Text of Senate Amendment 6115

On 2026-06-24, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6115" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6115

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3320-S3321] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6115. Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. Coons) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: SEC. __. ANTI-RETALIATION PROTECTION FOR AI WHISTLEBLOWERS. (a) Prohibition Against Retaliation.--No employer may, directly or indirectly, discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, blacklist, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against a covered individual in the terms and conditions of employment or post-employment of the covered individual (or, in the case of a covered individual who is not an employee, the terms and conditions of work or post-work of the covered individual) because of any lawful act done by the covered individual-- (1) in providing information regarding an AI violation, or any conduct that the covered individual reasonably believes constitutes an AI violation, to-- (A) the appropriate regulatory official or the Attorney General; (B) a regulatory or law enforcement agency; or (C) any Member of Congress or any committee of Congress; (2) in initiating, testifying in, or assisting in any investigation or judicial or administrative action of an appropriate regulatory or law enforcement agency or the Department of Justice, or any investigation of Congress, based upon or related to the information described in paragraph (1); or (3) in providing information regarding an AI violation, or any conduct that the covered individual reasonably believes constitutes an AI violation, to-- (A) a person with supervisory authority over the covered individual at the employer of the covered individual; or (B) another individual working for the employer described in subparagraph (A) whom the covered individual reasonably believes has the authority to-- (i) investigate, discover, or terminate the misconduct; or (ii) take any other action to address the misconduct. (b) Enforcement.-- (1) In general.--A covered individual who alleges they are aggrieved by a violation of subsection (a) may seek relief under paragraph (3) by-- (A) filing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (2)(A); or (B) if the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final decision in accordance with such paragraph within 180 days of the filing of a complaint under subparagraph (A), and there is no showing that such a delay is due to the bad faith of the covered individual, bringing an action against the employer at law or in equity in the appropriate district court of the United States, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to the amount in controversy. (2) Procedure.-- (A) Department of labor complaints.-- (i) In general.--Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii) and paragraph (3), a complaint filed with the Secretary of Labor under paragraph (1)(A) shall be governed by the rules and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of title 49, United States Code, including the legal burdens of proof described in such section. (ii) Exceptions.--With respect to a complaint filed under paragraph (1)(A), notification required under section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, shall be made to each person named in the complaint, including the employer. (iii) Enforcement of orders.--In addition to any final order issued pursuant to paragraph (3) of section 42121(b) of title 49, United States Code, with respect to a complaint filed by a covered individual under paragraph (1)(A), a preliminary order issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of such section by the Secretary of Labor with respect to such a complaint may be enforced by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to section 42121(b)(5) of such title or by the covered individual pursuant to section 42121(b)(6) of such title. (B) District court actions.-- (i) Jury trial.--A party to an action brought under paragraph (1)(B) shall be entitled to trial by jury. (ii) Statute of limitations.-- (I) In general.--An action may not be brought under paragraph (1)(B)-- (aa) more than 6 years after the date on which the violation of subsection (a) occurs; or (bb) more than 3 years after the date on which facts material to the right of action are known, or reasonably should have been known, by the covered individual bringing the action. (II) Required action within 10 years.--Notwithstanding subclause (I), an action under paragraph (1)(B) may not in any circumstance be brought more than 10 years after the date on which the violation occurs. (3) Relief.--Relief for a covered individual prevailing with respect to a complaint filed under paragraph (1)(A) or an action under paragraph (1)(B) shall include-- (A) reinstatement with the same seniority status that the covered individual would have had, but for the violation; (B) 2 times the amount of back pay otherwise owed to the covered individual, with interest; (C) the payment of compensatory damages, which shall include compensation for litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorneys' fees; and (D) any other appropriate remedy with respect to the violation as determined by the Secretary of Labor in a complaint under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) or by the court in an action under subparagraph (B) of such paragraph. (c) Nonenforceability Waivers of Rights or Remedies.--The rights and remedies provided for in this section may not be waived or altered by any contract, agreement, policy form, or condition of employment (or condition of work or post-work), including by any agreement requiring a covered individual to engage in arbitration, mediation, or any other alternative dispute resolution process prior to seeking relief under subsection (b). (d) Rights Retained by Covered Individuals.--Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual under any Federal or State law, or under any collective bargaining agreement. (e) Predispute Arbitration Agreements.--No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement requires arbitration of a dispute arising under this section. (f) Definitions.--In this section: (1) AI violation.--The term ``AI violation'' means-- (A) any violation of Federal law, including rules and regulations, related to or committed as part of the development, deployment, or use of artificial intelligence or an artificial system; (B) any failure to appropriately respond to a substantial and specific danger that the development, deployment, or use of artificial intelligence may pose to public safety, public health, or national security; or (C) any failure or lapse in security that reasonably could be expected to cause artificial intelligence technology to be acquired by a person (including a foreign entity) by theft or other unlawful means. (2) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial intelligence'' includes any of the following: (A) An artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight, or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets. (B) An artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other context that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action. (C) An artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks. (D) A set of techniques, including machine learning, that are designed to approximate a cognitive task. (E) An artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision making, and acting. (F) Any computational technique, system, or process that is designed to approximate, automate, or augment functions of human cognition, perception, planning, prediction, decision making, communication, or physical action, including machine learning, statistical inference, knowledge representation, or algorithmic reasoning. (3) Artificial system.--The term ``artificial system''-- (A) means any data system, software, application, tool, or utility that operates in whole or in part using dynamic or static machine learning algorithms or other forms of artificial intelligence, including in the case-- (i) the data system, software, application, tool, or utility is established primarily for the purpose of researching, developing, or implementing artificial intelligence technology; or (ii) artificial intelligence capability is integrated into another system or agency business process, operational activity, or technology system; (B) means any system, tool, or application that-- (i) uses artificial intelligence to generate outputs affecting digital or physical environments; and (ii) operates with some capacity to generalize, adapt, or perform tasks beyond those explicitly pre-programmed by human designers; and [[Page S3321]] (C) does not include any common commercial product within which artificial intelligence is embedded, such as a word processor or map navigation system. (4) Commerce.--The terms ``commerce'' and ``industry or activity affecting commerce'' mean any activity, business, or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce, and include ``commerce'' and any ``industry affecting commerc