{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-heinrich-introduce-legislation-to-leverage-artificial-intelligence-for-pandemic-preparedness-and-response", "Rounds, Heinrich Introduce Legislation to Leverage Artificial Intelligence for Pandemic Preparedness and Response", "2024-09-26", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "Mike Rounds", "R000605", "www.rounds.senate.gov", "rounds", "https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), co-chairs of the Senate Artificial Intelligence (AI) Caucus, today introduced legislation to leverage AI for national pandemic preparedness and response through a program called MedShield. The legislation would implement a recommendation of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.\n\nMedShield would be the United States\u2019 \u201cshield\u201d to proactively protect the nation against future pandemics and avoid the preparedness issues that plagued the nation at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. To that end, MedShield would foster collaboration between the public and private sectors as well as with global allies and partners. The program would leverage AI to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of U.S. pandemic prevention and response across five key areas:\n\nPathogen detection and surveillance\n\nVaccine development\n\nTherapeutic development\n\nModeling for pathogen tracking and vaccine distribution\n\nRapid manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics.\n\n\u201cGiven the millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic costs resulting from COVID-19, we need to make strategic investments in pandemic prevention and preparedness. I believe AI should play a key role in those efforts\u201d said Rounds. \u201cThe MedShield program would utilize AI to help the U.S. identify pathogens that pose pandemic threats and work quickly to develop necessary protections. I\u2019m pleased to be introducing this legislation with Senator Heinrich, my co-chair of the Senate AI Caucus, to leverage AI to save lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cAI holds amazing potential to supercharge major scientific and medical advances \u2013 including our ability to anticipate and address the next public health crisis,\u201d said Heinrich, Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus. \u201cBy leveraging AI, our Medshield Act gives us a significant advantage in preparing for the emergence of new biological threats to prevent the next pandemic.\u201d\n\n\"I strongly support and applaud Senators Rounds\u2019 and Heinrich\u2019s leadership in introducing legislation to create the MedShield program. This critical program is a key recommendation from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, recognizing the transformative role AI can play in pandemic preparedness,\u201d said Ylli Bajraktari, the former Executive Director of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. \u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for rapid innovation in detecting threats and accelerating vaccine and therapeutic development with AI. MedShield will bring together the power of AI and human ingenuity, significantly enhancing our ability to respond to future biological threats with speed and precision. This legislation is a crucial step toward creating an integrated AI-enabled system that will safeguard public health and our national security.\"\n\n\u201cI am excited to see the MedShield program move forward,\u201d said Jos\u00e9-Marie Griffiths, President of Dakota State University. \u201cWhen we embrace the full potential of artificial intelligence to address complex problems such as pandemics, we can find new and innovative solutions for serious issues. These technologies allow us to open the door to possible approaches which will not only solve problems, but prevent them.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs we identify needs in our communities and develop solutions, a key focus for the University of South Dakota and our state is \u2018AI for good,\u2019\u201d said Sheila K. Gestring, President of the University of South Dakota. \u201cAI plays a powerful role in health care and community health, as it helps us access accurate and reliable information, make predictions based on data, and support informed decision-making. Through the smart and effective use of AI, we have the opportunity to improve human lives and develop the tools we need to face the challenges of the future. I applaud Senator Rounds for his continued focus on supporting efforts to leverage AI for good.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe applaud this initiative to leverage AI for creating an integrated system that will identify threats and speed response times during a pandemic,\u201d said Dr. Lance Roberts, Interim President at the South Dakota School of Mines. \u201cData is being created at an exponential rate and the use of AI is a necessity to process this information so critical decisions can be made in a timely manner.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe 'MedShield Act of 2024' presents an opportunity to leverage cutting-edge AI technologies that could support the efficiency, accuracy, and effectiveness of our healthcare response infrastructure,\u201d said Dr. Shanna O\u2019Connor, Department Head of Pharmacy at South Dakota State University. \u201cAs someone who has firsthand experience in navigating the challenges of public health crises, I believe the integration of AI-supported tools in both therapeutic development and deployment may significantly strengthen our preparedness for future health emergencies.\u201d\n\nThe legislation includes:\n\nFindings and a Sense of Congress addressing the nation\u2019s need to be better prepared for a pandemic, noting the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) recommendation and the need to avoid an initiative such as Operation Warp Speed for the next pandemic.\n\nRequirement for the United States Department of Health and Human Services to operationalize AI to implement the NSCAI recommendation.\n\nAuthorization of funding for each fiscal year during FY 2025 \u2013 2029.\n\nClick HERE for full bill text.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-heinrich-introduce-legislation-to-leverage-artificial-intelligence-for-pandemic-preparedness-and-response"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3145271223038435, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}