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AI agency would give new tech one federal home
Representative Luz M. Rivas wants a single place in Washington to handle artificial intelligence and other fast-moving technologies. Backers say that could make federal policy easier to find and less scattered across agencies.
In the House, California Democrat Luz M. Rivas has introduced a proposal to create the Department of Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence. For people already running into AI, or artificial intelligence, in search tools, hiring systems, public services and consumer apps, the practical idea is simple: give the technology a federal home of its own.
The filing was made June 15. It also says Congress has the power to enact the bill under Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution, the clause lawmakers use when they believe federal machinery is needed to carry out the government’s duties.
The office people would call first
A separate department would matter because it can gather expertise and become the place people look when a policy question keeps showing up in different corners of government. That can make federal direction easier to find, especially when a technology spreads faster than the rules around it.
For now, the clearest thing about the proposal is what it tries to create: a named federal department for advanced technology and artificial intelligence. The measure does not pretend that AI is still a niche issue. It treats it as something already embedded in everyday systems, with enough reach to justify its own lane.