September kicks off the final legislative month before the November elections and both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in recess in October. Most of September will focus on efforts to keep the federal government funded as the fiscal year 2024 officially ends on September 30, and every expectation is that a continuing resolution (CR)—a temporary funding measure—will be required to keep the government open come October 1. This approach has been the norm for the past several years, but this year the limited legislative calendar and hesitation to address the funding measures before the election further impacts the need for a CR.
Another area where we expect to see legislative activity is around artificial intelligence (AI) policy. AI-related issues have been a growing concern across the spectrum of the federal government. We have seen a lot of legislative activity throughout this Congress—almost like a constant drumbeat sounding the alarm on potential risks. And the Biden administration is also playing its own part in highlighting the importance of this issue. From work on the administration’s executive order this past year to the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group’s “road map” that was released in May, there is a broad bipartisan understanding that the government needs to proactively work to safeguard against the risks of AI while ensuring the benefits of AI can be utilized.
We do not anticipate one grand AI legislative package, but rather multiple pieces of legislation for many years to come.
On Capitol Hill, AI issues fall under the jurisdiction of almost every committee, so tackling legislative proposals and related regulations are huge challenges. For the 118th Congress alone, over 400 pieces of legislation are focused on AI. For the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), the government affairs team is tracking efforts—with a particular focus on the use of AI for manufacturers—from data analytics to product design to robotics to workplace safety to workforce impact.
Road Map
The Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released a legislative road map earlier this year titled Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Policy in the United States Senate. While the road map is specific to the Senate, it is a good overview of the issues and goals that we expect Congress to continue to focus on for the rest of the 118th Congress and going into the 119th. Of course, the elections in November will impact the micro-level approaches to addressing AI issues, but the macro-level AI policy will continue to be a bipartisan priority.
The road map recommends:
- Increasing funding for AI innovation to propel U.S. leadership in AI, maintaining our global competitiveness, and performing cutting-edge AI research and development;
- Ensuring the enforcement of existing laws for AI such as ways to address any gaps or unintended harmful bias, prioritizing the development of standards for testing to understand potential AI harms, and developing specific requirements for AI transparency and explainability;
- Encouraging a conscientious consideration of the impact AI will have on our workforce, including the potential for job displacement and the need to upskill and retrain workers;
- Bolstering our national security by leading globally in the adoption of emerging technologies and addressing national security threats, risks, and opportunities for AI;
- Addressing challenges posed by deepfakes related to election content and nonconsensual intimate images as well as examining the impacts of AI on professional content creators and the journalism industry; and
- Identifying ways to ensure higher education institutions and companies of all sizes can compete in AI innovation, including through reviewing federal statutes and regulations that might affect innovation and fully funding the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource.
FPA will have many opportunities going forward to weigh in on AI issues that impact our membership. We do not anticipate one grand AI legislative package, but rather multiple pieces of legislation for many years to come. As we head into Manufacturing Month in October, we can highlight how the flexible packaging industry is using artificial intelligence to support the AI-enabled economy.