,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cija  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #d1      
#bjbj,mr4 ,peters 7for himself and ,mr4 
,gardner7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1  
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
establish a ,federal artificial         
intelligence scholarship-for-service    
program4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act   
may be cited as the ,,ai                
,scholarship-for-,service ,act4  #b4    
,federal ,artificial ,intelligence      
,scholarship-for-,service ,program  7a7 
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,artificial intelligence ,the term      
artificial intelligence or ,,ai has the 
meaning given the term artificial       
intelligence in section #bch7;g7 of the 
,john ,s4 ,mc,cain ,national ,defense   
,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year   
#bjai 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 #bceh note74  7#b7 
,executive agency ,the term executive   
agency has the meaning given the term   

,executive agency in section #aje of    
title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#c7  
,registered internship ,the term        
registered internship means a ,federal  
,registered ,internship ,program        
coordinated through the ,department of  
,labor4  7b7 ,in general ,the ,director 
of the ,national ,science ,foundation1  
in coordination with the ,director of   
the ,office of ,personnel ,management1  
the ,director of the ,national          
,institute of ,standards and            
,technology1 and the heads of other     
agencies with appropriate scientific    
knowledge1 shall establish a ,federal   
artificial intelligence                 
scholarship-for-service program         
7referred to in this section as the     
,federal ,,ai ,scholarship-for-,service 
,program7 to recruit and train          
artificial intelligence professionals to
 lead and support the application of    
artificial intelligence to the missions 
of ,federal1 ,state1 local1 and ,tribal 
governments4  7c7 ,qualified institution

 of higher education ,the ,director of  
the ,national ,science ,foundation1 in  
coordination with the heads of other    
agencies with appropriate scientific    
knowledge1 shall establish criteria to  
designate qualified institutions of     
higher education that shall be eligible 
to participate in the ,federal ,,ai     
,scholarship-for-,service program4 ,such
 criteria shall include-- 7#a7 measures 
of the institution's demonstrated       
excellence in the education of students 
in the field of artificial intelligence2
 and  7#b7 measures of the institution's
 ability to attract and retain a diverse
 and non-traditional student population 
in the fields of science1 technology1   
engineering1 and mathematics1 which may 
include the ability to attract women1   
minorities1 and individuals with        
disabilities4  7d7 ,program description 
and components ,the ,federal ,,ai       
,scholarship-for-,service ,program      
shall-- 7#a7 provide scholarships       
through qualified institutions of higher

 education to students who are enrolled 
in programs of study at institutions of 
higher education leading to degrees or  
concentrations in or related to the     
artificial intelligence field2  7#b7    
provide the scholarship recipients with 
summer internship opportunities1        
registered internships1 or other        
meaningful temporary appointments in the
 ,federal information technology        
workforce focusing on artificial        
intelligence 7referred to in this       
section as ,,ai7 projects or research2  
7#c7 prioritize the employment placement
 of scholarship recipients in executive 
agencies2  7#d7 identify opportunities  
to promote multi-disciplinary programs  
of study that integrate basic or        
advanced ,,ai training with other fields
 of study1 including those that address 
the social1 economic1 legal1 and ethical
 implications of human interaction with 
,,ai systems2 and  7#e7 support         
capacity-building education research    
programs that will enable postsecondary 

educational institutions to expand their
 ability to train the next-generation   
,,ai workforce1 including ,,ai          
researchers and practitioners4  7e7     
,scholarship amounts ,each scholarship  
under subsection 7d7 shall be in an     
amount that covers the student's tuition
 and fees at the institution for not    
more than #c years and provides the     
student with an additional stipend4  7f7
 ,post-,award employment obligations    
,each scholarship recipient1 as a       
condition of receiving a scholarship    
under the program1 shall enter into an  
agreement under which the recipient     
agrees to work for a period equal to the
 length of the scholarship1 following   
receipt of the student's degree1 in the 
,,ai mission of-- 7#a7 an executive     
agency2  7#b7 ,congress1 including any  
agency1 entity1 office1 or commission   
established in the legislative branch2  
7#c7 an interstate agency2  7#d7 a      
,state1 local1 or ,tribal government1   
which may include instruction in        

,,ai-related skill sets in a public     
school system2 or  7#e7 a ,state1 local1
 or ,tribal government-affiliated       
nonprofit that is considered to be      
critical infrastructure 7as defined in  
section #ajaf7;e7 of the ,,usa ,patriot 
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaie;c7e7774  7g7  
,hiring authority  7#a7 ,appointment in 
excepted service ,notwithstanding any   
provision of chapter #cc of title #e    
governing appointments in the           
competitive service1 an executive agency
 shall appoint in the excepted service  
an individual who has completed the     
eligible degree program for which a     
scholarship was awarded4  7#b7          
,noncompetitive conversion ,except as   
provided in paragraph 7#d71 upon        
fulfillment of the service term1 an     
employee appointed under paragraph 7#a7 
may be converted noncompetitively to    
term1 career-conditional or career      
appointment4  7#c7 ,timing of conversion
 ,an executive agency may               
noncompetitively convert a term employee

 appointed under paragraph 7#b7 to a    
career-conditional or career appointment
 before the term appointment expires4   
7#d7 ,authority to decline conversion   
,an executive agency may decline to make
 the noncompetitive conversion or       
appointment under paragraph 7#b7 for    
cause4  7h7 ,eligibility ,to be eligible
 to receive a scholarship under this    
section1 an individual shall-- 7#a7 be a
 citizen or lawful permanent resident of
 the ,united ,states2  7#b7 demonstrate 
a commitment to a career in advancing   
the field of ,,ai2  7#c7 be-- 7,a7 a    
full-time student in an eligible degree 
program at a qualified institution of   
higher education1 as determined by the  
,director of the ,national ,science     
,foundation2  7,b7 a student pursuing a 
degree on a less than full-time basis1  
but not less than half-time basis2 or   
7,c7 an ,,ai faculty member on          
sabbatical to advance knowledge in the  
field2 and  7#d7 accept the terms of a  
scholarship under this section4  7i7    

,conditions of support  7#a7 ,in general
 ,as a condition of receiving a         
scholarship under this section1 a       
recipient shall agree to provide the    
qualified institution of higher         
education with annual verifiable        
documentation of post-award employment  
and up-to-date contact information4     
7#b7 ,terms ,a scholarship recipient    
under this section shall be liable to   
the ,united ,states as provided in      
subsection 7k7 if the individual-- 7,a7 
fails to maintain an acceptable level of
 academic standing at the applicable    
institution of higher education1 as     
determined by the ,director of the      
,national ,science ,foundation2  7,b7 is
 dismissed from the applicable          
institution of higher education for     
disciplinary reasons2  7,c7 withdraws   
from the eligible degree program before 
completing the program2  7,d7 declares  
that the individual does not intend to  
fulfill the post-award employment       
obligation under this section2 or  7,e7 

fails to fulfill the post-award         
employment obligation of the individual 
under this section4  7j7 ,monitoring    
compliance ,as a condition of           
participating in the program1 a         
qualified institution of higher         
education shall-- 7#a7 enter into an    
agreement with the ,director of the     
,national ,science ,foundation1 to      
monitor the compliance of scholarship   
recipients with respect to their        
post-award employment obligations2 and  
7#b7 provide to the ,director of the    
,national ,science ,foundation1 on an   
annual basis1 the post-award employment 
documentation required under subsection 
7i77#a7 for scholarship recipients      
through the completion of their         
post-award employment obligations4  7k7 
,amount of repayment  7#a7 ,less than #a
 year of service ,if a circumstance     
described in subsection 7i77#b7 occurs  
before the completion of #a year of a   
post-award employment obligation under  
this section1 the total amount of       

scholarship awards received by the      
individual under this section shall--   
7,a7 be repaid2 or  7,b7 be treated as a
 loan to be repaid in accordance with   
subsection 7l74  7#b7 #a or more years  
of service ,if a circumstance described 
in subparagraph 7,d7 or 7,e7 of         
subsection 7i77#b7 occurs after the     
completion of #a or more years of a     
post-award employment obligation under  
this section1 the total amount of       
scholarship awards received by the      
individual under this section1 reduced  
by the ratio of the number of years of  
service completed divided by the number 
of years of service required1 shall--   
7,a7 be repaid2 or  7,b7 be treated as a
 loan to be repaid in accordance with   
subsection 7l74  7l7 ,repayments ,a loan
 described in subsection 7k7 shall--    
7#a7 be treated as a ,federal ,direct   
,unsubsidized ,stafford ,loan under part
 ,d of title ,,iv of the ,higher        
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajhg;a et seq472 and  7#b7 be subject  

to repayment1 together with interest    
thereon accruing from the date of the   
scholarship award1 in accordance with   
terms and conditions specified by the   
,director of the ,national ,science     
,foundation 7in consultation with the   
,secretary of ,education7 in regulations
 promulgated to carry out this          
subsection4  7m7 ,collection of         
repayment  7#a7 ,in general ,in the     
event that a scholarship recipient is   
required to repay the scholarship award 
under this section1 the qualified       
institution of higher education         
providing the scholarship shall-- 7,a7  
determine the repayment amounts and     
notify the recipient and the ,director  
of the ,national ,science ,foundation of
 the amounts owed2 and  7,b7 collect the
 repayment amounts within a period of   
time as determined by the ,director of  
the ,national ,science ,foundation1 or  
the repayment amounts shall be treated  
as a loan in accordance with subsection 
7l74  7#b7 ,returned to ,treasury       

,except as provided in paragraph 7#c71  
any repayment under this subsection     
shall be returned to the ,treasury of   
the ,united ,states4  7#c7 ,retain      
percentage ,a qualified institution of  
higher education may retain a percentage
 of any repayment the institution       
collects under this subsection to defray
 administrative costs associated with   
the collection4 ,the ,director of the   
,national ,science ,foundation shall    
establish a single1 fixed percentage    
that will apply to all eligible         
entities4  7n7 ,exceptions ,the         
,director of the ,national ,science     
,foundation may provide for the partial 
or total waiver or suspension of any    
service or payment obligation by an     
individual under this section whenever  
compliance by the individual with the   
obligation is impossible or would       
involve extreme hardship to the         
individual1 or if enforcement of such   
obligation with respect to the          
individual would be unconscionable4  7o7

 ,public information  7#a7 ,evaluation  
,the ,director of the ,national ,science
 ,foundation1 in coordination with the  
,director of the ,office of ,personnel  
,management1 shall annually evaluate and
 make public1 in a manner that protects 
the personally identifiable information 
of scholarship recipients1 information  
on the success of recruiting individuals
 for scholarships under this section and
 on hiring and retaining those          
individuals in the public sector ,,ai   
workforce1 including information on--   
7,a7 placement rates2  7,b7 where       
students are placed1 including job      
titles and descriptions2  7,c7 salary   
ranges for students not released from   
obligations under this section2  7,d7   
how long after graduation students are  
placed2  7,e7 how long students stay in 
the positions they enter upon           
graduation2  7,f7 how many students are 
released from obligations2 and  7,g7    
what1 if any1 remedial training is      
required4  7#b7 ,reports ,the ,director 

of the ,national ,science ,foundation1  
in coordination with the ,office of     
,personnel ,management1 shall submit1   
not less frequently than once every #c  
years1 to the ,homeland ,security and   
,governmental ,affairs ,committee of the
 ,senate1 the ,committee on ,commerce1  
,science1 and ,transportation of the    
,senate1 the ,committee on ,science1    
,space1 and ,technology of the ,house of
 ,representatives1 and the ,committee on
 ,oversight and ,reform of the ,house of
 ,representatives a report1 including   
the results of the evaluation under     
paragraph 7#a7 and any recent statistics
 regarding the size1 composition1 and   
educational requirements of the ,federal
 ,,ai workforce4  7#c7 ,resources ,the  
,director of the ,national ,science     
,foundation1 in coordination with the   
,director of the ,office of ,personnel  
,management1 shall provide consolidated 
and user-friendly online resources for  
prospective scholarship recipients1     
including1 to the extent practicable--  

7,a7 searchable1 up-to-date1 and        
accurate information about participating
 institutions of higher education and   
job opportunities related to the ,,ai   
field2 and  7,b7 a modernized           
description of ,,ai careers4  7p7       
,refresh ,not less than once every #b   
years1 the ,director of the ,national   
,science ,foundation1 in coordination   
with the ,director of the ,office of    
,personnel ,management1 shall review and
 update the ,federal ,,ai               
,scholarship-for-,service ,program to   
reflect advances in technology4  7q7    
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to    
carry out this section such sums as may 
be necessary4