The Wrap: Rally Round the AI Bill; Shining Light on TTS; Meet us at Tech Tonic

Welcome to The Wrap for Wednesday, March 6!

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From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:

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Rally Round the AI Bill

Leadership of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee mixes about as easily as water and oil on a lot of issues, but leave it to artificial intelligence technologies to unify them. Well, maybe not the technology as a precise unifying factor, but more so the approach to some major themes about how the Federal government should go about using the technology. That’s at the heart of the Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act introduced today by House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md.,?and cosponsored by numerous prime movers in Federal IT including 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. The bill, which would codify Federal governance of agency AI systems, establish new mechanisms for transparency and accountability, and consolidate and streamline other existing AI laws – is set to be marked up by the committee on Thursday. “Agencies have already begun to use artificial intelligence to improve oversight, save taxpayer dollars, and increase government efficiency,” said Rep. Comer. “The bipartisan Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act ensures that the federal government’s use of AI will improve government operations while protecting privacy, civil rights and civil liberties, and upholding American values.”

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ISO AI Regulatory Framework

That’s the first core mission of the recently formed bipartisan House AI Task Force, said its chairman?Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., during a March 5 National Security Institute event on the Hill. “It’s important to note that the purpose of the task force is not education,” Rep. Obernolte explained. “We have an AI caucus that has a very active and engaged membership. We’ve been working on education for the last year, as the Senate has, and I think both chambers have done a pretty good job of getting their members [knowledgeable] on the issue,” he said. The difference between the House and Senate efforts, he said, is that the House task force is “charged with creating a regulatory framework for AI, that then we can hang various pieces of legislation on,” he said. The congressman forecasted a longer series of smaller bites at the AI legislative apple, rather than a more sweeping strategy. “I think a much more fruitful approach is going to be a bunch of bills every year for the next 10 years,” Rep. Obernolte said. “I think that that’s appropriate because you have to have a reason for regulating AI. I think it’s pretty clear that if you approach regulation for the purpose of regulating, then you’ve embarked on a fool’s errand.”

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Shining Light on TTS

Elsewhere on the Hill today, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, introduced legislation that he hopes will shine a brighter light on tech projects being undertaken by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) organization, which helps agencies across the government with tech modernization. The bill would require the GSA Administrator to submit annual reports to Congress regarding each TTS project funded by the Citizen Services Fund and some projects funded by the Acquisition Services Fund. According to Rep. Sessions’ office, currently “there is no transparency into how these funds, which are the primary source of funding for TTS projects and initiatives, are allocated.” The congressman, who chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, continued, “this legislation is aimed at providing answers to basic questions: what projects is TTS working on, how much do they cost, how much revenue do they bring in, and are agencies getting what they paid for when working with TTS?”

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Meet us at Tech Tonic March 14

Please do circle that date for some serious fun at MeriTalk’s Tech Tonic at Morton’s in D.C. from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. What's in a Tech Tonic? For this go-round, how about the godfather of Federal IT Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., 14 Federal agency CIOs picking up well-deserved FITARA awards, 700 of your best friends in Federal IT, a timely kickoff to Paddy’s Day weekend, and maybe even kilts. And for the last twist to make it delicious? That would be you. Please register and come raise a glass with us to toast the top performers on the FITARA Scorecard at Tech Tonic. It will be the happiest hour in Gov IT!

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Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more tomorrow. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy. And finally, please hit the news tip jar [with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents] at [email protected].