Senator Schmitt and Senator Warren Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Encourage Resiliency, Competition in Department of Defense’s Procurement of AI, Cloud Computing Tools

New bill offers meaningful guardrails to promote competition, protect national security

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Eric Schmitt and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced the bipartisan Protecting AI and Cloud Competition in Defense Act to ensure that the Department of Defense (DOD)’s procurement of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing tools prioritizes resiliency and competition. The bill offers meaningful regulation to encourage competition and level the playing field, so small and medium-sized start-ups have a seat at the table for Cloud and AI innovation at DoD:

“Competition and innovation are critical drivers of the Department of Defense’s ability to maintain its strategic advantage, ensuring that defense contractors, technology developers, and internal DoD teams are constantly striving to deliver cutting-edge solutions in an increasingly complex and dynamic global security environment,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.

“Right now, all of our eggs are in one giant Silicon Valley basket. That doesn’t only stifle innovation, but it’s more expensive and it seriously increases our security risks. Our new bill will make sure that as the Department of Defense keeps expanding its use of AI and cloud computing tools, it’s making good deals that will keep our information secure and our government resilient,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren.

BACKGROUND:

Government contracts play a powerful role in shaping markets. DOD has already awarded $9 billion in contracts to a handful of companies to build its cloud computing network and has requested an additional $1.8 billion for AI programs for fiscal year 2025. The Protecting AI and Cloud Competition in Defense Act will ensure that DOD’s new contracts protect competition in the AI and cloud computing markets, instead of giving an unfair advantage to a few big players. The bill also encourages DOD to consider cloud computing services from multiple providers, so the agency isn’t locked in by a single tech company.

Specifically, the bill would: 

• Require DOD — when contracting with cloud, foundation model, or data infrastructure providers that enter into contracts of $50 million or more with DOD annually — to administer a competitive award process, ensure that the government maintains exclusive rights to access and use of all government data, and consider multi-cloud technology where feasible and advantageous. 

• Require DOD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) to ensure that government data provided for the purpose of development and operation of AI products to DOD will not be disclosed or used without DOD authorization, and such government data, if stored on vendor systems, is appropriately protected from other data.

• Require DOD to publish a report every four years on competition, innovation, barriers to entry, and market power concentration in the AI sector, with recommendations for legislative and administrative action.

Read the full bill here.