U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence (AI) Caucus, and Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the CREATE AI Act, legislation to establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) as shared national research infrastructure that provides AI researchers and students with greater access to the resources, data, and tools needed to develop safe and trustworthy AI.

“The CREATE AI Act will help us develop and deploy AI responsibly, while also unleashing American innovation by expanding access to the tools needed to conduct cutting-edge research. But as we push this technology forward, we must also take seriously our responsibility to rein in its potential harms — putting the right safeguards in place to ensure AI is used safely, ethically, and in the public interest. By truly democratizing access to AI, we can prepare American workers for the future, maintain our nation’s competitive edge, and ensure these rapid advancements strengthen our economy and benefit communities in New Mexico and across the country,” Heinrich said.

“The United States cannot cede leadership in AI development to China. For both our economic and national security, we must harness AI’s potential and mitigate its risks. By establishing the National AI Research Resource in statute, the CREATE AI Act will give incredible access and resources to America’s brightest, allowing for advancements in AI innovation, deployment, and safety for our country and ultimately the world,” Young said.

“Artificial intelligence has the potential to impact a range of fields, from national security to health care,” Rounds said. “Our bipartisan legislation establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), which will provide tools and resources for universities and researchers across the country. This will help NAIRR to accomplish the objectives laid out in President Trump’s AI Action Plan. Universities in South Dakota are already conducting research and applying AI and other emerging technologies. This legislation will allow these universities to expand their leading role.”

“The United States has some of the brightest AI researchers in the world. They want to solve hard problems and improve people’s lives—but the steep financial costs of doing this research have pushed too many of them to the sidelines,” Booker said. “The NAIRR gives universities, students, and researchers—in New Jersey and across the country—the tools they need to pursue new breakthroughs; it ensures that the future of AI research isn’t shaped only by a small number of large companies; and it helps us build a stronger, more diverse AI research community that’s focused on serving the public good.”

The CREATE AI Act establishes the NAIRR, which has four primary goals:

• Spur innovation and advance the development of safe, reliable, and trustworthy AI research and development;
• Improve access to AI resources for researchers and students, including groups typically underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM);
• Improve capacity for AI research in the United States; and
• Support the testing, benchmarking, and evaluation of AI systems developed and deployed in the United States.

The NAIRR will offer the following to researchers, educators, and students at higher education institutions, non-profits, and federally funded agencies:

• Computational resources, including an open-source software environment and a programming interface providing structured access to AI models;
• Data, including curated datasets of user interest and an AI data commons;
• Educational tools and services, including educational materials, technical training, and user support; and
• AI testbeds, including a catalog of open AI testbeds and a collaborative project with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Chair of the House AI Caucus, introduced the House companion bill, along with Representative Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.).

The legislation is supported by AI Policy Network, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Cognizant, SeedAI, Business Software Alliance, and Indiana University.

Last Congress, Heinrich announced the bipartisan passage of the CREATE AI Act out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Heinrich previously worked to establish the NAIRR Task Force. The task force’s aim was to develop a roadmap for the United States to build, deploy, govern, and sustain a national research cloud and associated research resources.    

A recommendation to establish the NAIRR came from the final report of the National Security Commission on AI, and work done by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) significantly advanced the concept. In 2023, the NAIRR Task Force released its final report with a roadmap for standing up a national research infrastructure that would broaden access to the resources essential to AI research and development. Heinrich included $30 million for NAIRR in the FY25 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.  

Background on Heinrich’s leadership on AI:

Heinrich is among leading lawmakers in Congress spearheading bipartisan efforts on responsible AI policy. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan AI Caucus, which he established with former Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in 2019. The Caucus aims to keep the United States at the forefront of responsible AI innovation while maintaining important ethical, safety, and privacy standards.    

Last Congress, Heinrich co-lead Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) bipartisan AI working group to help shape policy centered around addressing the risks and harnessing the opportunities of AI. 

In 2024, Heinrich was featured as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI. Heinrich was the only member of Congress included in the list. 

Heinrich has also engaged with New Mexicans on his AI policy work:

Last August, Heinrich worked with New Mexicans to secure $762,000 for New Mexico State University to develop K–12 AI curricula and professional development for educators across the state.

In July 2024, Heinrich highlighted the potential of AI with a group of Albuquerque small-business owners who are learning how to use AI.  

In October 2023, Heinrich joined acclaimed writer and producer George R.R. Martin and University of New Mexico Professor and Santa Fe Institute External Faculty Member Melanie Moses to explore the influence of AI in arts and culture and its impact on New Mexico’s creative economy.

Heinrich has led a number of successful policy initiatives on AI in the Senate:

Last July, Heinrich reintroduced bipartisan legislation to promote AI innovation in the financial services industry. Heinrich’s Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act will establish regulatory guardrails at financial regulatory agencies for regulated entities to test AI projects, allowing them to experiment with cutting-edge technologies in a safe way.

In May 2025, Heinrich released a Request for Information (RFI) for the American Science Acceleration Project (ASAP), a bipartisan initiative aimed at building out national AI infrastructure to make science advancements 10 times faster by 2030.

In April 2025, Heinrich introduced the Health Tech Investment Act to improve health outcomes for Medicare patients by encouraging the use of cutting-edge, AI-enabled medical devices.

In March 2025, Heinrich reintroduced the MedShield Act to implement a recommendation of the National Security Commission on AI to create a program titled MedShield to leverage AI for national pandemic preparedness and response.

In May 2024, Heinrich successfully supported the authorization of over $521 million for AI and autonomy programs in the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The FY25 NDAA also included a provision that requires reporting to Congress on any Department of Defense (DoD) approval of lethal autonomous weapons systems, mirroring an amendment that Heinrich proposed in 2024. A separate provision builds on legislation that Heinrich secured in the FY20 NDAA to require the DoD to have a plan for a strong digital engineering workforce, including the appointment of a Chief Digital Engineering Recruitment and Management Officer for the DoD. The new provision reinforces the need for the DoD to implement the original requirement with urgency, and to focus specifically on filling out the AI workforce at the DoD.

In July 2024, Heinrich advanced the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024 (DEFIANCE Act), legislation he cosponsored to hold accountable those responsible for the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexually-explicit “deepfake” images and videos. Heinrich also introduced the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act (COPIED ACT), legislation to set new federal transparency guidelines for marking, authenticating and detecting AI-generated content, protect journalists, actors, and artists against AI-driven theft, and hold violators accountable for abuses. 

In 2020, Heinrich helped secure the most significant advancements for AI ever. The FY21 NDAA included a modified version of his AI Initiative Act, a national strategy aimed at bolstering U.S. leadership in AI research and development. This legislation also included the bipartisan National AI Initiative Act to establish National AI Research Institutes at universities across the country.    

Additionally, Heinrich helped pass the AI for the Armed Forces Act to advance the DoD’s AI capabilities. He also helped provide the Pentagon with enhanced hiring authorities to recruit more AI professionals and other personnel with computational skills relevant to military applications.