,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cded  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #aa1 
#bjbe,mr4 ,cornyn 7for himself and ,mr4 
,cruz7 introduced the following bill2   
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a     
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,secretary of 
,defense to establish one or more       
,national ,security and ,defense        
,artificial ,intelligence ,institutes1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,growing ,university ,artificial        
,intelligence ,research for ,defense    
,act of #bjbe or the ,,guard ,act of    
#bjbe4  #b4 ,national ,security and     
,defense ,artificial ,intelligence      
,institute  7a7 ,in general ,the        
,secretary of ,defense may establish one
 or more ,national ,security and        
,defense ,artificial ,intelligence      
,institutes 7referred to in this section
 as ,institutes7 at eligible host       
institutions4  7b7 ,institute described 

,a ,national ,security and ,defense     
,artificial ,intelligence ,institute    
referred to in subsection 7a7 is an     
artificial intelligence research        
institute that-- 7#a7 is focused on a   
cross-cutting challenge or foundational 
science for artificial intelligence     
systems in the national security and    
defense sector2  7#b7 establishes       
partnerships among public and private   
organizations1 including1 as            
appropriate1 ,federal agencies1         
institutions of higher education1       
including community colleges1 nonprofit 
research organizations1 ,federal        
laboratories1 ,state1 local1 and ,tribal
 governments1 and industry1 including   
the ,defense ,industrial ,base and      
startup companies2  7#c7 has the        
potential to create an innovation       
ecosystem1 or enhance existing          
ecosystems1 to translate ,institute     
research into applications and products 
used to enhance national security and   
defense capabilities2  7#d7 supports    

interdisciplinary research and          
development across multiple institutions
 of higher education and organizations2 
and  7#e7 supports workforce development
 in artificial intelligence related     
disciplines in the ,united ,states4  7c7
 ,financial assistance authorized  7#a7 
,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense 
may award financial assistance to an    
eligible host institution1 or consortia 
thereof1 to establish and support one or
 more ,institutes4  7#b7 ,use of funds  
,financial assistance awarded under     
paragraph 7#a7 may be used by an        
,institute for-- 7,a7 managing and      
making available to researchers         
accessible1 curated1 standardized1      
secure1 and privacy protected data sets 
from the public and private sectors for 
the purposes of training and testing    
artificial intelligence systems and for 
research using artificial intelligence  
systems with regard to national security
 and defense2  7,b7 developing and      
managing testbeds for artificial        

intelligence systems1 including         
sector-specific test beds1 designed to  
enable users to evaluate artificial     
intelligence systems prior to           
deployment2  7,c7 conducting research   
and education activities involving      
artificial intelligence systems to solve
 challenges with national security      
implications2  7,d7 providing or        
brokering access to computing resources1
 networking1 and data facilities for    
artificial intelligence research and    
development relevant to the ,institute's
 research goals2  7,e7 providing        
technical assistance to users1 including
 software engineering support1 for      
artificial intelligence research and    
development relevant to the ,institute's
 research goals2  7,f7 engaging in      
outreach and engagement to broaden      
participation in artificial intelligence
 research and the artificial            
intelligence workforce2 and  7,g7 such  
other activities as may determined by   
the ,secretary of ,defense4  7#c7       

,duration ,financial assistance under   
paragraph 7#a7 shall be awarded for a   
five-year period1 and may be renewed for
 not more than one additional five-year 
period4  7#d7 ,application for financial
 assistance ,an eligible host           
institution or consortia thereof seeking
 financial assistance under paragraph   
7#a7 shall submit to the ,secretary of  
,defense an application at such time1 in
 such manner1 and containing such       
information as the ,secretary may       
require4  7#e7 ,competitive1 merit      
review ,in awarding financial assistance
 under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary of
 ,defense shall use a competitive1      
merit-based review process4  7#f7       
,collaboration ,in awarding financial   
assistance under paragraph 7#a71 the    
,secretary of ,defense may collaborate  
with other departments and agencies of  
the ,federal ,government with missions  
that relate to or have the potential to 
be affected by the national security    
implications of artificial intelligence 

systems4  7#g7 ,limitation ,no financial
 assistance authorized in this section  
shall be awarded to an entity outside of
 the ,united ,states4 ,all recipients of
 financial assistance under this        
section1 including subgrantees1 shall be
 based in the ,united ,states and shall 
meet such other eligibility criteria as 
may be established by the ,secretary of 
,defense4  7d7 ,definition ,in this     
section1 the term eligible host         
institution means-- 7#a7 an institution 
of higher education 7as defined in      
section #ajb of the ,higher ,education  
,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb77 in 
the ,united ,states that conducts       
research sponsored by the ,department of
 ,defense2 or  7#b7 a senior military   
college 7as defined in section          
#baaa;a7f7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states
 ,code74