Good morning. Welcome to today’s Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing titled, “Advancing America’s AI Action Plan.” Today, we will hear testimony from the Director of the White Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Michael Kratsios, on the Administration’s artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.
AI is poised to become a foundational driver of innovation worldwide. From serving as a personal assistant to generating computer code to advancing the frontiers of human science, the scope and impact of AI continues to expand at an extraordinary pace.
It is critical that Congress does its job in enacting an appropriate federal framework for this burgeoning new technology. It is also imperative that this framework maintains the position of the United States as the leading force in the development and deployment of worldwide AI. American leadership in AI is essential to sustained economic growth, technological advancement across a wide range of applications, and the protection of our national security, particularly as competitors such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seek to undermine U.S. leadership in this space.
Through my experience as co-chair of the bipartisan House AI Task Force last Congress, I have seen firsthand the importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in this area. AI-enabled cyberattacks are a growing threat that demands constant vigilance. At the same time, as AI becomes more embedded in everyday life, Americans are entrusting vast amounts of personal data to these systems, heightening the risk that sensitive information could fall into the hands of malicious actors.
Against this backdrop, on July 23, 2025, the White House unveiled “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan.” The strategy is built around three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security. It is critical that Congress works with the executive branch to craft a unified and effective national AI strategy.
In December 2024, the Bipartisan House AI Task Force, co-led by Mr. Lieu and myself, released a report outlining guiding principles for AI policy. The bipartisan effort resulted in 66 findings and 89 recommendations, many of which align with the AI Action Plan, including expanding access to computing power for researchers, investing in K-12 AI education, and advancing AI evaluations.
Among its recommendations, the Task Force called for codifying the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) and strengthening the science of AI evaluation and standards. My legislation, the CREATE AI Act, would codify the NAIRR, while the forthcoming Great American AI Act would formalize the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) at the Department of Commerce to advance AI evaluation and standard-setting.
I am glad to see that the Administration’s AI Action Plan includes many of the same tenets as the AI Task Force Report, including support for the continuation of NAIRR and for tasking the Center for AI Standards and Innovation with the critical work of developing standards and evaluating frontier AI models. I commend the Center for its strong report last fall assessing the national security implications posed by DeepSeek. The Center serves as a crucial hub for technical AI expertise within the government, and I look forward to its continued work. OSTP, under Director Kratsios’ leadership, is steering the development of the AI Action Plan and will oversee its implementation as part of the nation's broader science and technology agenda.
It is clear that Congress must step up to the plate and work with the executive branch in developing a competitive vision for American leadership in artificial intelligence.
I thank Director Kratsios for being here today and appreciate his willingness to appear before the Subcommittee. We welcome his testimony on this critically important topic.