ENFORCE 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

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

• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

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

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
• Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• Competitive dynamics
• AI pursuing its own goals

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of risk domains, with primary focus on malicious actors (4.1, 4.2) and competitive dynamics (6.4). The Act addresses national security risks from foreign adversaries exploiting U.S. AI technologies, particularly concerning CBRN weapons, cyber operations, and evasion of human control. Coverage is concentrated in security and geopolitical competition domains.

Sector coverage

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

• National Security

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

• Information
• Scientific Research & Development Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This is external regulation that does not target specific economic sectors but rather governs U.S. persons across all sectors who engage with covered AI systems. The governance applies horizontally across the economy through export controls and licensing requirements for AI technologies with national security implications.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that amends existing export control law. It contains mandatory language throughout, establishes legal requirements for licensing, and grants enforcement authority to the President and Department of Commerce.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Mr. McCaul; Mr. Moolenaar; Mr. Krishnamoorthi; Ms. Wild; United States Congress; House Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Summary: The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by four named Representatives and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, indicating these Congressional actors are the proposers of this legislation.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Entities: United States persons
• Summary: The Act explicitly targets 'United States persons, wherever located' who are involved in activities related to covered AI systems and emerging technologies. This includes those who export, develop, produce, use, operate, install, maintain, or service covered AI systems.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: President of the United States; Department of Commerce; Secretary of Commerce; Secretary of State; Secretary of Defense; Secretary of Energy
• Summary: The Act grants enforcement authority to the President to control activities and require licenses. The Department of Commerce is designated as the licensing authority. Multiple Cabinet Secretaries are involved in defining covered AI systems and issuing regulations.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Department of Commerce; Secretary of Commerce; Secretary of State; Secretary of Defense; Secretary of Energy
• Summary: The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with other Cabinet Secretaries, is required to update the definition of covered AI systems 'as necessary,' implying ongoing monitoring responsibility. The licensing system also implies monitoring of compliance.

AI Lifecycle Stages

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

• Plan and Design
• Build and Use Model
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Deploy and Operate and Monitor stages through export controls and licensing requirements. It also addresses Build and Use Model stage by controlling activities related to design, development, and production of covered AI systems.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Models
• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly defines and covers AI systems and artificial intelligence broadly. It focuses on 'covered artificial intelligence systems' with dangerous capabilities but does not specifically mention frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, generative AI, or compute thresholds. It does define model weights as a technical component.