Future of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Young, Todd [R-IN]
Introduced
Summary
voluntary AI standards and testbeds drive the bill’s core work. It creates a NIST-led Center to develop voluntary guidance, tools, and a third-party evaluation ecosystem while expanding testbeds, public data, and prize competitions to speed U.S. AI innovation.
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- Businesses, developers, and civil-society groups get voluntary guidelines, metrics, testing tools, and access to a third-party evaluation ecosystem. Contributors can give confidential material that is exempt from FOIA and the Center must screen out entities tied to covered foreign governments.
- Researchers, National Laboratories, and DOE/NIST teams gain a joint testbed to run automated, reproducible evaluations, security assessments, and hackathons. The testbed must be established within 1 year and evaluated within 3 years.
- The science and research community get a prioritized list of 20 federal datasets for AI training and a path to share them with the National AI Research Resource. OSTP will run Federal grand challenges with prize competitions to speed U.S. AI R&D and those challenge authorities sunset in 5 years.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
International AI standards alliances
This bill would direct Commerce and Energy officials to seek alliances with like-minded countries to promote U.S. AI technical standards. Partners would have to meet technology trust criteria and follow cybersecurity and technology protection guidance. Entities under ownership or control of the People’s Republic of China would be excluded until the U.S. Trade Representative reports PRC compliance with certain WTO commitments. If that report happens, officials would submit a detailed risk and human-rights justification to Congress.
NIST center for AI standards
This bill would direct NIST to create a Center for Artificial Intelligence Standards and Innovation within 90 days. NIST would form a stakeholder consortium within 180 days and report consortium contributions annually. The Center would publish voluntary standards, metrics, tests, and tools and protect voluntarily provided confidential information from public disclosure. Entities under ownership, control, or influence of specified covered nations would be barred from accessing Center resources. The law would also let NIST hire up to 30 critical technical experts through Dec. 30, 2035.
Federal AI prize competitions
This bill would authorize Federal AI grand challenges and prize competitions run by OSTP and agencies. Prizes would be posted on Challenge.gov. Winning companies would need to be incorporated and mainly based in the United States, and individual winners would need to be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Agencies would report winners to Congress within 60 days and begin biennial public reports no later than two years after enactment. The prize authority would end five years after enactment.
Public datasets for AI training
This bill would direct the NSTC Interagency Committee to identify and prioritize up to 20 Federal datasets for curated, AI-ready public data investments. The draft list would get public comment before it is final. Agencies that create or improve datasets would add them to the Federal data inventory and could share them with research pilots, subject to privacy, security, and trade secret protections.
Interagency AI testbeds and rules
This bill would require Commerce and Energy, with NSF, to set up an interagency AI testbed program within one year. The program would run reproducible tests, security and supply chain vulnerability assessments, and a hackathon, and would report evaluation findings to Congress within three years. Department of Energy and National Laboratory resources would generally be provided on a reimbursable basis unless Commerce waives the rule. Activities under the Act would have to comply with specified federal research security laws.
New checks on AI temporary fellows
This bill would require temporary fellows, contractors, and consultants doing AI work to sign a certification that they will not perform inherently governmental functions before starting. A copy of the certification would be sent to OMB and congressional committee leaders within 30 days. Each agency inspector general would audit temporary fellow use annually and agencies would send IG findings to OMB and Congress within 30 days of audit completion.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Young, Todd [R-IN]
IN • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
WA • D
Sponsored 2/26/2026
Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
TN • R
Sponsored 2/26/2026
John Hickenlooper
CO • D
Sponsored 2/26/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov