Expanding AI Voices Act
Sponsored By: Senator Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE]
Introduced
Summary
This bill directs the National Science Foundation to expand capacity and partnerships to broaden participation in AI research, education, and workforce development. It creates competitive grants for colleges, nonprofits, Tribal institutions, federal and state partners, and private-sector collaborators to build AI programs, recruit and train faculty, and give students access to computing and data resources.
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- Students and families: Students gain more pathways into AI through funded bridge programs, graduate preparation, and expanded research opportunities, with attention to first-generation undergraduates.
- Colleges and faculty: Institutions can win grants to develop or expand AI research programs and support faculty recruitment and professional development; eligible schools include those not among the top 100 in federal R&D spending.
- Minority-serving and Tribal institutions and nonprofits: Historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges, and minority-serving institutions can lead or join consortia and partner with nonprofits to compete for awards.
- Research capacity and industry ties: Grants may fund computing, networking, data, software engineering support, workshops, and public-private collaboration to strengthen national AI research and workforce development.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More AI research grants for colleges
If enacted, the National Science Foundation would run a competition to give grants to eligible colleges and college-led consortia to broaden participation in artificial intelligence research, education, and workforce training. Grants would be open to schools that are not among the top 100 in federal research spending or to minority-serving institutions, including historically Black colleges and Tribal colleges. Grant money would be used for activities like starting or expanding AI research programs, hiring and training faculty, post-baccalaureate bridge programs for graduate study, access to computing and data resources, and workshops for public-private collaboration and workforce development. NSF would do outreach to under-resourced and regional schools, avoid duplicating existing programs, and could consider first-generation students, geographic diversity, and applicants' resource constraints when selecting awards.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE]
DE • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT]
MT • R
Sponsored 7/21/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov