H.R. 8893 would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support the research and testing of measurements and standards needed to accelerate the development of tools to:
Detect, authenticate, and disclose the origin of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and
Detect and mitigate harms from content produced or manipulated by generative AI and other technologies.
The bill would require NIST to collaborate with private sector entities, including institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations, to inform that work. The bill also would authorize NIST to establish task forces to advise on that research and to help develop technical standards for detecting, authenticating, and labeling AI-generated content.
The estimated budgetary effects of the legislation are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 370 (commerce and housing credit).
Table 1.
Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 8893
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2026-2031
Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Estimated Authorization
0
5
5
5
5
6
26
Estimated Outlays
0
3
5
5
5
6
24
CBO expects that NIST would need to moderately expand its AI research and testing capacity to carry out the bill’s requirements. Based on the resources currently devoted to those activities and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that implementing initiatives focused on AI content origin and harms would cost about $5 million annually. On that basis, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 8893 would cost $24 million over the 2026-2031 period; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Hughes. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
