# 119-hr-8516: American Leadership in AI Act 119-hr-8516, American Leadership in AI Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8516 - As of: 2026-09-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-8516 - Congress: 119 - Title: American Leadership in AI Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-04-27 - Sponsor: Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA) - Cosponsors: 4 - Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-21 ## Summary **Federal AI research infrastructure and standards framework** would build shared computing, data, and testing resources and create voluntary safety and standards guidance while boosting agency AI governance. It centers a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource and a NIST-hosted Center for AI Standards to support researchers, agencies, and public safety. ## Cosponsors (4) - Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2] (D-NC), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - New civil remedy for intimate forgeries: benefit, high. If enacted, people harmed by nonconsensual intimate images or AI-made intimate forgeries could sue in federal court. A winning plaintiff could get actual damages or liquidated damages of $150,000 normally, and $250,000 if the conduct related to sexual assault, stalking, or harassment. Plaintiffs co… - Tax credit for employer training: benefit, high. If enacted, businesses would get a new credit equal to 50% of qualified employee cybersecurity education expenses. The credit would be limited to $5,000 per employee per taxable year and apply to taxable years beginning after enactment. Agencies would also add a 5% evaluation score boost on competi… - Stronger penalties for AI crimes: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would raise the mail and wire fraud monetary threshold to $2,000,000. The bill would add higher penalties when crimes use AI: AI-assisted mail or wire fraud could bring fines up to $1,000,000 and up to 20 years in prison. AI-assisted bank fraud could bring fines up to $2,000,00… - Grants and scholarships for AI training: benefit, medium. If enacted, NSF could award competitive grants, scholarships, and fellowships to expand AI education and workforce training. Scholarships could cover tuition, fees, stipends, and professional development for up to five years. The bill would also fund up to eight Community College Centers of AI Exce… - Protections for AI whistleblowers: benefit, medium. If enacted, employers could not retaliate against workers who report AI security vulnerabilities or AI violations. Covered people include employees, former employees, independent contractors, and former contractors. Workers could file a Labor Department complaint or sue in federal court if no final… - New agency AI oversight rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, each agency head would name a Chief AI Officer within 45 days and make an AI strategy to guide safe use. Within 90 days the bill would create a governmentwide Chief AI Officers Council led by OMB. Large agencies would need internal AI coordination boards within 120 days. The Director mu… - NIST standards, tests, and grants: benefit, medium. If enacted, NIST would create a Center for AI Standards and Innovation and publish voluntary guidance on safe AI development. NIST would define AI security vulnerabilities and work to add them to the National Vulnerability Database. Within one year NIST would brief Congress and build a web portal t… - Department of Energy AI research funding: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Department of Energy would run a cross-cutting AI research program. DOE would fund AI tools, energy-efficient hardware, data-center testbeds, and make national lab supercomputers available. The bill authorizes $300 million per year for FY2027–FY2032 for AI R&D and data-center energy… - National AI research resource set up: benefit, medium. If enacted, NSF would create a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) within one year. NSF would run a small Program Management Office with at least three full-time staff and pick a private Operating Entity by competitive bid. NAIRR would offer compute, curated data, APIs, testb… - Big NSF AI prize program: benefit, medium. If enacted, NSF would start an AI Grand Challenges program within 12 months and award at least $1,000,000 to winners of general competitions. The law would require a cancer grand challenge that awards at least $10,000,000 to each winner within one year. Companies must be incorporated and based in t… - USDA and NSF farm research grants: benefit, low. If enacted, USDA and NSF would fund collaborative agricultural research, food safety, precision agriculture, and workforce programs. The agencies could award grants to colleges, community colleges, technical schools, nonprofits, and consortia to create Centers for Agricultural Research, Education,… - Grants to study AI in health care: benefit, low. If enacted, NIH would fund grants to study generative AI in health care. Grants could support tools to speed clinical notes, reduce paperwork, speed claims processing, and improve patient access. Projects that train workers, reduce clinician burnout, or help underserved patients would get priority. ## Related bills - 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025 - 119-hr-6766: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025 ## Sources - [119-hr-8516 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8516) ## Related - [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877) - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206) - [119-hr-6766: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6766) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8516 (as of 2026-09-21).