Lawmaker Seeks Budget to Build AI Assistant for House Staffers

Lawmaker Seeks Budget to Build AI Assistant for House Staffers

Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) has requested funding for an artificial intelligence agent that will help U.S. House staff find information, interact with the chamber’s systems and data, and support the development of customized skills and tools.

Bice, who is chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation, said in a Tuesday (July 28) press release that the AI agent, My Intelligent Assistant (Mia), would be secure, customizable and connected to data sources throughout the House.

The funding request is subject to approval by the House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee and the full House Appropriations Committee, according to the release, which did not mention a dollar amount.

“The Subcommittee is committed to creating an environment where staff are encouraged and enabled to build state-of-the-art tools that help us work better for our constituents,” Bice said in the release. “House staff are already building AI tools for managing schedules, summarizing bills, monitoring floor activity, and more. Mia will accelerate the kind of ongoing innovation that’s needed to ensure that Congress remains current.”

In another Tuesday press release, the Subcommittee announced the launch of a new initiative called the House AI Innovators Pipeline that is designed to help House staff build custom applications and tools for congressional operations.

The Subcommittee launched the initiative in partnership with the House AI Center, which was established in 2024 to provide technical guidance, training and secure development environments for House members and staff, according to the release.

The House AI Innovators Pipeline will enable staff to access a new secure environment for experimentation and development, which is called the House AI Center sandbox, and will provide staff with hands-on support from House AI Center technical experts.

“The House AI Innovators Pipeline will accelerate ongoing innovation and ensure Congress remains current in a rapidly changing world,” Bice said in the release.

It was reported Monday (July 27) that Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee issued a report that said that policymakers should encourage broader adoption of AI-powered fraud detection technologies.

The lawmakers’ report said that AI can provide financial institutions and government agencies with sophisticated tools to detect and prevent AI-powered financial fraud.