I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9627 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to develop a biotechnology roadmap to 

guide the efforts of the Department of Defense relating to biotechnology, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Mr. KHANNA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to develop a biotechnology 

roadmap to guide the efforts of the Department of Defense relating to biotechnology, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Biotech Futures Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. BIOTECHNOLOGY ROADMAP. 

6 (a) ROADMAP REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 

7 shall develop a biotechnology roadmap to guide the efforts 

8 of the Department of Defense relating to biotechnology. 


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1 (b) ELEMENTS.—In the roadmap required by sub2 section (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— 

3 (1) clearly articulate the strategic objectives of 

4 the Department of Defense relating to bio5 technology; 

6 (2) for each strategic objective, establish spe7 cific goals and milestones for the achievement of 

8 such objective, including timelines for meeting such 

9 goals and milestones; 

10 (3) in the case of each updated version of the 

11 roadmap following submittal of the initial roadmap 

12 under subsection (d)(1), include— 

13 (A) a review of the goals and milestones 

14 established under paragraph (2) to ensure such 

15 goals and milestones continue to align with 

16 strategic objectives under paragraph (1); and 

17 (B) a description of any goals and mile18 stones that changed as a result of such review; 

19 (4) separately identify each biotechnology effort 

20 covered by the strategy, including any programs, 

21 projects, or other activities associated with such ef22 fort within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 

23 the Armed Forces, and other organizations of the 

24 Department, and for each such effort provide— 

25 (A) a description of the effort; 


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1 (B) an estimate of the funding dedicated 

2 to the effort; 

3 (C) a timeline for carrying out the effort; 

4 and 

5 (D) an explanation of how the effort aligns 

6 with the strategic objectives under paragraph 

7 (1); 

8 (5) identify and describe the role of each orga9 nization of the Department with responsibilities re10 lating to biotechnology under the strategy; 

11 (6) establish metrics to measure the progress of 

12 the Department in meeting the objectives, goals, and 

13 milestones under the strategy; 

14 (7) based on such metrics, assess the progress 

15 of the Department in meeting such objectives, goals, 

16 and milestones; 

17 (8) based on the results of such assessment, 

18 make any necessary adjustments to the planning 

19 and execution of the roadmap to ensure the Depart20 ment makes continuous progress toward achieving 

21 the objectives under paragraph (1); 

22 (9) assess the overall risk to the security of the 

23 United States of the biotechnology efforts covered by 

24 the strategy; 


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1 (10) analyze any requirements of the Federal 

2 Government that hinder the ability of the Depart3 ment to advance and use biotechnology; 

4 (11) provide for the development and support of 

5 the biotechnology workforce of the Department, in6 cluding personnel with responsibilities relating di7 rectly to biotechnology and personnel who indirectly 

8 support the biotechnology efforts of the Department 

9 such as personnel involved program management, 

10 acquisition, investment, and legal matters; 

11 (12) with respect to the biotechnology workforce 

12 described in paragraph (11)— 

13 (A) identify the total number of bio14 technology positions required to support the ob15 jectives of the roadmap— 

16 (i) as of the date of the road map; 

17 and 

18 (ii) over the periods of five and 10 

19 years following such date; 

20 (B) indicate the number of such positions 

21 that have been filled as of the date of the road22 map; 

23 (C) describe the positions included in the 

24 biotechnology workforce, including a description 

25 of— 


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1 (i) the role of each position in sup2 porting the objectives under paragraph (1); 

3 and 

4 (ii) the qualifications required for 

5 each position, including any qualifications 

6 relating to seniority level, education, train7 ing, and security clearances; 

8 (D) identify any challenges affecting the 

9 ability of the Department to develop the bio10 technology workforce and propose solutions to 

11 those challenges; 

12 (E) assess whether the codes used to de13 fine positions and roles within the workforce of 

14 the Department adequately cover the range of 

15 positions and personnel that comprise the bio16 technology workforce, such as personnel in re17 search, engineering, and testing; 

18 (F) identify mechanisms to enable the De19 partment to access outside expertise relating to 

20 biotechnology, including mechanisms to assem21 ble a pool of outside experts who have been 

22 prequalified (including by obtaining any nec23 essary security clearances) to provide advice 

24 and assistance to the Department on matters 


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1 relating to biotechnology on an as-needed basis; 

2 and 

3 (G) assess whether personnel occupying ex4 isting positions in the Department could be 

5 used to meet biotechnology workforce needs 

6 with additional training and, if so, the nature 

7 and scope of the training required; and 

8 (13) address collaboration between the Depart9 ment and international partners to advance research 

10 on biotechnology, which shall include— 

11 (A) a description of any international part12 nerships under which the United States is col13 laborating with partners to conduct bio14 technology research and development for de15 fense purposes; 

16 (B) a description of any new international 

17 partnerships that may be entered into, or exist18 ing partnerships that may be modified, to pro19 vide for such collaboration; and 

20 (C) identification of any challenges affect21 ing the ability of the Department engage in 

22 such collaboration with international partners, 

23 including— 

24 (i) any limitations on co-investments 

25 within international partnerships; 


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1 (ii) any United States export controls 

2 or other technology protections that hinder 

3 information sharing within such partner4 ships; and 

5 (iii) any other challenges that may 

6 prevent the full utilization of such partner7 ships for such collaboration. 

8 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the roadmap re9 quired under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall 

10 consult with— 

11 (1) the Under Secretary of Defense for Re12 search and Engineering; 

13 (2) the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisi14 tion and Sustainment; 

15 (3) the Secretaries of the military departments; 

16 and 

17 (4) such other officials of the Department of 

18 Defense as the Secretary determines appropriate. 

19 (d) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS; UPDATES.— 

20 (1) INITIAL SUBMISSION.—Not later than one 

21 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

22 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congres23 sional defense committees the roadmap developed 

24 under subsection (a). 


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1 (2) ANNUAL UPDATES.—Not less frequently 

2 than once every two years following the submittal of 

3 the initial roadmap under paragraph (1), the Sec4 retary shall— 

5 (A) review and update the roadmap; and 

6 (B) submit an updated version of the road7 map to the congressional defense committees. 

8 (3) FORM.—Each version of the roadmap re9 quired to be submitted under this subsection may be 

10 submitted in classified form, but if so submitted, 

11 shall include an unclassified executive summary. 

12 (e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—On annual basis, the 

13 Secretary shall make an unclassified version of the most 

14 recent roadmap submitted under subsection (d) available 

15 on a publicly accessible website of the Department of De16 fense. 

17 (f) BIOTECHNOLOGY DEFINED.—In this section, the 

18 term ‘‘biotechnology’’ means the application of science and 

19 technology to living organisms and to parts, products and 

20 models of such organisms to alter living or non-living ma21 terials for the production of knowledge, goods, or services. 

Æ 


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