MEANS Act

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

Risk subdomain coverage

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains. It primarily addresses supply chain resilience and manufacturing security, with only tangential mentions of AI as one of several 'key technology focus areas.' The document does not substantively address AI-specific risks, harms, or governance challenges from the MIT taxonomy.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• National Security

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Information
• Professional & Technical Services
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This Act governs manufacturing across multiple sectors, with particular emphasis on Agriculture, Mining, Construction and Manufacturing; Trade, Transportation and Utilities; Information (including AI and semiconductors); Scientific Research and Development Services; and Professional and Technical Services. The governance extends to critical goods manufacturing and supply chain resilience across these sectors.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that establishes mandatory obligations, creates a new federal office with enforcement authority, and authorizes appropriations with specific compliance requirements.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The bill was introduced by specific members of Congress and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which are the proposing entities for this legislation.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Deployer
• Summary: The Act targets entities eligible to receive loans and loan guarantees for manufacturing activities, including domestic manufacturers and enterprises that produce or procure critical goods, which may include AI-related manufacturing.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Under Secretary has authority to make determinations, award loans, establish criteria, revoke funding, and promulgate regulations. The Inspector General conducts audits and evaluations.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Under Secretary develops performance metrics and evaluates recipients. The Inspector General conducts audits every 4 years. Congressional committees receive reports and updates on the strategy.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

No lifecycle stages identified.

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document does not substantively address AI lifecycle stages. While AI is mentioned as one of several 'key technology focus areas,' the Act focuses on manufacturing supply chain resilience broadly, not on AI development, deployment, or monitoring specifically.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document mentions AI only as one item in a list of 'key technology focus areas' alongside semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, and other technologies. There are no definitions of AI models, systems, or specific AI categories. The focus is on manufacturing and supply chain resilience, not AI governance.