Nancy Mace Promotes Use Of AI In Federal Government To 'Save Taxpayers A Whole Lot Of Money'

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At Thursday's House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) discussed the use of AI by the federal government.

Transcript

00:00Oversight and government reform will now come to order and we welcome everyone this morning.

00:08Without objection, the chair may declare a recess at any time.

00:11I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening statement.

00:15Good morning and thank you for joining us for this discussion on the federal government

00:19and artificial intelligence today.

00:21AI is no longer some futuristic idea.

00:24It's here and it's already reshaping everything from healthcare and national defense to finance

00:29and fraud prevention.

00:32The federal government has a responsibility to harness this technology to make government

00:36work faster and more efficiently for the American people.

00:41Today we'll highlight the critical uses of AI in the federal government which create efficiencies,

00:45improve services and save taxpayers a whole lot of money.

00:50The Department of Defense is using AI to improve decision making and protect our men and women

00:54in uniform.

00:56Federal agencies are using AI to detect fraud before it happens by using the technology

01:01to identify patterns of fraudulent behavior and working proactively to prevent improper payments.

01:06AI agents are beginning to help the administrative tasks, freeing up federal employees to focus

01:12on their mission instead of paperwork.

01:15However, barriers remain and challenges must be addressed so the government is to fully realize

01:21the benefits of this transformative technology.

01:24For example, many outdated legacy IT systems don't integrate with new technologies.

01:29A cumbersome procurement process limits agency access to some of the best new technologies,

01:35including those utilizing AI.

01:38And poor data management leads to information silos and duplicative work which cost taxpayers money

01:44and prevents agencies from realizing the full potential of AI.

01:48This committee has continued to highlight these challenges and will play a major role in addressing

01:53them, including by continuing bipartisan legislative efforts from last Congress.

01:58This includes the bipartisan federal AI Governance and Transparency Act led by Chairman Comer

02:03and then Ranking Member Raskin, which laid out a vision for transparent and trustworthy

02:08AI use in government.

02:10It also includes the AI Training Extension Act, which I sponsored last Congress and reintroduced

02:16today.

02:17This bill will equip federal employees with the AI literacy and skills necessary to leverage

02:21AI across the federal government.

02:24I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement from the Chairman Comer highlighting

02:29the pivotal role this committee has to ensure agencies deploy AI responsibly and the bipartisan

02:34efforts of the committee on these issues.

02:37Without objection, President Trump has rightly identified the importance of US dominance in AI and has taken

02:43action to remove unnecessary barriers and unleash innovation.

02:47This is a refreshing reversal from the heavy handed regulation first approach to AI taken by the Biden

02:53administration.

02:54Last Congress, my subcommittee on cybersecurity information technology and government innovation held multiple

03:00hearings on the disastrous impacts of overreaching policies.

03:03And I was relieved to see the former President Biden's AI executive order rescinded on day one.

03:08This was a critical first step and since then, the White House has directed agencies to prioritize the

03:14deployment of AI and improve procurement processes to eliminate barriers to the federal government's use of AI.

03:21I believe it's important for this committee to watch these developments closely and work to ensure the executive branch has the tools and

03:28authorities to deploy AI at scale and realize the full potential of this incredible technology.

03:33I want to thank each of our witnesses this morning for sharing their time with us today and I look forward to hearing from each of you.

03:40I also want to thank my colleagues from the other side of the aisle who showed up in great number this morning, too.

03:45I appreciate your interest in this topic.

03:48This has been a bipartisan topic for this committee.

03:50And with that, I would like to recognize Ranking Member Lynch for his opening statement.

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