S. 5518 — Make AI Work for Americans Act

This section establishes the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund within the Treasury, administered by the Secretary of Labor, to receive dedicated tax revenues and invest in worker training for family-sustaining jobs, entrepreneurial transitions, wealth-building, responsible artificial intelligence development, and mitigation of large-scale job losses. It appropriates to the Fund an amount equivalent to taxes received under new chapter 50B of the Internal Revenue Code plus a $30 billion repayable advance, transfers $7.5 million annually to the Department of Labor Inspector General for oversight, and establishes the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council to recommend allocations and determine significant labor market disruptions.

This section imposes a 5 percent excise tax on digital advertising revenue derived from advertisements displayed to United States users. The tax applies to covered taxpayers whose total revenue exceeds $50,000,000,000 or whose United States revenue exceeds $1,000,000,000 and whose United States digital advertising revenue exceeds $50,000,000, effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.

This section imposes an excise tax of $1.10 per 1,000,000 units of computational processing on covered artificial intelligence services used to generate content. It exempts the first 1,000,000 units per covered user each calendar year, requires providers to collect and remit the tax (or pay it on behalf of users), and allows providers a credit against the tax for payments made for noncommercial use by institutions of higher education (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) and certain 501(c)(3) research organizations, capped at 10 percent of the tax. It increases the failure-to-pay penalty by 200 percent and applies the tax to services utilized after December 31, 2026.

This section imposes a 50 percent tax on the excess of a covered taxpayer’s taxable income over 40 percent of its gross receipts. The tax applies to entities with more than $100 million in annual revenue that develop or train artificial intelligence models, use more than 50 megawatts or 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity for such activities, or provide computing services for artificial intelligence deployment, beginning with taxable years after December 31, 2026.

This section establishes the National Service for America’s Future program to create paid service-to-career pathways into human-centered jobs requiring judgment, trust, communication, and empathy. The program integrates national service with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act by connecting participants to one-stop centers, training providers, apprenticeships, and community colleges; requires a documented workforce outcome such as an industry credential, licensure support, postsecondary credit, or employment for every position; and directs State Commissions and boards to address workforce shortages in eligible service fields while excluding partisan, religious, and certain labor-law-violating entities from serving as host sites.

This section renames the self-employment assistance program as the Entrepreneurs of the Future program, removes the 5 percent cap on participants and the requirement that participants be likely to exhaust regular unemployment compensation, modifies the approved entrepreneurship activities, requires states to establish such programs, directs the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations and guidance, and provides 100 percent federal funding for allowances paid and related administrative expenses.

This section establishes the Small Business Futures Program. It directs the Secretary to award grants to States through their workforce agencies, using funds allocated from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund by the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, to expand services for entrepreneurship, self-employment, and small business ownership under approved State plans. States must coordinate with a lead small business development center and may use funds to create liaison offices that connect participants to counseling, technical assistance, community development financial institutions, and support for adopting digital tools and artificial intelligence.

This section expands the definition of career pathway under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to include entrepreneurial training and self-employment transition support. It adds definitions for MBDA Business Center, small business, and small business development center. It requires state and local workforce development boards to include representatives of small business development centers. It directs unified state plans to address career pathways for entrepreneurship and small business ownership and to coordinate with the Small Business Administration, MBDA Business Centers, and related entities. It adds entrepreneurship information and referrals to individualized career services and adds business plan development, incubation services, and business coaching (including digital tools and artificial intelligence) to training services.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor to transfer amounts from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund to the Small Business Administration for the Small Business Development Center Program, Microloan Program, Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, 7(a) loans, and small business investment company program; to the Department of Commerce for the MBDA Business Center Program and revolving loan funds under the Public Works and Economic Development Act; and to the Department of the Treasury for assistance under section 108 of the Riegle Community Development Act. It also permits use of transferred 7(a) funds to reduce or waive fees, increase guarantees, lower interest rates, or offset costs for covered entrepreneurs who completed the Entrepreneurs of the Future Program or received entrepreneurial training from specified providers.

This section requires states to set a minimum duration of unemployment benefits of at least 26 weeks and prohibits any variable duration formula or maximum benefit entitlement below that level. The requirement applies to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the earlier of a state's statutory or regulatory change or six months after the Council submits recommendations declaring a significant labor market disruption.

This section requires state unemployment compensation laws to set an individual's weekly benefit amount at the lesser of the state maximum or at least 75 percent of the individual's highest-quarter base period earnings divided by 13. It provides federal payments to states from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund for the added cost of benefits above the prior 40 percent replacement level, beginning 6 months after the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council declares a significant labor market disruption (or earlier if a state complies sooner), but only if the state does not reduce its maximum weekly benefit amount.

This section requires states to set the maximum weekly unemployment benefit amount at no less than two-thirds of the state's average weekly wage, as determined by the Secretary of Labor as of October 1 each year and applied to claims effective on or after January 1 of the following year. The requirement applies to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the earlier of a state's compliance or six months after a Council declaration of significant labor market disruption.

This section requires state unemployment compensation laws to determine eligibility using a base period of the four most recently completed calendar quarters preceding the claim effective date and including the most recent quarter before the benefit year, or an alternative base period meeting those criteria if the standard period would disqualify the individual. It applies to claims with effective dates on or after the earlier of state compliance or six months after a Council declaration of significant labor market disruption.

This section transfers at least $225,000,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2027 from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund to the Unemployment Trust Fund for fraud detection and prevention, equitable access to benefits, and timely payment of unemployment compensation. It requires the Secretary of Labor to award grants to states for identity verification, benefit calculation, fraud tools, claims processing, and subgrants to labor organizations and nonprofits assisting with enrollment in unemployment, health insurance, and workforce training, using a formula that allocates small states 48 percent, medium states 65 percent, and extra large states 133 percent of the base amount allocated to large states, based on average covered employment.

This section directs the Secretary of Labor, using amounts from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund, to provide states and territories with guidance on best practices for unemployment insurance administration, including identity verification, fraud detection and prevention, artificial intelligence use, data collection, and staff training. It also requires common definitions of related terms and expanded access to technical assistance, operational support, and implementation guidance.

This section directs the Secretary of Labor to study the feasibility of extending unemployment compensation benefits to covered workers—defined as self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and workers lacking sufficient work history—including analyses of required data, technology, fraud controls, financing options, and statutory changes. The Secretary must submit a report on the study to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee within 180 days of enactment.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to States from the AI Horizon Fund to establish or operate wage insurance pilot programs for individuals with earnings losses in occupations, industries, or regions affected by artificial intelligence or technological change, with payments lasting no longer than 2 years, or to establish, expand, or enhance short-time compensation programs. It requires ongoing evaluation and a report to Congress within 5 years and annually thereafter, recoupment of funds if a State terminates a program within 2 years or fails to meet requirements, and use of 0.25 percent of funds for outreach and best practices.

This section requires unified State workforce plans to analyze the impact of artificial intelligence on employment and identify industry sectors and occupations at higher risk of task or job displacement. It directs States to prepare an educated, skilled, and artificial intelligence-literate workforce, incorporate AI literacy into their alignment strategies, ensure AI-related education and training for participants, engage midcareer professionals, and coordinate with the State Commission on National and Community Service, including the National Service for America’s Future program, as a condition of receiving allotments for core programs and funding from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund.

This section requires each combined State plan covering core workforce programs and other listed activities to describe how artificial intelligence and its impacts on those programs were considered during plan development. It also authorizes the Secretary of Labor to award grants to States, funded from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund, to support employer and stakeholder coordination, integration of programs into a single plan, alignment of career pathways and credentials, and staff capacity for plan development.

This section authorizes local areas to use WIOA funds and amounts from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund to pay eligible providers for training services to youth through individual training accounts of at least $7,000. It requires written secondary school approval before an in-school youth under age 18 may use such an account during regular school hours, bars local areas from capping accounts below $7,000 or exceeding actual training costs, and directs coordination with other training sources. It applies parallel rules to adults and dislocated workers, including required notice of on-the-job training options.

This section establishes a competitive grant program to support community colleges in establishing, improving, or expanding workforce development programs that lead to nationally or regionally portable and stackable postsecondary credentials in high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations. Grants are awarded for initial periods of up to 4 years and may be renewed for additional 4-year periods based on performance; the Secretary may reserve up to 2 percent of appropriated funds for administration, technical assistance, outreach to rural and low-income-serving institutions, and evaluation.

This section requires professional development activities for staff in state public employment service offices to include training, strategies, and practices specific to serving midcareer workers and individuals displaced or at risk of displacement by technological change, automation, artificial intelligence, trade, or business restructuring. It mandates compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements. It replaces references to “State agencies” with “State workforce agencies.”

This section establishes a national workforce competency initiative, funded by the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund, to develop and disseminate voluntary national competency frameworks, model curricula, assessment tools, and industry-recognized credentials for high-demand occupations affected by technological change. The Secretary of Labor must convene representatives from labor organizations, registered apprenticeship sponsors, institutions of higher education, state and local workforce agencies, industry associations, credentialing bodies, and other stakeholders to maintain a public repository, promote credential portability, coordinate adoption across entities, update frameworks for advances such as artificial intelligence, and provide technical assistance, without altering existing state or federal occupational licensing.

This section establishes a national clearinghouse for artificial intelligence education, funded from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund, to collect, curate, and disseminate evidence-based resources, best practices, voluntary model curricula for age-appropriate AI literacy, and guidance on classroom use, academic integrity, student privacy, cybersecurity, bias, and misinformation for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. It requires the Secretary of Education to maintain a publicly accessible online repository, leverage existing hubs, regularly update content, and ensure conflict-of-interest disclosures.

This section establishes an initiative, funded from the Artificial Intelligence Horizon Fund, under which the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, develops voluntary guidelines and model policies for the responsible workplace use of artificial intelligence. The Secretary must convene representatives of employers, labor organizations, civil rights groups, and other stakeholders; identify practices to mitigate risks to privacy, bias, transparency, and accountability; make all resources publicly available; develop guidance suitable for federal agencies; and report to the Senate HELP Committee and House Education and Workforce Committee within 2 years on which practices should become mandatory.