (for himself, Mr. Obernolte, and Mr. Gottheimer) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To authorize the Department of Commerce to carry out a study on 
challenges faced by United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses, 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 ``Small AI Innovators Empowerment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON CHALLENGES FACED BY SMALL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 
BUSINESSES.

(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, and in consultation with the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall seek to enter 
into an agreement with an appropriate entity with relevant expertise, 
as determined by the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, which may include a federally funded research and 
development center, to conduct a study on challenges faced by United 
States small artificial intelligence businesses located across the 
United States.
(b) Elements.--The study under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
(1) An analysis of Federal and non-Federal resource funding 
opportunities for United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses, including relating to the following:
(A) Data on early and seed funding sources.
(B) Accessibility of Federal funding opportunities, 
timeline of receiving such funding, and the impact of 
physical asset collateral and other loan requirements 
on United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses.
(C) Availability and use of non-Federal funding 
opportunities.
(2) Usage of research and development tax credits, and the 
impact of tax credit restrictions or changes on United States 
small artificial intelligence businesses.
(3) Usage of accelerators and incubators in the process of 
establishing United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses.
(4) An analysis of downstream impacts of Federal policy on 
United States small artificial intelligence businesses, 
including an assessment of technology stacks, with 
consideration of the following:
(A) Differences in usage of artificial intelligence 
tools between United States small artificial 
intelligence businesses and other businesses across the 
infrastructure, model, and application layers of the 
artificial intelligence ecosystem, and the role of 
access to computing resources, cloud services, and 
data.
(B) Impact of regulatory uncertainty on exit 
strategies and acquisition opportunities for United 
States small artificial intelligence businesses.
(C) Impact of partnerships with larger firms and 
competition policy frameworks on opportunities for 
growth of United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses.
(5) An analysis of talent recruitment and retainment 
challenges faced by United States small artificial intelligence 
businesses.
(6) An analysis of any other potential challenges faced by 
United States small artificial intelligence businesses the 
Secretary determines appropriate.
(7) Proposals and recommendations to address any such 
challenges.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in section 5002 
of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 
(15 U.S.C. 9401).
(2) United states small artificial intelligence business.--
The term ``United States small artificial intelligence 
business'' means a business that creates, develops, or 
customizes artificial intelligence products or services as its 
primary business activity and that--
(A) is headquartered in the United States;
(B) is organized for profit;
(C) operates primarily within the United States or 
makes a significant contribution to the United States 
economy through payment of taxes or use of American 
products, materials, or labor;
(D) is independently owned and operated, including 
a business that is backed by private funding, equity 
financing, or an institutional investor; and
(E) employs 250 or fewer people.
(3) Technology stacks.--The term ``technology stacks'' 
means the collection of technologies, tools, and infrastructure 
utilized by such businesses.
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