Lieu-backed bill would launch national AI prize competitions program

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu authored a bill in the House that seeks to boost artificial intelligence research and innovation through a nationwide series of prize competitions, the U.S. Congress reports.

H.R.7434 was brought before the House on Feb. 9, 2026, during the 119th Congress’s 2026 regular session. Below, we provide a summary based on the official bill text, with some explanatory notes to clarify its main measures.

The proposal gives authority to the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish the AI Grand Challenges Program within a year of the bill becoming law. This initiative will encourage AI research and development through a series of prize competitions across several areas such as health, cybersecurity, and national security. The program’s mandate includes defining targeted grand challenges, formulating detailed problem descriptions, and setting measurable benchmarks to judge competition entries. Importantly, the bill directs a specific grand challenge to accelerate medical advancements for lethal forms of cancer, attached to a minimum prize of $10 million. The Director may gather funding from public agencies and private organizations, with the aim of keeping these contests accessible and transparent. Congress will receive reports outlining program progress every two years, improving oversight and engagement from the public and lawmakers alike.

This legislation was introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif., 36th District) and co-sponsored by Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif., 23rd District).

Rep. Lieu has introduced 29 other bills during the ongoing congressional session.

An equivalent measure, S.3809, was introduced in the Senate on Feb. 9, 2026. Congressional records classify the Senate bill as an identical companion to H.R.7434.

Congressional bills may originate in either the House or Senate, except for revenue bills, which must start in the House. Once introduced, bills are referred to committees for deliberation, amendments, hearings and discussion before returning to each chamber for voting. If both chambers agree to an identical version, the measure moves to the president, who can either sign it into law or issue a veto. Congress conducts business in two-year terms, each divided into two sessions and numbered sequentially. Official legislative records and the process overview are available at Congress.gov.

Ted Lieu is a California Representative serving since Jan. 3, 2015, initially elected to the 114th Congress and returned for each of the next five terms. His background includes service on the Torrance City Council, the California State Assembly, and State Senate, as well as an unsuccessful campaign for state attorney general in 2010.

Lieu received both a B.A. and a B.S. from Stanford University in 1991, followed by a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1994. He served in the United States Air Force from 1995 to 1999, then in the Air Force Reserve from 2000 to 2021, and has experience as a judicial clerk and private attorney.

Details for this article came from the U.S. Congress. Source data can be accessed here.