House bill seeks AI workforce tax credits, agency-led outreach

A pair of House lawmakers want a new tax credit for artificial intelligence workforce training — and an agency-led push to make sure companies take advantage of it.

The AI Workforce Training Act from Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., would amend the Internal Revenue Code so that companies can claim a tax credit if they offer various AI career development programs. 

“AI is already changing how we work and that transformation will keep getting faster, and we can’t let the American worker get left behind,” Gottheimer, co-chair of the House Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the Innovation Economy, said in a press release Wednesday. 

“Change is coming,” he continued, “and if we want America to continue to lead the world in AI innovation, we need to make sure American workers are ready for the jobs of the future. This bipartisan bill will help workers build critical AI skills, boost productivity, and strengthen our economy — all while keeping the United States at the front of the pack.”

Per the bill text, companies could claim a tax credit equivalent to 30% of qualified expenses to train employees on how to use, manage and build AI systems. The credit would be capped at $2,500 per employee annually. 

Expenses covered by the legislation include accredited courses, certificate programs and workshops. In-house instruction on topics such as AI ethics, data literacy, machine-learning fundamentals and prompt engineering would also be eligible for the tax credit.

To get the word out about the tax credit, the Commerce, Labor and Treasury departments would be tasked with developing and launching a public awareness campaign. The agency-run outreach would include informational webinars, publications, and multilingual materials distributed through small business development centers, trade groups and job boards.

“If quantum computing and AI are the future, our workforce can’t be left behind,” Lawler said in the press release. “This workforce tax credit gives them the training they need to compete for the high-paying tech jobs of tomorrow, right here at home.”

The legislation from Gottheimer and Lawler follows a string of AI workforce-related bills introduced at the end of last year, including a bipartisan, bicameral effort to help agencies recruit and retain AI talent; a push from Senate Democrats to get Commerce, Education and Labor to study AI’s effect on the workforce; and a bipartisan Senate attempt to put DOL at the center of an AI workforce research hub.