Mace Opens Hearing Examining the Federal Government’s Use of Artificial Intelligence

WASHINGTON—Today, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing on “The Federal Government in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” In her opening statement, Subcommittee Chairwoman Mace emphasized that the federal government has a responsibility to harness artificial intelligence (AI) effectively to improve services for the American people and save taxpayer money. She highlighted how federal agencies are already using AI to detect fraud, ensure federal employees are focused on their missions, and support our men and women in uniform. However, she stressed that the Oversight Committee and President Trump’s Administration recognize that barriers remain, and challenges must be addressed if the government is to fully realize the benefits of this transformative technology. She concluded that Congress has an opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure the entire federal government has the tools and authorities necessary to deploy AI at scale and harness the technology’s full potential.

Below are Subcommittee Chairwoman Mace’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Good morning and thank you for joining us for this discussion on the federal government and artificial intelligence. 

AI is no longer some futuristic idea—it’s here, and it’s already reshaping everything from healthcare and national defense to finance and fraud prevention.

The federal government has a responsibility to harness this technology to make government work faster and more efficiently for the American people.

Today, we will highlight the critical uses of AI in the federal government which create efficiencies, improve services, and save taxpayer money. 

The Department of Defense is using AI to improve decision-making and protect our men and women in uniform. 

Federal agencies are using AI to detect fraud before it happens—by using the technology to identify patterns of fraudulent behavior and working proactively to prevent improper payments. 

AI agents are beginning to help with administrative tasks, freeing up federal employees to focus on their mission instead of paperwork. 

However, barriers remain and challenges must be addressed if the government is to fully realize the benefits of this transformative technology.

For example, many outdated legacy IT systems don’t integrate with new technologies.

A cumbersome procurement process limits agency access to some of the best new technologies, including those utilizing AI.

And poor data management leads to information siloes and duplicative work which costs taxpayer money and prevents agencies from realizing the full potential of AI.

This Committee has continued to highlighted these challenges and will play a major role in addressing them, including by continuing bipartisan legislative efforts from last Congress. 

This includes the bipartisan Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act led by Chairman Comer and then-Ranking Member Raskin which laid out a vision for transparent and trustworthy AI use in government. 

It also includes the AI Training Extension Act, which I sponsored last Congress and reintroduced today. This bill will equip federal employees with the AI literacy and skills necessary to leverage AI across the federal government.

I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement from Chairman Comer highlighting the pivotal role this Committee has to ensure agencies deploy AI responsibly and the bipartisan efforts of the Committee on these issues.

President Trump has rightly identified the importance of U.S. dominance in AI and has taken action to remove unnecessary barriers and unleash innovation.

This is a refreshing reversal of the heavy-handed, regulation-first approach to AI taken by the Biden Administration. 

Last Congress, my Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation held multiple hearings on the disastrous impacts of these overreaching policies, and I was relieved to see former President Biden’s AI Executive Order rescinded on day 1.  

This was a critical first step and since then the White House has directed agencies to prioritize the deployment of AI and improve procurement processes to eliminate barriers to the federal government’s use of AI.  

I believe it is important for this committee to watch these developments closely and work to ensure the Executive Branch has the tools and authorities to deploy AI at scale and realize the full potential of this incredible technology.

I want to thank our witnesses for sharing their time with us today, and I look forward to hearing from each of you.