Members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on both sides of the aisle had nothing but good things to say about two major pieces of Fed-tech legislation today – one to reform the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) and another to codify Federal governance of agency AI systems – during a full committee markup session today.
But despite that positive reception from committee members, neither bill was officially approved by the end of the markup session. Both measures appeared to win approval on voice votes of committee members present, but official approvals of the bills will need to wait until recorded votes are tabulated.
One of the bills considered by the committee today – the Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act – was introduced earlier this week by committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md. The measure would codify Federal governance of agency AI systems, establish new mechanisms for transparency and accountability, and consolidate and streamline other existing AI laws.
The bill features provisions such as codifying key safeguards for the development, acquisition, use, management, and oversight of AI used by Federal agencies, as well as clarifying the role of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in issuing governmentwide AI policy, in harmony with existing Federal IT and data policy requirements.
Original cosponsors of the March 6 bill include Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Clay Higgins, R-La., Gerry Connolly, D-Va., Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
“By using artificial intelligence, Federal agencies can improve government processes and operations, save taxpayer dollars, and increase oversight and accountability,” said Chairman Comer today.
“Agencies should be encouraged to use AI when appropriate to benefit everyday Americans,” he continued. “To ensure this is done responsibly, we must have the necessary safeguards in place to uphold American values and protect privacy, civil rights and civil liberties.”
Rep. Comer noted that AI-related executive orders from President Biden and former President Trump, along with laws made by Congress, “has produced positive but disjointed and sometimes contradictory directives regarding how federal agency AI systems should be managed.” He added, “this has made it difficult for agencies to implement these policies and challenging for industries to adapt.”
On the FISMA reform front, both Reps. Comer and Raskin spoke with high praise of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2023 introduced in July 2023 by Rep. Mace and co-sponsored by Reps. Comer, Raskin, Connolly, and Donald Davis, D-N.C.
The House bill tracks with legislation approved last year by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The Senate bill, sponsored by committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Sen Josh Hawley, R-Mo., would take a number of steps including:
- Codifying into Federal law the position of Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at OMB;
- Requiring the appointment of dedicated chief privacy officers at Federal agencies;
- Improving coordination between OMB, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office of the National Cyber Director, and Federal agencies and contractors in addressing security threats;
- Requiring Federal civilian agencies to report all cyberattacks to CISA, and major cyber incidents to Congress;
- Providing CISA with additional authorities to respond to breach incidents on Federal civilian networks;
- Codifying portions of President Biden’s 2021 cybersecurity executive order to enforce higher-level security protections for Federal information systems; and
- Requiring OMB to develop guidance for Federal agencies “so they can efficiently allocate the cybersecurity resources they need to protect their networks.”
