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S. 1257Senate117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

AI Scholarship-for-Service Act

Sponsored by Gary C. PetersSen. Gary C. Peters (D-MI)
Introduced April 20, 2021

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 8, 2026 at 1:51 AM UTC

The AI Scholarship-for-Service Act creates a federal program that funds AI‑focused college students with full tuition scholarships and a stipend, then requires them to work for the government for an equal period after graduation. It targets recruitment for federal, state, local and tribal AI roles and sets up a system for monitoring, reporting, and updating the program.

Key Provisions

  • The National Science Foundation, in coordination with OPM, NIST and other agencies, will establish the scholarship‑for‑service program and set criteria for qualified colleges based on AI excellence and diversity.
  • Scholarships cover tuition and fees for up to three years plus a stipend, and include summer or registered internships on AI projects.
  • Recipients must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, enrolled full‑time (or at least half‑time) in an AI‑related degree, or AI faculty on sabbatical, and must agree to work for a government agency for a period equal to the scholarship length.
  • After completing the scholarship, recipients are appointed in the excepted service and may be converted non‑competitively to term or career positions.
  • If a recipient leaves before fulfilling the service obligation, the scholarship is treated as a loan and must be repaid under federal student‑loan terms, with repayment managed by the awarding institution.
  • Participating colleges must monitor recipients’ post‑award employment and report annually to NSF; NSF will publish annual evaluations and submit detailed reports to congressional committees every three years.
  • The program’s rules and criteria will be reviewed and updated at least every two years to keep pace with AI advances.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

April 20, 2021

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

April 20, 2021

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

April 20, 2021

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued April 20, 2021

II

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1257

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 20, 2021

Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To establish a Federal artificial intelligence scholarship-for-service program.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the AI Scholarship-for-Service Act.

2.

Federal Artificial Intelligence Scholarship-for-Service Program

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Artificial intelligence

The term artificial intelligence or AI has the meaning given the term artificial intelligence in section 238(g) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note).

(2)

Executive agency

The term executive agency has the meaning given the term Executive agency in section 105 of title 5, United States Code.

(3)

Registered internship

The term registered internship means a Federal Registered Internship Program coordinated through the Department of Labor.

(b)

In general

The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the heads of other agencies with appropriate scientific knowledge, shall establish a Federal artificial intelligence scholarship-for-service program (referred to in this section as the Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Program) to recruit and train artificial intelligence professionals to lead and support the application of artificial intelligence to the missions of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments.

(c)

Qualified institution of higher education

The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the heads of other agencies with appropriate scientific knowledge, shall establish criteria to designate qualified institutions of higher education that shall be eligible to participate in the Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service program. Such criteria shall include—

(1)

measures of the institution's demonstrated excellence in the education of students in the field of artificial intelligence; and

(2)

measures of the institution's ability to attract and retain a diverse and non-traditional student population in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which may include the ability to attract women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities.

(d)

Program description and components

The Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Program shall—

(1)

provide scholarships through qualified institutions of higher education to students who are enrolled in programs of study at institutions of higher education leading to degrees or concentrations in or related to the artificial intelligence field;

(2)

provide the scholarship recipients with summer internship opportunities, registered internships, or other meaningful temporary appointments in the Federal workforce focusing on artificial intelligence (referred to in this section as AI) projects or research;

(3)

prioritize the employment placement of scholarship recipients in executive agencies;

(4)

identify opportunities to promote multi-disciplinary programs of study that integrate basic or advanced AI training with other fields of study, including those that address the social, economic, legal, and ethical implications of human interaction with AI systems; and

(5)

support capacity-building education research programs that will enable postsecondary educational institutions to expand their ability to train the next-generation AI workforce, including AI researchers and practitioners.

(e)

Scholarship amounts

Each scholarship under subsection (d) shall be in an amount that covers the student’s tuition and fees at the institution for not more than 3 years and provides the student with an additional stipend.

(f)

Post-Award employment obligations

Each scholarship recipient, as a condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, shall enter into an agreement under which the recipient agrees to work for a period equal to the length of the scholarship, following receipt of the student’s degree, in the AI mission of—

(1)

an executive agency;

(2)

Congress, including any agency, entity, office, or commission established in the legislative branch;

(3)

an interstate agency;

(4)

a State, local, or Tribal government, which may include instruction in AI-related skill sets in a public school system; or

(5)

a State, local, or Tribal government-affiliated nonprofit that is considered to be critical infrastructure (as defined in section 1016(e) of the USA Patriot Act (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))).

(g)

Hiring authority

(1)

Appointment in excepted service

Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service, an executive agency shall appoint in the excepted service an individual who has completed the eligible degree program for which a scholarship was awarded.

(2)

Noncompetitive conversion

Except as provided in paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the service term, an employee appointed under paragraph (1) may be converted noncompetitively to term, career-conditional or career appointment.

(3)

Timing of conversion

An executive agency may noncompetitively convert a term employee appointed under paragraph (2) to a career-conditional or career appointment before the term appointment expires.

(4)

Authority to decline conversion

An executive agency may decline to make the noncompetitive conversion or appointment under paragraph (2) for cause.

(h)

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this section, an individual shall—

(1)

be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States;

(2)

demonstrate a commitment to a career in advancing the field of AI;

(3)

be—

(A)

a full-time student in an eligible degree program at a qualified institution of higher education, as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation;

(B)

a student pursuing a degree on a less than full-time basis, but not less than half-time basis; or

(C)

an AI faculty member on sabbatical to advance knowledge in the field; and

(4)

accept the terms of a scholarship under this section.

(i)

Conditions of support

(1)

In general

As a condition of receiving a scholarship under this section, a recipient shall agree to provide the qualified institution of higher education with annual verifiable documentation of post-award employment and up-to-date contact information.

(2)

Terms

A scholarship recipient under this section shall be liable to the United States as provided in subsection (k) if the individual—

(A)

fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing at the applicable institution of higher education, as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation;

(B)

is dismissed from the applicable institution of higher education for disciplinary reasons;

(C)

withdraws from the eligible degree program before completing the program;

(D)

declares that the individual does not intend to fulfill the post-award employment obligation under this section; or

(E)

fails to fulfill the post-award employment obligation of the individual under this section.

(j)

Monitoring compliance

As a condition of participating in the program, a qualified institution of higher education shall—

(1)

enter into an agreement with the Director of the National Science Foundation, to monitor the compliance of scholarship recipients with respect to their post-award employment obligations; and

(2)

provide to the Director of the National Science Foundation, on an annual basis, the post-award employment documentation required under subsection (i)(1) for scholarship recipients through the completion of their post-award employment obligations.

(k)

Amount of repayment

(1)

Less than 1 year of service

If a circumstance described in subsection (i)(2) occurs before the completion of 1 year of a post-award employment obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section shall—

(A)

be repaid; or

(B)

be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with subsection (l).

(2)

1 or more years of service

If a circumstance described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of subsection (i)(2) occurs after the completion of 1 or more years of a post-award employment obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years of service completed divided by the number of years of service required, shall—

(A)

be repaid; or

(B)

be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with subsection (l).

(l)

Repayments

A loan described in subsection (k) shall—

(1)

be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); and

(2)

be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the date of the scholarship award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified by the Director of the National Science Foundation (in consultation with the Secretary of Education).

(m)

Collection of repayment

(1)

In general

In the event that a scholarship recipient is required to repay the scholarship award under this section, the qualified institution of higher education providing the scholarship shall—

(A)

determine the repayment amounts and notify the recipient and the Director of the National Science Foundation of the amounts owed; and

(B)

collect the repayment amounts within a period of time as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation, or the repayment amounts shall be treated as a loan in accordance with subsection (l).

(2)

Returned to Treasury

Except as provided in paragraph (3), any repayment under this subsection shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States.

(3)

Retain percentage

A qualified institution of higher education may retain a percentage of any repayment the institution collects under this subsection to defray administrative costs associated with the collection. The Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities, and may update this percentage as needed, in the determination of the Director of the National Science Foundation.

(n)

Exceptions

The Director of the National Science Foundation may provide for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any service or payment obligation by an individual under this section whenever compliance by the individual with the obligation is impossible or would involve extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement of such obligation with respect to the individual would be unconscionable.

(o)

Public information

(1)

Evaluation

The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall annually evaluate and make public, in a manner that protects the personally identifiable information of scholarship recipients, information on the success of recruiting individuals for scholarships under this section and on hiring and retaining those individuals in the public sector AI workforce, including information on—

(A)

placement rates;

(B)

where students are placed, including job titles and descriptions;

(C)

salary ranges for students not released from obligations under this section;

(D)

how long after graduation students are placed;

(E)

how long students stay in the positions they enter upon graduation;

(F)

how many students are released from obligations; and

(G)

what, if any, remedial training is required.

(2)

Reports

The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Office of Personnel Management, shall submit, not less frequently than once every 3 years, to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a report, including the results of the evaluation under paragraph (1) and any recent statistics regarding the size, composition, and educational requirements of the Federal AI workforce.

(3)

Resources

The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall provide consolidated and user-friendly online resources for prospective scholarship recipients, including, to the extent practicable—

(A)

searchable, up-to-date, and accurate information about participating institutions of higher education and job opportunities related to the AI field; and

(B)

a modernized description of AI careers.

(p)

Refresh

Not less than once every 2 years, the Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall review and update the Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Program to reflect advances in technology.