Department of Energy Veterans’ Health Initiative Act
The source supplies the latest action, but no lifecycle stage.
Latest action (16 Aug 2019): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 172.
What this bill does
S. 143, the Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act, would direct the Department of Energy to establish a competitive research program applying artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, machine learning, and large-scale data analytics to veterans' healthcare challenges. The program would use health and genomic data collected from veteran populations, build secure data storage facilities at National Laboratories, and require coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs on data privacy, security, and access. The bill also creates a separate two-year pilot program at the Department of Energy for broader artificial intelligence and data analytics research using datasets from federal agencies, universities, nonprofits, and industry.
The bill primarily affects the Department of Energy, its National Laboratories, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which would work together on research partnerships; it also opens funding opportunities to universities and other research institutions. Veterans could be indirectly affected through potential future improvements in healthcare research using their data, subject to VA privacy and consent policies. The Department of Veterans Affairs would allocate up to $27 million from fiscal years 2019–2023 for the veterans' health research program, and the Department of Energy would allocate up to $26 million for each of fiscal years 2019 and 2020 for the pilot program, both subject to available appropriations. Both programs require reports to relevant congressional committees within two years of enactment.
The bill was introduced in January 2019 by Senator Ernst with bipartisan cosponsors and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which reported it favorably without amendment in August 2019. It has not received a floor vote and did not become law in the 116th Congress.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act
This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a research program in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing that is focused on the development of tools to (1) solve big data challenges associated with veterans' health care, and (2) support the Department of Veterans Affairs in identifying potential health risks and challenges.
DOE shall carry out a pilot program to develop tools for big data analytics in order to advance artificial intelligence technologies to solve complex big data challenges.
Timeline
16 Aug 2019
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 172.
Common questions
- What does S. 143 do?
- S. 143, the Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act, would direct the Department of Energy to establish a competitive research program applying artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, machine learning, and large-scale data analytics to veterans' healthcare challenges. The program would use health and genomic data collected from veteran populations, build secure data storage facilities at National Laboratories, and require coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs on data privacy, security, and access. The bill also creates a separate two-year pilot program at the Department of Energy for broader artificial intelligence and data analytics research using datasets from federal agencies, universities, nonprofits, and industry. The bill primarily affects the Department of Energy, its National Laboratories, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which would work together on research partnerships; it also opens funding opportunities to universities and other research institutions. Veterans could be indirectly affected through potential future improvements in healthcare research using their data, subject to VA privacy and consent policies. The Department of Veterans Affairs would allocate up to $27 million from fiscal years 2019–2023 for the veterans' health research program, and the Department of Energy would allocate up to $26 million for each of fiscal years 2019 and 2020 for the pilot program, both subject to available appropriations. Both programs require reports to relevant congressional committees within two years of enactment. The bill was introduced in January 2019 by Senator Ernst with bipartisan cosponsors and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which reported it favorably without amendment in August 2019. It has not received a floor vote and did not become law in the 116th Congress.
- Has S. 143 become law?
- The source does not supply a confirmed lifecycle stage for S. 143. Check the latest action and official source below.
- Who sponsored S. 143?
- S. 143 was sponsored by Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA), with 6 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on S. 143?
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 172. (16 Aug 2019).
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