,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ecjg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #f1 #bjbf,mr4 ,coons 7for himself and ,mr4 ,rounds7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to require a strategy to align immigration-related policies with the national interest in ensuring ,united ,states leadership and dominance in artificial intelligence and in strengthening the broader ecosystem of scientific1 technological1 and entrepreneurial innovation1 while protecting national security4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,artificial ,intelligence and ,innovation ,talent ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states is engaged in strategic competition with foreign adversaries to achieve leadership and dominance in artificial intelligence and other critical and emerging technologies4 7#b7 ,preservation of the primacy of the ,united ,states in artificial intelligence is a national imperative that is critical to maintaining the global leadership1 economic prosperity1 and national security of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,congress commends the action plan published by the ,trump administration titled ,america's ,,ai ,action ,plan1 dated ,july #bjbe1 for its commitment to winning the race for artificial intelligence dominance4 7#d7 ,leadership on artificial intelligence depends on building a broad and robust ecosystem of scientific1 technological1 industrial1 and entrepreneurial innovation4 7#e7 ,foreign adversaries are investing heavily in talent recruitment1 education1 and industrial policy to gain advantage in artificial intelligence and innovation by attracting1 retaining1 or repatriating highly skilled individuals4 7#f7 ,the ability of the ,united ,states to attract1 admit1 and retain highly skilled individuals1 including foreign nationals1 is a key determinant of whether the ,united ,states will maintain leadership and achieve dominance in artificial intelligence and sustain innovation leadership more broadly4 7#g7 ,failure to attract and retain such talent risks ceding technological leadership and strategic advantage to foreign adversaries4 7#h7 ,statutes1 policies1 regulations1 guidance1 and practices relating to the admission1 retention1 and employment authorization of foreign nationals materially affect the ability of the ,united ,states to compete effectively with foreign adversaries4 7#i7 ,appropriate and thoughtful policies to attract high-skilled talent and to grow the innovation economy of the ,united ,states will strengthen opportunities for ,american workers4 7#aj7 ,as of #bjbe1 #fj percent of the top artificial intelligence companies based in the ,united ,states had at least one immigrant founder1 and key industry leaders have well-known foreign founders1 and the leading artificial intelligence companies with immigrant founders are collectively responsible for creating thousands of high-paying jobs in the ,united ,states and driving billions of dollars in investment4 7#aa7 ,the ,united ,states must ensure that it maintains robust safeguards to protect sensitive technologies1 intellectual property1 and national security4 7#ab7 ,a coordinated national strategy is required to align immigration-related policies with the national interest in strengthening the ,united ,states innovation ecosystem and domestic workforce opportunities1 achieving artificial intelligence dominance1 and protecting against national security risks4 #c4 ,strategy on artificial intelligence and innovation talent 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 in coordination with the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy and the ,secretary of ,state1 and with input from members of industry1 stakeholders1 and the public1 shall develop and publish a strategy to ensure that ,federal policies1 regulations1 guidance1 and practices are aligned1 to the maximum extent consistent with existing law1 with the goal of advancing the ability of the ,united ,states to attract1 admit1 retain1 and appropriately vet foreign talent and cultivate domestic talent who can-- 7#a7 promote ,united ,states leadership and dominance in artificial intelligence and other critical and emerging technologies1 including through the creation of new economic opportunities for citizens of the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 strengthen the broader ecosystem of scientific1 technological1 and entrepreneurial innovation4 7b7 ,required elements ,the strategy required under subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,competitive barriers ,an assessment of how current ,federal statutes1 policies1 regulations1 guidance1 and practices affect the ability of the ,united ,states to compete with foreign adversaries in attracting and retaining individuals contributing to artificial intelligence and to scientific1 technological1 and entrepreneurial innovation more broadly4 7#b7 ,innovation and commercialization ,an assessment of how immigration-related statutes1 policies1 regulations1 guidance1 and practices affect entrepreneurship1 company formation1 and the development1 scaling1 and commercialization of new technologies in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,retention of ,united ,states-trained talent 7,a7 ,in general ,an evaluation of options to improve immigration pathways for and the retention of foreign nationals educated or trained in the ,united ,states1 including researchers1 engineers1 and founders whose work contributes to technological leadership1 innovation1 and economic competitiveness4 7,b7 ,skill development ,the evaluation required in subparagraph 7,a7 shall examine how to ensure relevant skills are developed in citizens of the ,united ,states1 including through direct skill transference1 joint ventures in specific industries1 and apprenticeship programs in specialized skill areas4 7#d7 ,talent identification 7,a7 ,in general ,an assessment of the need for and potential implementation of a dedicated talent identification organization within the ,government or the private sector to-- 7i7 identify top needed technical and specialized talent willing to work in the ,united ,states2 and 7ii7 work with agencies to address any barriers for such talent to work in the ,united ,states1 where compatible with the national security of the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,high-priority occupations ,the assessment required in subparagraph 7,a7 shall identify high-priority occupations1 predict the number of individuals that will be needed to fill each of these occupations each year over the next #e calendar years1 and analyze in detail whether there will be sufficient domestic talent to fill these occupations4 7#e7 ,national security and vetting 7,a7 ,in general ,a description of measures to ensure risk-based screening and vetting procedures to protect national security from foreign adversaries1 including the safeguarding of sensitive technologies and intellectual property1 such as process innovations gained from hands-on work and research in critical industries4 7,b7 ,risk ,such a description shall include steps taken1 including screening and vetting procedures1 to identify and address specific risks within the immigration and education systems of the ,united ,states that may be exploited by foreign adversary nations in order to compete with the ,united ,states economically or act in ways that jeopardize the national security of the ,united ,states4 7#f7 ,metrics and benchmarks ,the identification of metrics and benchmarks1 including where practicable measures of processing times1 retention outcomes1 and competitiveness relative to foreign adversaries1 to evaluate progress in strengthening ,united ,states competitiveness in artificial intelligence and innovation while addressing national security risks4 7#g7 ,administrative policy and regulatory recommendations ,recommendations for administrative1 regulatory1 or policy actions that can be taken under existing authority to reduce unnecessary barriers1 improve efficiency and predictability1 and enhance the global competitiveness of the ,united ,states in attracting1 retaining1 and cultivating such talent1 including revisions to the ,h-#a;,b nonimmigrant visa registration and selection process1 including the lottery system and the selection cap1 to make sure that the ,h-#a;,b program attracts the talent that would best support the competitiveness and needs of the ,united ,states4 7#h7 ,public and private recommendations ,recommendations for how ,federal agencies can better partner with industry and the private sector to attract and retain talent1 including means to improve industry recruitment1 headhunting1 and sponsorship planning4 7#i7 ,legislative recommendations ,recommendations for legislative changes1 including-- 7,a7 changes to the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq471 that would further advance the goals of the strategy2 and 7,b7 the creation of a visa class specifically focused on facilitating immigration pathways for entrepreneurs in high-priority sectors1 including artificial intelligence and quantum technologies4 7#aj7 ,interagency coordination ,a description of how relevant ,federal departments and agencies will coordinate to implement the strategy4 7c7 ,form ,the strategy required under subsection 7a7 shall be submitted to the appropriate committees of ,congress in unclassified form but may include a classified annex4 7d7 ,report on implementation ,not later than #b years after the submission of the strategy required under subsection 7c71 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall publish and submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report on the implementation of the strategy1 including-- 7#a7 a description of actions taken to implement the strategy2 7#b7 progress measured according to the metrics and benchmarks identified under subsection 7b77#f72 and 7#c7 any updates to the recommendations4