December 10, 2025

Reps. Jacobs, Obernolte, Fallon, Brown and Sens. Kim, Husted Lead Bipartisan and Bicameral Bill to Recruit Top AI Talent to Federal Government

Reps. Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Jay Obernolte (CA-23), Pat Fallon (TX-04), Shontel Brown (OH-11), and Senators Andy Kim (NJ-D) and Jon Husted (OH-R) introduced bipartisan and bicameral legislation to improve federal agencies’ abilities to recruit and retain the AI and technical talent needed to better compete in the AI race. The AI Talent Act would modernize federal hiring for AI and other high-demand technical roles by creating specialized talent teams, enabling skills-based hiring, and providing shared tools that help agencies identify and onboard qualified candidates faster.

 

Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “The United States can’t fully deliver on its national security mission, lead in responsible AI, and compete in the AI race if our federal agencies don’t have the talent to meet this moment. Right now, the government is competing with the private sector, which can hire faster and pay more, leaving critical roles unfilled and U.S. potential untapped. That’s why I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan and bicameral AI Talent Act to modernize hiring, recruit and retain top technical experts into public service, and guarantee the United States has the in-house capabilities to innovate safely, protect our country, and deliver for the American people.”

 

Congressman Jay Obernolte said: “Modernizing the way our government hires technical talent is essential to America’s competitiveness and national security. The AI Talent Act gives federal agencies the tools they need to recruit experts with real, demonstrated skills so we can responsibly adopt AI and strengthen mission delivery across government. This bipartisan bill helps ensure the United States continues to lead the world in innovation by bringing the best equipped people into public service at the right time.”

 

“It’s past time to modernize the federal government’s hiring process so we bring in the skilled workers needed to stay competitive in fast-growing fields like Artificial Intelligence. I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill that will help ensure AI is used responsibly throughout government and strengthen U.S. leadership in the technologies of the future,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown.

“America’s strength has always come from leading the world in innovation and technology,” commented

 

Rep. Pat Fallon (TX04). “To keep that edge and protect our national security, we must have the world’s best AI talent. Right now, an outdated, bureaucratic hiring system is pushing that talent elsewhere. The AI Talent Act fixes this so that we can recruit, retain, and deploy innovators who will ensure that our nation remains the global leader in AI for decades to come and can compete in the face of evolving technological threats.”

 

Senator Andy Kim said: “We should have strong bipartisan support for the importance of recruiting talent in government and uplifting the next generation of public servants. By providing specialized tools to recruit for expertise in emerging technologies like AI, this legislation can make us more competitive and build a well-equipped federal workforce to leverage AI for a more secure and stable future.”

 

Senator Jon Husted said: “AI will dominate the technology landscape of the future, and our country must be prepared. To win the AI race, we need every part of our government to understand and use this technology effectively. This bill would bring critical AI expertise into federal agencies, and I’m proud to lead it to make sure we’re hiring for the future.”

 

“We applaud Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Shontel Brown (D-OH), Pat Fallon (R-TX), and Sens. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) on their bipartisan efforts to ensure that the federal government has a skilled artificial intelligence (AI) workforce to serve the American people. As demand for sharp AI minds reaches an all-time high, this legislation would make it easier for government agencies to identify, hire, and retain first-class AI talent,” says Michele Stockwell, president of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action).

 

“Modernizing the way government recruits AI and technology talent is crucial for national competitiveness and public trust. This bill takes the smartest lessons from industry—skills-based assessments, pooled hiring, and subject-matter expertise—and puts them to work for the public good. This is a commonsense, bipartisan approach to bringing world-class technologists into federal service faster and more fairly,” said Sunny Gandhi, Vice President of Political Affairs, Encode AI.

 

“To make AI work for the American people and ensure its benefits are realized at home, government needs the talent to deploy it effectively. This bill takes a critical step toward building that capacity and accelerating trusted AI adoption across agencies,” said Hodan Omaar, Senior Policy Manager at ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation.

 

The AI Talent Act would:

  • Establish Agency Tech & AI Talent Teams to improve recruiting, assessments, job announcements, and candidate evaluation.

  • Authorize OPM to create a central AI and tech talent team to lead pooled hiring, provide training and support to agency hiring teams, and develop shared resources.

  • Allow subject-matter experts to develop and administer skills-based assessments to ensure candidates demonstrate real technical proficiency.

  • Enable agencies to share qualified candidate pools (“shared certificates”), reducing duplicate hiring cycles and speeding placement.

  • Create a shared online platform to reuse and customize validated technical assessments across government.

  • Phase out automated self-assessments over five years, with limited, publicly posted waivers.

  • Allow agencies to stand up additional talent teams in other high-need areas (e.g., cybersecurity, data science, health care, IT).

  • Authorize OPM to establish additional government-wide talent teams for high-need hiring priorities beyond AI and tech.

 

The AI Talent Act is endorsed by Encode AI, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC).

 

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