NIST will meet with AI firms to make security rules.
H.R. 10873 — AI Cyber Defense Act · Filed by Pat Harrigan (R-NC) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Oct 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
The bill tells NIST to set up a roundtable. Private AI firms and people who run power plants, banks, and water systems will join. They will write rules and best practices for AI security. NIST must explain what AI theft attacks are. NIST must publish guidance within one year. Companies from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba cannot join.
Who it affects
Citizens may get better AI security. Private AI firms and power plants, banks, and water systems will help write the rules. The bill does not require firms to follow the rules.
One thing to notice
The bill creates rules that firms can choose to follow or skip. The bill does not say what happens if firms do not follow them.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Oct 22, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 22, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- NIST — The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency that creates technical rules.
- AI theft attacks — A type of cyberattack where someone tries to steal or copy an AI system's knowledge.
- roundtable — A meeting where different groups sit as equals to talk and make plans.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,676 characters) on Oct 23, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,417 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-24.
“NIST will meet with AI firms to make security rules.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10873/simple Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.