II
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 1106
To establish the Immersive Technology Advisory Panel to promote the use
of immersive technology in the United States, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH25, 2025
Mrs. B
LACKBURN(for herself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To establish the Immersive Technology Advisory Panel to
promote the use of immersive technology in the United
States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Leader-4
ship in Immersive Technology Act of 2025’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
Congress finds the following: 7
(1) Immersive technology was included in the 8
initial list of key technology focus areas in section 9
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10387(c) of the Research and Development, Com-1
petition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19107(c)) 2
because it is an important part of the integrated 3
ecosystem of emerging technologies. 4
(2) Immersive technology has been designated a 5
critical technology by both the National Science and 6
Technology Council and the Department of Defense 7
because of its importance to both economic competi-8
tiveness and national security. 9
(3) Immersive technology, which includes aug-10
mented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality, is 11
widely expected to function as the next major com-12
puting platform. 13
(4) Immersive technology will affect all sectors 14
of society, creating new employment opportunities, 15
new economic incentives, and new ways of commu-16
nicating, learning, and engaging with the world. 17
(5) Immersive technology was invented in the 18
United States, and the United States is home to the 19
leading companies in the industry. 20
(6) Other countries, including competitors of 21
the United States, such as the People’s Republic of 22
China, have recognized the transformative nature of 23
immersive technology and are implementing robust 24
strategies in a race to dominate the sector. 25
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(7) It is in the best interests of the United 1
States to lead the world in the use of immersive 2
technology such that the next computing platform is 3
imbued with the fundamental values of the United 4
States. 5
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 6
In this Act: 7
(1) A
DVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 8
Panel’’ means the Immersive Technology Advisory 9
Panel established by section 5(a). 10
(2) A
GENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 11
meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 12
United States Code. 13
(3) A
PPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS 14
DEFINED.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of 15
Congress’’ means— 16
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 17
and Transportation of the Senate; and 18
(B) the Committee on Energy and Com-19
merce of the House of Representatives. 20
(4) A
UGMENTED REALITY .—The term ‘‘aug-21
mented reality’’ means a changed version of reality 22
created by overlaying digital information onto the 23
view of the physical world through the use of a de-24
vice. 25
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(5) IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY .—The term 1
‘‘immersive technology’’ means technology that is de-2
ployed into interstate commerce and that integrates 3
the physical environment with digital content to sup-4
port user engagement, including augmented reality, 5
mixed reality, and virtual reality. 6
(6) M
IXED REALITY.—The term ‘‘mixed re-7
ality’’ means an immersive technology tool that 8
blends augmented and virtual reality, allowing users 9
to experience simulated content within their physical 10
worlds and to manipulate and interact with virtual 11
elements in real time. 12
(7) S
ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 13
the Secretary of Commerce. 14
(8) V
IRTUAL REALITY.—The term ‘‘virtual re-15
ality’’ means an immersive technology tool that oc-16
cludes the physical surroundings of a user and re-17
places it with a simulated virtual or digital environ-18
ment. 19
SEC. 4. PRINCIPAL ADVISOR ON IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY. 20
(a) I
NGENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 21
with the appropriate committees of Congress, shall des-22
ignate a principal advisor on immersive technology. 23
(b) R
ESPONSIBILITIES.—The principal advisor on 24
immersive technology shall— 25
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(1) support and promote the improvement, de-1
ployment, and security of recommendations on the 2
use of immersive technology in the United States; 3
and 4
(2) consider policies and programs to encourage 5
and improve coordination among agencies with re-6
spect to immersive technology. 7
SEC. 5. IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY PANEL. 8
(a) E
STABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 9
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 10
establish the Immersive Technology Advisory Panel to 11
make recommendations on the use of immersive tech-12
nology in the United States. 13
(b) C
HAIRPERSON.—The Secretary, in consultation 14
with the appropriate committees of Congress, shall ap-15
point a chairperson of the Advisory Panel. 16
(c) M
EMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Panel shall consist 17
of the following members: 18
(1) The Chairperson, appointed under sub-19
section (b). 20
(2) A Vice Chair, who shall be selected by the 21
Secretary, in consultation with the appropriate com-22
mittees of Congress, from among the members listed 23
in paragraph (3). 24
(3) Each of the following (or their designee): 25
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(A) The Director of the Office of Science 1
and Technology Policy. 2
(B) The Secretary of Defense. 3
(C) The Secretary of Energy. 4
(D) The Secretary of State. 5
(E) The Secretary of Labor. 6
(F) The Secretary of Education. 7
(G) The Secretary of Health and Human 8
Services. 9
(H) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 10
(I) The Secretary of Transportation. 11
(J) The Secretary of Agriculture. 12
(4) Not fewer than 6 and not more than 10 ex-13
perts appointed by the Secretary, in consultation 14
with the appropriate committees of Congress, from 15
among the following: 16
(A) Academic institutions. 17
(B) Think tanks. 18
(C) Private sector technology firms. 19
(D) Civil society, with respect to expertise 20
in the impact of immersive technology on con-21
sumers. 22
(E) Any other sector as the Secretary, in 23
consultation with the appropriate committees of 24
Congress, determines appropriate. 25
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(d) OBJECTIVES.—The Advisory Panel shall— 1
(1) assess the economic impact of immersive 2
technology; and 3
(2) make recommendations on— 4
(A) the manner by which immersive tech-5
nology can be used to ensure the economic com-6
petitiveness of the United States; 7
(B) institutional processes that promote 8
collaboration between the Federal Government 9
and the private sector on matters relating to 10
immersive technology, including— 11
(i) technical standards; 12
(ii) strategic investments; 13
(iii) cybersecurity; and 14
(iv) commercialization; 15
(C) safeguards that are necessary to en-16
sure that immersive technology is used ethically 17
to protect individual data and privacy; and 18
(D) the manner by which the Federal Gov-19
ernment can provide global leadership in 20
immersive technology and collaborate with allied 21
nations. 22
(e) M
EETINGS.—The Advisory Panel shall meet not 23
less frequently than once every 4 months. 24
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(f) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICALSUPPORT.— 1
The Secretary shall provide to the Advisory Panel admin-2
istrative and technical support. 3
SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY. 4
(a) S
TUDY.— 5
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 6
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Advisory 7
Panel shall complete a study on the state of the 8
immersive technology industry and the effect of such 9
industry on the economic competitiveness and na-10
tional security of the United States. 11
(2) R
EQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study 12
required by paragraph (1), the Advisory Panel 13
shall— 14
(A) assess the role of immersive technology 15
in the broader emerging technology ecosystem 16
and the manner in which the United States can 17
make strategic investments that support the 18
key technology focus areas identified in section 19
10387(c) of the Research and Development, 20
Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 21
19107(c)); 22
(B) examine the economic impact of the 23
use of immersive technology across key sectors, 24
including manufacturing, energy, public safety, 25
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health care, urban planning, construction, auto-1
motive, agriculture, workforce development, re-2
tail, education, and entertainment; 3
(C) assess the ways in which immersive 4
technology benefits businesses (including small- 5
and medium-sized businesses), including— 6
(i) by facilitating the delivery of es-7
sential human services; and 8
(ii) by supporting workforce develop-9
ment in critical sectors; 10
(D) determine the investment and per-11
sonnel needed for the timely and successful de-12
ployment of immersive technology that ensures 13
the global leadership of the United States; 14
(E) identify any voluntary standard or best 15
practice needed to ensure that immersive tech-16
nology is designed and deployed in a manner 17
that— 18
(i) facilitates ease of use; and 19
(ii) protects individual rights, includ-20
ing with respect to— 21
(I) privacy; 22
(II) accessibility; 23
(III) digital identity; and 24
(IV) intellectual property; 25
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(F) assess the national and economic secu-1
rity benefits and risks associated with 2
immersive technology and the ways in which the 3
benefits can be maximized and the risks miti-4
gated; and 5
(G) address the objectives described in sec-6
tion 5(d). 7
(b) R
EPORT.— 8
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 9
the date on which the study is completed under sub-10
section (a)(1), the Secretary shall submit to the ap-11
propriate committees of Congress a report on— 12
(A) the findings of the study; and 13
(B) recommendations based on the find-14
ings of the study for congressional action. 15
(2) P
UBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 16
the report required by paragraph (1) on a publicly 17
accessible website of the White House. 18
Æ
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