S. 3965: Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act of 2020

116th Congress · introduced 2020-06-16 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

AI-relatedfederal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-06-16 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act of 2020

Plain summary

Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to (1) exercise authority and direction over the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center; (2) develop a training and certification program on software development, data science, and artificial intelligence that is tailored to the needs of the covered human resources workforce (i.e., the human resources professionals, hiring managers, and recruiters who are or will be responsible for hiring software developers, data scientists, or artificial intelligence professionals); (3) issue guidance to the secretaries of the military departments and the heads of the defense components on improved use of the direct hiring processes for artificial intelligence professionals and other data science and software development personnel; and (4) modify the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test to add a new subtest addressing computational thinking skills relevant to military applications.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act of 2020

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] reported raising $1.7 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Artificial intelligence (AI): Computer systems that do tasks that usually need human judgment, such as recognizing images, understanding language or making predictions. Laws about AI often cover how it is used, tested, disclosed or limited.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s3965.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s3965 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116