POPVOX Foundation's Sample AI Policy for Congressional Offices
POPVOX Foundation has updated their AI Use Policy: A Template for Congressional Offices, a free, customizable starting point for House and Senate offices that want clear internal rules for how their staff use generative AI.
Why offices need a policy now
Congressional AI use has moved fast. House and Senate staff can now use approved versions of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. Our tracker, Where the House and Senate Are on Internal Use of AI, follows these changes. The House requires, and the Senate recommends, that each office has their own internal use policy in place.
What the template covers
The template is built around three core pieces:
Prohibited uses. No using AI to replace human judgment on votes, policy positions, casework, personnel, or final public content. No entering confidential information, constituent PII, whistleblower information, or credentials. No deepfakes, fabricated quotes, or invented statistics. No free or personally paid accounts, and no foreign-based models such as DeepSeek, Qwen, and Kimi.
Best Practices. Each staffer is responsible for what they produce or sign off on, whether or not AI helped.
Recommended use cases. An appendix of examples across research, legislative support, communications, administration, and constituent services.
How to make it your own
Highlighted fields mark what each office needs to fill in. Before adopting it, offices should:
Check current chamber guidance with House Information Resources or the Senate Sergeant at Arms’ Chief Information Officer, since guidance may change regularly.
List the specific tools the office pays for.
Add use cases that reflect the team's actual work.
Review it with staff and collect signatures at a team meeting.
Set a review date, at least once a year or whenever chamber guidance changes.
Get the template
Read the full template on our website or download the PDF. We will update the template as House and Senate guidance changes. Offices that want hands-on help can request AI training from POPVOX Foundation, and our Keeping Pace newsletter covers AI in Congress each month.
