New Act Authorizes $25M Pilot Program to Bring AI Standards Meetings to the U.S.

This new legislation, the Promoting United States Leadership in Standards Act of 2025, is all about making sure the U.S. doesn’t fall behind in setting the global technical rules for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other critical emerging technologies. Think of it as a coordinated effort to ensure that when the world decides how AI should function—from safety protocols to data handling—American voices and interests are front and center, not an afterthought.

The AI Rulebook: Getting a Seat at the Table

The core of this bill is better organization and transparency. It directs the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working closely with the Secretary of State, to get a handle on exactly what’s happening globally in tech standards. Within one year of the law passing, they have to brief Congress on what technical standards are being developed, who is developing them, and which federal agencies are currently involved. This is the government’s way of reading the fine print and figuring out where the U.S. is winning or losing influence.

For the rest of us—the software engineers, manufacturers, and small business owners who rely on these technologies—the bill mandates the creation of an informational web portal. This portal will list ongoing international standards efforts and explain how U.S. businesses and federal agencies can participate. If you’re a startup trying to ensure your AI product is compliant worldwide, this portal is designed to cut through the bureaucracy and show you exactly where to plug in. Furthermore, every federal agency head must report their participation in these standards activities to the Secretary of State and the NIST Director, ensuring the government is finally coordinating its efforts instead of duplicating them.

Hosting the Party: The $25 Million Pilot Program

Perhaps the most concrete action is the establishment of a five-year pilot program, authorized for up to $5,000,000 annually from fiscal years 2024 through 2028. The goal is simple: to make it easier to host international standards meetings for AI and emerging tech right here in the United States. This is a strategic move, because hosting a meeting often means setting the agenda and increasing domestic participation.

NIST will offer grants to organizations that host these meetings. However, there’s a catch for the hosting organizations: the grants can cover no more than fifty percent (50%) of the meeting’s total cost. This means that while the government is helping, the organizations themselves must still foot at least half the bill. If you run a non-profit standards body, you get help with venue costs and planning, but you still need strong industry backing to make the event happen. The Director of NIST also gets to set a maximum dollar amount for any single grant and decide which technical areas get priority, which is a point of medium vagueness—it gives NIST flexibility but means the program’s focus could shift based on the Director's discretion.

This pilot program is designed to be tested and reviewed. Starting in the third year, Congress gets annual updates on how effective the program is, who got the grants, and where the attendees came from. This regular reporting is meant to ensure the $25 million total investment is actually achieving its goal of boosting U.S. leadership. If the program works well, the Director is tasked with recommending to Congress how to make it permanent within two years of the law’s enactment.