Durbin, Luján Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Improve AI Testing, Safeguarding Americans Against Risks
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Peter Welch (D-VT) today introduced the Testing and Evaluation Systems for Trusted Artificial Intelligence (TEST) AI Act of 2025, legislation to improve the federal government’s capacity to test and evaluate Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to drive innovation, protect national security, and build trust and confidence for Americans utilizing AI systems.
The TEST AI Act aims to ensure that AI systems used by federal agencies are trustworthy, secure, and objective, and lays the groundwork for broader national AI evaluation standards through a transparent and collaborative approach. The TEST AI Act would direct a collaboration between the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a testbed pilot program to develop and refine measurement standards for evaluating AI systems.
“While AI holds enormous positive potential, this new technology must be tested thoroughly to ensure that it is used responsibly,” said Durbin. “With the bipartisan TEST AI Act, we can direct the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop AI testbeds, allowing us to safely explore the boundaries of AI, establish necessary guardrails, and protect against misuse.”
“The TEST AI Act is a step towards transparency and accountability in artificial intelligence,” said Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) President Brad Carson. “Right now, AI systems are being deployed in high-stakes environments without independent oversight or clear standards. By building federal capacity for rigorous AI evaluations, this bill helps ensure AI tools are secure, effective, and ready for deployment."
Specifically, the TEST AI Act would:
- Codify the ongoing collaboration between NIST and DOE to evaluate AI models;
- Improve public-private partnerships through an AI Testing Working Group to guide standard development related to performance, reliability, security, privacy, and bias; and
- Direct the development of a public strategy for testing, construction of testbeds, and compilation of a report to Congress on the results and recommendations for future standards development.
Durbin, Luján, Blackburn, and Risch are co-leads of the Senate National Labs Caucus. The caucus works to elevate the National Labs’ visibility and support them as they meet national energy and security objectives. This caucus also helps identify bipartisan initiatives to maintain and extend U.S. leadership in critical scientific sectors.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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