[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5466 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5466
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to establish a National Security
and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2025
Mr. Jackson of Texas (for himself, Mr. Fallon, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Nehls,
and Mr. Williams of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to establish a National Security
and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Growing University AI Research for
Defense Act'' or the ``GUARD Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
INSTITUTE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense may establish at least
one National Security and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute
(referred to in this section as an ``Institute'') at an eligible host
institution.
(b) Institute Described.--A National Security and Defense
Artificial Intelligence Institute referred to in subsection (a) is an
artificial intelligence research institute that--
(1) is focused on a cross-cutting challenge or foundational
science for artificial intelligence systems in the national
security and defense sector;
(2) establishes partnerships among public and private
organizations, including, as appropriate, Federal agencies,
institutions of higher education, including community colleges,
nonprofit research organizations, Federal laboratories, State,
local, and Tribal governments, and industry, including the
Defense Industrial Base and startup companies;
(3) has the potential to create an innovation ecosystem, or
enhance existing ecosystems, to translate Institute research
into applications and products used to enhance national
security and defense capabilities;
(4) supports interdisciplinary research and development
across multiple institutions of higher education and
organizations; and
(5) supports workforce development in artificial
intelligence related disciplines in the United States.
(c) Financial Assistance Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may seek to award
financial assistance to an eligible host institution, or
consortia thereof, to establish and support one or more
Institutes.
(2) Use of funds.--Financial assistance awarded under
paragraph (1) may be used by an Institute for--
(A) managing and making available to researchers
accessible, curated, standardized, secure, 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 defense;
(B) developing and managing testbeds for artificial
intelligence systems, including sector-specific test
beds, designed to enable users to evaluate artificial
intelligence systems prior to deployment;
(C) conducting research and education activities
involving artificial intelligence systems to solve
challenges with national security implications;
(D) providing or brokering access to computing
resources, networking, and data facilities for
artificial intelligence research and development
relevant to the Institute's research goals;
(E) providing technical assistance to users,
including software engineering support, for artificial
intelligence research and development relevant to the
Institute's research goals;
(F) engaging in outreach and engagement to broaden
participation in artificial intelligence research and
the artificial intelligence workforce; and
(G) such other activities as may determined by the
Secretary of Defense.
(3) Duration.--Financial assistance under paragraph (1)
shall be awarded for a five-year period, and may be renewed for
not more than one additional five-year period.
(4) Application for financial assistance.--A eligible host
institution or consortia thereof seeking financial assistance
under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of Defense an
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require.
(5) Competitive, merit review.--In awarding financial
assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall
use a competitive, merit-based review process.
(6) Collaboration.--In awarding financial assistance under
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may collaborate 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
systems.
(7) Limitation.--No financial assistance authorized in this
section shall be awarded to an entity outside of the United
States. All recipients of financial assistance under this
section, including subgrantees, shall be based in the United
States and shall meet such other eligibility criteria as may be
established by the Secretary of Defense.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible host
institution'' means a senior military college (as defined in section
2111a(f) of title 10, United States Code).
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