II 

Calendar No. 636 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3734 

[Report No. 116–330] 

To provide for a coordinated Federal research initiative to ensure continued 

United States leadership in engineering biology. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2020 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. GARDNER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

DECEMBER 15, 2020 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide for a coordinated Federal research initiative to 

ensure continued United States leadership in engineering 

biology. 

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 ‘‘Bioeconomy Research 

5 and Development Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Cellular and molecular processes may be 

4 used, mimicked, or redesigned to develop new prod5 ucts, processes, and systems that improve societal 

6 well-being, strengthen national security, and con7 tribute to the economy. 

8 (2) Engineering biology relies on a workforce 

9 with a diverse and unique set of skills combining the 

10 biological, physical, chemical, and information 

11 sciences and engineering. 

12 (3) Long-term research and development is nec13 essary to create breakthroughs in engineering biol14 ogy. Such research and development requires govern15 ment investment as many of the benefits are too dis16 tant or uncertain for industry to support alone. 

17 (4) Research is necessary to inform evidence18 based governance of engineering biology and to sup19 port the growth of the engineering biology industry. 

20 (5) The Federal Government has an obligation 

21 to ensure that ethical, legal, environmental, safety, 

22 security, and societal implications of its science and 

23 technology research and investment follows policies 

24 of responsible innovation and fosters public trans25 parency. 


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1 (6) The Federal Government can play an im2 portant role by facilitating the development of tools 

3 and technologies to further advance engineering biol4 ogy, including user facilities, by facilitating public5 private partnerships, by supporting risk research, 

6 and by facilitating the commercial application in the 

7 United States of research funded by the Federal 

8 Government. 

9 (7) The United States led the development of 

10 the science and engineering techniques that created 

11 the field of engineering biology, but due to increas12 ing international competition, the United States is 

13 at risk of losing its competitive advantage if does not 

14 invest the necessary resources and have a national 

15 strategy. 

16 (8) A National Engineering Biology Initiative 

17 can serve to establish new research directions and 

18 technology goals, improve interagency coordination 

19 and planning processes, drive technology transfer to 

20 the private sector, and help ensure optimal returns 

21 on the Federal investment. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) BIOMANUFACTURING.—The term ‘‘bio25 manufacturing’’ means the utilization of biological 


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1 systems to develop new and advance existing prod2 ucts, tools, and processes at commercial scale. 

3 (2) ENGINEERING BIOLOGY.—The term ‘‘engi4 neering biology’’ means the application of engineer5 ing design principles and practices to biological sys6 tems, including molecular and cellular systems, to 

7 advance fundamental understanding of complex nat8 ural systems and to enable novel or optimize func9 tions and capabilities. 

10 (3) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

11 the National Engineering Biology Research and De12 velopment Initiative established under section 4. 

13 (4) OMICS.—The term ‘‘omics’’ refers to the 

14 collective technologies used to explore the roles, rela15 tionships, and actions of the various types of mol16 ecules that make up the cells of an organism. 

17 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENGINEERING BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND 

18 DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

20 Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall implement 

21 a National Engineering Biology Research and Develop22 ment Initiative to advance societal well-being, national se23 curity, sustainability, and economic productivity and com24 petitiveness through— 


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1 (1) advancing areas of research at the intersec2 tion of the biological, physical, chemical, data, and 

3 computational sciences and engineering to accelerate 

4 scientific understanding and technological innovation 

5 in engineering biology; 

6 (2) advancing areas of biomanufacturing re7 search to optimize, standardize, scale, and deliver 

8 new products and solutions; 

9 (3) supporting social and behavioral sciences 

10 and economics research that advances the field of 

11 engineering biology and contributes to the develop12 ment and public understanding of new products, 

13 processes, and technologies; 

14 (4) improving the understanding of engineering 

15 biology of the scientific and lay public and sup16 porting greater evidence-based public discourse 

17 about its benefits and risks; 

18 (5) supporting risk research, including under 

19 subsection (d); 

20 (6) supporting the development of novel tools 

21 and technologies to accelerate scientific under22 standing and technological innovation in engineering 

23 biology; 

24 (7) expanding the number of researchers, edu25 cators, and students with engineering biology trainVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 ing, including from traditionally underrepresented 

2 and underserved populations; 

3 (8) accelerating the translation and commer4 cialization of engineering biology research and devel5 opment by the private sector; and 

6 (9) improving the interagency planning and co7 ordination of Federal Government activities related 

8 to engineering biology. 

9 (b) INITIATIVE ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the 

10 Initiative shall include— 

11 (1) sustained support for engineering biology 

12 research and development through— 

13 (A) grants to individual investigators and 

14 teams of investigators, including interdiscipli15 nary teams; 

16 (B) projects funded under joint solicita17 tions by a collaboration of no fewer than two 

18 agencies participating in the Initiative; and 

19 (C) interdisciplinary research centers that 

20 are organized to investigate basic research 

21 questions, carry out technology development 

22 and demonstration activities, and increase un23 derstanding of how to scale up engineering biol24 ogy processes, including biomanufacturing; 


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1 (2) sustained support for databases and related 

2 tools, including— 

3 (A) support for curated genomics, 

4 epigenomics, and all other relevant omics data5 bases, including plant and microbial databases, 

6 that are available to researchers to carry out 

7 engineering biology research; 

8 (B) development of standards for such 

9 databases, including for curation, interoper10 ability, and protection of privacy and security; 

11 (C) support for the development of com12 putational tools, including artificial intelligence 

13 tools, that can accelerate research and innova14 tion using such databases; and 

15 (D) an inventory and assessment of all 

16 Federal government omics databases to identify 

17 opportunities for consolidation and inform in18 vestment in such databases as critical infra19 structure for the engineering biology research 

20 enterprise; 

21 (3) sustained support for the development, opti22 mization, and validation of novel tools and tech23 nologies to enable the dynamic study of molecular 

24 processes in situ, including through— 


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1 (A) research conducted at Federal labora2 tories; 

3 (B) grants to investigators at institutions 

4 of higher education and other nonprofit re5 search institutions; and 

6 (C) through the Small Business Innovation 

7 Research Program and the Small Business 

8 Technology Transfer Program, as described in 

9 section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 638); 

11 (4) education and training of undergraduate 

12 and graduate students in engineering biology, in bio13 manufacturing, in bioprocess engineering, and in 

14 areas of computational science applied to engineer15 ing biology and in the related ethical, legal, environ16 mental, safety, security, and other societal issues; 

17 (5) activities to develop robust mechanisms for 

18 tracking and quantifying the outputs and economic 

19 benefits of engineering biology; and 

20 (6) activities to accelerate the translation and 

21 commercialization of new products, processes, and 

22 technologies by— 

23 (A) identifying precompetitive research op24 portunities; 


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1 (B) facilitating public-private partnerships 

2 in engineering biology research and develop3 ment; 

4 (C) connecting researchers, graduate stu5 dents, and postdoctoral fellows with entrepre6 neurship education and training opportunities; 

7 and 

8 (D) supporting proof of concept activities 

9 and the formation of startup companies includ10 ing through programs such as the Small Busi11 ness Innovation Research Program and the 

12 Small Business Technology Transfer Program. 

13 (c) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Initiative 

14 shall include, to the maximum extent practicable, outreach 

15 to primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institu16 tions about Initiative opportunities, and shall encourage 

17 the development of research collaborations between re18 search-intensive universities and primarily undergraduate 

19 and minority-serving institutions. 

20 (d) ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY, 

21 SECURITY, AND SOCIETAL ISSUES.—Initiative activities 

22 shall take into account ethical, legal, environmental, safe23 ty, security, and other appropriate societal issues by— 

24 (1) supporting research, including in the social 

25 sciences, and other activities addressing ethical, 


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1 legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal 

2 issues related to engineering biology, including inte3 grating research on such topics with the research 

4 and development in engineering biology, and ensur5 ing that the results of such research are widely dis6 seminated, including through interdisciplinary engi7 neering biology research centers described in sub8 section (b)(1); 

9 (2) supporting research and other activities re10 lated to the safety and security implications of engi11 neering biology, including outreach to increase 

12 awareness among Federal researchers and Federally13 funded researchers at institutions of higher edu14 cation about potential safety and security implica15 tions of engineering biology research, as appropriate; 

16 (3) ensuring that input from Federal and non17 Federal experts on the ethical, legal, environmental, 

18 safety, security, and other appropriate societal issues 

19 related to engineering biology is integrated into the 

20 Initiative; and 

21 (4) ensuring, through the agencies and depart22 ments that participate in the Initiative, that public 

23 input and outreach are integrated into the Initiative 

24 by the convening of regular and ongoing public dis25 cussions through mechanisms such as workshops, 


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1 consensus conferences, and educational events, as 

2 appropriate. 

3 SEC. 5. INITIATIVE COORDINATION. 

4 (a) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President, act5 ing through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 

6 shall designate an interagency committee to coordinate en7 gineering biology, which shall be co-chaired by the Office 

8 of Science and Technology Policy, and include representa9 tives from the National Science Foundation, the Depart10 ment of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National 

11 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Insti12 tute of Standards and Technology, the Environmental 

13 Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the 

14 National Institutes of Health, the Bureau of Economic 

15 Analysis, and any other agency that the President con16 siders appropriate (in this section referred to as the 

17 ‘‘interagency committee’’). The Director of the Office of 

18 Science and Technology Policy shall select an additional 

19 co-chairperson from among the members of the Inter20 agency Committee. The Interagency Committee shall over21 see the planning, management, and coordination of the 

22 Initiative. The Interagency Committee shall— 

23 (1) provide for interagency coordination of Fed24 eral engineering biology research, development, and 


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1 other activities undertaken pursuant to the Initia2 tive; 

3 (2) establish and periodically update goals and 

4 priorities for the Initiative; 

5 (3) develop, not later than 12 months after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, and update every 3 

7 years, a strategic plan submitted to the Committee 

8 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

9 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate that— 

11 (A) guides the activities of the Initiative 

12 for purposes of meeting the goals and priorities 

13 established under (and updated pursuant to) 

14 paragraph (2); and 

15 (B) describes— 

16 (i) the Initiative’s support for long17 term funding for interdisciplinary engineer18 ing biology research and development; 

19 (ii) the Initiative’s support for edu20 cation and public outreach activities; 

21 (iii) the Initiative’s support for re22 search and other activities on ethical, legal, 

23 environmental, safety, security, and other 

24 appropriate societal issues related to engi25 neering biology including— 


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1 (I) an applied biorisk manage2 ment research plan; 

3 (II) recommendations for inte4 grating security into biological data 

5 access and international reciprocity 

6 agreements; and 

7 (III) an evaluation of existing 

8 biosecurity governance policies, guid9 ance, and directives for the purposes 

10 of creating a unified, adaptable, evi11 dence-based framework to respond to 

12 emerging biosecurity challenges cre13 ated by advances in engineering biol14 ogy; 

15 (iv) how the Initiative will move re16 sults out of the laboratory and into appli17 cation for the benefit of society and United 

18 States competitiveness; and 

19 (v) how the Initiative will measure 

20 and track the contributions of engineering 

21 biology to United States economic growth 

22 and other societal indicators; 

23 (4) develop a national genomic sequencing 

24 strategy to ensure engineering biology research fully 

25 leverages plant, animal, and microbe biodiversity to 


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1 enhance long-term innovation and competitiveness in 

2 engineering biology in the United States; 

3 (5) propose an annually coordinated interagency 

4 budget for the Initiative that is intended to ensure— 

5 (A) the maintenance of a robust engineer6 ing biology research and development portfolio; 

7 and 

8 (B) that the balance of funding across the 

9 Initiative is sufficient to meet the goals and pri10 orities established for the Program; 

11 (6) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, 

12 such as the Small Business Innovation Research 

13 Program and the Small Business Technology Trans14 fer Program as described in section 9 of the Small 

15 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), in support of the ac16 tivities described in section 4(b)(3); and 

17 (7) in carrying out this section, take into con18 sideration the recommendations of the advisory com19 mittee established under section 6, the results of the 

20 workshop convened under section 7, existing reports 

21 on related topics, and the views of academic, State, 

22 industry, and other appropriate groups. 

23 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning with fiscal year 

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1 after, the interagency committee shall prepare and submit 

2 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

3 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com4 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

5 that includes— 

6 (1) a summarized agency budget in support of 

7 the Initiative for the fiscal year to which such budg8 et request applies, and for the then current fiscal 

9 year, including a breakout of spending for each 

10 agency participating in the Program and for the de11 velopment and acquisition of any research facilities 

12 and instrumentation; and 

13 (2) an assessment of how Federal agencies are 

14 implementing the plan described in subsection 

15 (a)(3), including— 

16 (A) a description of the amount and num17 ber of awards made under the Small Business 

18 Innovation Research Program and the Small 

19 Business Technology Transfer Program (as de20 scribed in section 9 of the Small Business Act 

21 (15 U.S.C. 638)) in support of the Initiative; 

22 and 

23 (B) a description of the amount and num24 ber of projects funded under joint solicitations 


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1 by a collaboration of no fewer than 2 agencies 

2 participating in the Initiative. 

3 (c) INITIATIVE OFFICE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

5 an Initiative Coordination Office, with a Director 

6 and full-time staff, which shall— 

7 (A) provide technical and administrative 

8 support to the interagency committee and the 

9 advisory committee established under section 6; 

10 (B) serve as the point of contact on Fed11 eral engineering biology activities for govern12 ment organizations, academia, industry, profes13 sional societies, State governments, interested 

14 citizen groups, and others to exchange technical 

15 and programmatic information; 

16 (C) oversee interagency coordination of the 

17 Initiative, including by encouraging and sup18 porting joint agency solicitation and selection of 

19 applications for funding of activities under the 

20 Initiative; 

21 (D) conduct public outreach, including dis22 semination of findings and recommendations of 

23 the advisory committee established under sec24 tion 6, as appropriate; 


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1 (E) serve as the coordinator of ethical, 

2 legal, environmental, safety, security, and other 

3 appropriate societal input; and 

4 (F) promote access to, and early applica5 tion of, the technologies, innovations, and ex6 pertise derived from Initiative activities to agen7 cy missions and systems across the Federal 

8 Government, and to United States industry, in9 cluding startup companies. 

10 (2) FUNDING.—The Director of the Office of 

11 Science and Technology Policy shall develop an esti12 mate of the funds necessary to carry out the activi13 ties of the Initiative Coordination Office, including 

14 an estimate of how much each participating agency 

15 described in subsection (a) will contribute to such 

16 funds, and submit such estimate to Congress no 

17 later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act. 

18 (3) TERMINATION.—The Initiative Coordination 

19 Office established under this subsection shall termi20 nate on the date that is 10 years after the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act, unless a determination is 

22 made by the President that such Office is necessary 

23 to meet the economic or national security goals of 

24 the Program. 


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1 SEC. 6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

3 Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall designate 

4 or establish an advisory committee on engineering biology 

5 research and development (in this section referred to as 

6 the ‘‘advisory committee’’) to be composed of not fewer 

7 than 12 members, including representatives of research 

8 and academic institutions, industry, and nongovernmental 

9 entities, who are qualified to provide advice on the Initia10 tive. 

11 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The advisory committee shall as12 sess— 

13 (1) the current state of United States competi14 tiveness in engineering biology, including the scope 

15 and scale of United States investments in engineer16 ing biology research and development in the inter17 national context; 

18 (2) current market barriers to commercializa19 tion of engineering biology products, processes, and 

20 tools in the United States; 

21 (3) progress made in implementing the Initia22 tive; 

23 (4) the need to revise the Initiative; 

24 (5) the balance of activities and funding across 

25 the Initiative; 


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1 (6) whether the strategic plan developed or up2 dated by the interagency committee established 

3 under section 5 is helping to maintain United States 

4 leadership in engineering biology; 

5 (7) the management, coordination, implementa6 tion, and activities of the Initiative; and 

7 (8) whether ethical, legal, environmental, safety, 

8 security, and other appropriate societal issues are 

9 adequately addressed by the Initiative. 

10 (c) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than 2 years 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre12 quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the advisory 

13 committee shall submit to the President, the Committee 

14 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep15 resentatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate, a report on— 

17 (1) the findings of the advisory committee’s as18 sessment under subsection (b); and 

19 (2) the advisory committee’s recommendations 

20 for ways to improve the Initiative. 

21 (d) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM22 MITTEE ACT.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Com23 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory 

24 Committee. 


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1 SEC. 7. EXTERNAL REVIEW OF ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRON2 MENTAL, SAFETY, SECURITY, AND SOCIETAL 

3 ISSUES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 

6 Science Foundation shall seek to enter into an agreement 

7 with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 

8 and Medicine to conduct a review, and make recommenda9 tions with respect to, the ethical, legal, environmental, 

10 safety, security, and other appropriate societal issues re11 lated to engineering biology research and development. 

12 The review shall include— 

13 (1) an assessment of the current research on 

14 such issues; 

15 (2) a description of the research gaps relating 

16 to such issues; 

17 (3) recommendations on how the Initiative can 

18 address the research needs identified pursuant to 

19 paragraph (2); and 

20 (4) recommendations on how engineering biol21 ogy researchers can best incorporate considerations 

22 of ethical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and 

23 other societal issues into the development of research 

24 proposals and the conduct of research. 

25 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The agreement entered 

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1 emy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to, not later 

2 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act— 

3 (1) submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

4 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

5 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans6 portation of the Senate a report containing the find7 ings and recommendations of the review conducted 

8 under subsection (a); and 

9 (2) make a copy of such report available on a 

10 publicly accessible website. 

11 (c) ALTERNATE CONTRACT SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZA12 TION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Director is unable to 

14 enter into an agreement described in subsection (a) 

15 with the National Academy of Sciences before the 

16 date specified in such subsection on terms acceptable 

17 to the Director, the Director shall seek to enter into 

18 such an agreement with another appropriate sci19 entific organization that— 

20 (A) is not part of the Government; 

21 (B) operates as a not-for-profit entity; and 

22 (C) has expertise and objectivity com23 parable to that of the National Academy of 

24 Sciences. 


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1 (2) TREATMENT.—If the Director enters into 

2 an agreement with another organization as described 

3 in paragraph (1), any reference in this subsection to 

4 the National Academy of Sciences shall be treated as 

5 a reference to the other organization. 

6 SEC. 8. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 

7 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—As part of 

8 the Initiative, the National Science Foundation shall— 

9 (1) support basic research in engineering biol10 ogy through individual grants and through inter11 disciplinary research centers; 

12 (2) support research on the environmental, 

13 legal, ethical, and social implications of engineering 

14 biology; 

15 (3) provide support for research instrumenta16 tion for engineering biology disciplines, including 

17 support for research, development, optimization and 

18 validation of novel technologies to enable the dy19 namic study of molecular processes in situ; 

20 (4) support curriculum development and re21 search experiences for secondary, undergraduate, 

22 and graduate students in engineering biology and 

23 biomanufacturing; and 

24 (5) award grants, on a competitive basis, to en25 able institutions to support graduate students and 


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1 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi2 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

3 (b) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—As part of the 

4 Initiative, the Director of the National Institute of Stand5 ards and Technology shall— 

6 (1) establish a bioscience research program to 

7 advance the development of standard reference ma8 terials and measurements and to create new data 

9 tools, techniques, and processes necessary to advance 

10 engineering biology and biomanufacturing; 

11 (2) provide access to user facilities with ad12 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

13 other resources to industry, institutions of higher 

14 education, nonprofit organizations, and government 

15 agencies to perform research and testing; and 

16 (3) provide technical expertise to inform the po17 tential development of guidelines or safeguards for 

18 new products, processes, and systems of engineering 

19 biology. 

20 (c) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—As part of the Ini21 tiative, the Secretary of Energy shall— 

22 (1) conduct and support research, development, 

23 demonstration, and commercial application activities 

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1 thetic biology, advanced biofuel development, 

2 biobased materials, and environmental remediation; 

3 (2) support the development, optimization and 

4 validation of novel, scalable tools and technologies to 

5 enable the dynamic study of molecular processes in 

6 situ; and 

7 (3) provide access to user facilities with ad8 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

9 other resources, as appropriate, to industry, institu10 tions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, 

11 and government agencies to perform research and 

12 testing. 

13 (d) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—As part of the Ini14 tiative, the Secretary of Defense shall— 

15 (1) conduct and support research and develop16 ment in engineering biology and associated data and 

17 information sciences; 

18 (2) support curriculum development and re19 search experiences in engineering biology and associ20 ated data and information sciences across the mili21 tary education system, to include service academies, 

22 professional military education, and military grad23 uate education; and 


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1 (3) assess risks of potential national security 

2 and economic security threats relating to engineering 

3 biology. 

4 (e) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS5 TRATION.—As part of the Initiative, the National Aero6 nautics and Space Administration shall— 

7 (1) conduct and support basic and applied re8 search in engineering biology, including in synthetic 

9 biology, and related to Earth and space sciences, 

10 aeronautics, space technology, and space exploration 

11 and experimentation, consistent with the priorities 

12 established in the National Academies’ decadal sur13 veys; and 

14 (2) award grants, on a competitive basis, that 

15 enable institutions to support graduate students and 

16 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi17 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

18 (f) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—As part of the 

19 Initiative, the Secretary of Agriculture shall— 

20 (1) support research and development in engi21 neering biology, including in synthetic biology and 

22 biomaterials; 

23 (2) award grants through the National Institute 

24 of Food and Agriculture; and 


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1 (3) support development conducted by the Agri2 cultural Research Service. 

3 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—As 

4 part of the Initiative, the Environmental Protection Agen5 cy shall support research on how products, processes, and 

6 systems of engineering biology will affect or can protect 

7 the environment. 

8 (h) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV9 ICES.— 

10 (1) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.—As 

11 part of the Initiative, the Director of the National 

12 Institutes of Health shall— 

13 (A) support research and development to 

14 advance the understanding and application of 

15 engineering biology for human health, including 

16 in synthetic biology, cell and tissue engineering, 

17 computational biology, and artificial intel18 ligence; 

19 (B) support and accelerate the application 

20 of biomedical research and technologies through 

21 cross-disciplinary collaboration and training 

22 programs; 

23 (C) support research on ethical, legal, safe24 ty, and societal implications of emerging bio25 technologies; and 


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1 (D) award grants on a competitive basis, 

2 that enable institutions to support graduate 

3 students and postdoctoral fellows who perform 

4 some of their engineering biology research 

5 across multiple disciplinary departments. 

6 (2) FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.—As 

7 part of the Initiative, the Commissioner of Food and 

8 Drugs shall— 

9 (A) support research and evaluation of 

10 safety, potency, and efficacy of novel biologic 

11 products and biomanufacturing technologies; 

12 and 

13 (B) ensure the timely development of 

14 screening methods to evaluate safety and secu15 rity of new biological products and processes. 

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bioeconomy Research 

18 and Development Act of 2020’’. 

19 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

20 The Congress makes the following findings: 

21 (1) Cellular and molecular processes may be 

22 used, mimicked, or redesigned to develop new prod23 ucts, processes, and systems that improve societal 

24 well-being, strengthen national security, and con25 tribute to the economy. 


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1 (2) Engineering biology relies on a workforce 

2 with a diverse and unique set of skills combining the 

3 biological, physical, chemical, and information 

4 sciences and engineering. 

5 (3) Long-term research and development is nec6 essary to create breakthroughs in engineering biology. 

7 Such research and development requires government 

8 investment as many of the benefits are too distant or 

9 uncertain for industry to support alone. 

10 (4) Research is necessary to inform evidence11 based governance of engineering biology and to sup12 port the growth of the engineering biology industry. 

13 (5) The Federal Government has an obligation to 

14 ensure that ethical, legal, environmental, safety, secu15 rity, and societal implications of its science and tech16 nology research and investment follows policies of re17 sponsible innovation and fosters public transparency. 

18 (6) The Federal Government can play an impor19 tant role by facilitating the development of tools and 

20 technologies to further advance engineering biology, 

21 including user facilities, by facilitating public-private 

22 partnerships, by supporting risk research, and by fa23 cilitating the commercial application in the United 

24 States of research funded by the Federal Government. 


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1 (7) The United States led the development of the 

2 science and engineering techniques that created the 

3 field of engineering biology, but due to increasing 

4 international competition, the United States is at risk 

5 of losing its competitive advantage if it does not stra6 tegically invest the necessary resources. 

7 (8) A National Engineering Biology Initiative 

8 can serve to establish new research directions and 

9 technology goals, improve interagency coordination 

10 and planning processes, drive technology transfer to 

11 the private sector, and help ensure optimal returns on 

12 the Federal investment. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) BIOMANUFACTURING.—The term ‘‘biomanu16 facturing’’ means the utilization of biological systems 

17 to develop new and advance existing products, tools, 

18 and processes at commercial scale. 

19 (2) ENGINEERING BIOLOGY.—The term ‘‘engi20 neering biology’’ means the application of engineering 

21 design principles and practices to biological systems, 

22 including molecular and cellular systems, to advance 

23 fundamental understanding of complex natural sys24 tems and to enable novel or optimize functions and 

25 capabilities. 


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1 (3) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

2 the National Engineering Biology Research and De3 velopment Initiative established under section 4. 

4 (4) OMICS.—The term ‘‘omics’’ refers to the col5 lective technologies used to explore the roles, relation6 ships, and actions of the various types of molecules 

7 that make up the cells of an organism. 

8 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENGINEERING BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND 

9 DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

11 Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall implement 

12 a National Engineering Biology Research and Development 

13 Initiative to advance societal well-being, national security, 

14 sustainability, and economic productivity and competitive15 ness through— 

16 (1) advancing areas of research at the intersec17 tion of the biological, physical, chemical, data, and 

18 computational sciences and engineering to accelerate 

19 scientific understanding and technological innovation 

20 in engineering biology; 

21 (2) advancing areas of biomanufacturing re22 search to optimize, standardize, scale, and deliver new 

23 products and solutions; 

24 (3) supporting social and behavioral sciences 

25 and economics research that advances the field of enVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 gineering biology and contributes to the development 

2 and public understanding of new products, processes, 

3 and technologies; 

4 (4) improving the understanding of engineering 

5 biology of the scientific and lay public and sup6 porting greater evidence-based public discourse about 

7 its benefits and risks; 

8 (5) supporting risk research, including under 

9 subsection (d); 

10 (6) supporting the development of novel tools and 

11 technologies to accelerate scientific understanding and 

12 technological innovation in engineering biology; 

13 (7) expanding the number of researchers, edu14 cators, and students and a retooled workforce with en15 gineering biology training, including from tradition16 ally underrepresented and underserved populations; 

17 (8) accelerating the translation and commer18 cialization of engineering biology research and devel19 opment by the private sector; and 

20 (9) improving the interagency planning and co21 ordination of Federal Government activities related to 

22 engineering biology. 

23 (b) INITIATIVE ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Ini24 tiative shall include— 


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1 (1) sustained support for engineering biology re2 search and development through— 

3 (A) grants to individual investigators and 

4 teams of investigators, including interdiscipli5 nary teams; 

6 (B) projects funded under joint solicitations 

7 by a collaboration of no fewer than two agencies 

8 participating in the Initiative; and 

9 (C) interdisciplinary research centers that 

10 are organized to investigate basic research ques11 tions, carry out technology development and 

12 demonstration activities, and increase under13 standing of how to scale up engineering biology 

14 processes, including biomanufacturing; 

15 (2) sustained support for databases and related 

16 tools, including— 

17 (A) support for curated genomics, 

18 epigenomics, and all other relevant omics data19 bases, including plant and microbial databases, 

20 that are available to researchers to carry out en21 gineering biology research; 

22 (B) development of standards for such data23 bases, including for curation, interoperability, 

24 and protection of privacy and security; 


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1 (C) support for the development of computa2 tional tools, including artificial intelligence 

3 tools, that can accelerate research and innova4 tion using such databases; and 

5 (D) an inventory and assessment of all Fed6 eral government omics databases to identify op7 portunities for consolidation and inform invest8 ment in such databases as critical infrastructure 

9 for the engineering biology research enterprise; 

10 (3) sustained support for the development, opti11 mization, and validation of novel tools and tech12 nologies to enable the dynamic study of molecular 

13 processes in situ, including through— 

14 (A) research conducted at Federal labora15 tories; 

16 (B) grants to investigators at institutions of 

17 higher education and other nonprofit research 

18 institutions; 

19 (C) incentivized development of retooled in20 dustrial sites across the country that foster a 

21 pivot to modernized engineering biology initia22 tives; and 

23 (D) through the Small Business Innovation 

24 Research Program and the Small Business TechVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 nology Transfer Program, as described in section 

2 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638); 

3 (4) education and training of undergraduate 

4 and graduate students in engineering biology, bio5 manufacturing, bioprocess engineering, and computa6 tional science applied to engineering biology and in 

7 the related ethical, legal, environmental, safety, secu8 rity, and other societal domains; 

9 (5) activities to develop robust mechanisms for 

10 tracking and quantifying the outputs and economic 

11 benefits of engineering biology; and 

12 (6) activities to accelerate the translation and 

13 commercialization of new products, processes, and 

14 technologies by— 

15 (A) identifying precompetitive research op16 portunities; 

17 (B) facilitating public-private partnerships 

18 in engineering biology research and development; 

19 (C) connecting researchers, graduate stu20 dents, and postdoctoral fellows with entrepre21 neurship education and training opportunities; 

22 and 

23 (D) supporting proof of concept activities 

24 and the formation of startup companies includ25 ing through programs such as the Small BusiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 ness Innovation Research Program and the 

2 Small Business Technology Transfer Program. 

3 (c) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Initiative shall 

4 include, to the maximum extent practicable, outreach to 

5 primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institutions 

6 about Initiative opportunities, and shall encourage the de7 velopment of research collaborations between research-inten8 sive universities and primarily undergraduate and minor9 ity-serving institutions. 

10 (d) ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY, SE11 CURITY, AND SOCIETAL ISSUES.—Initiative activities shall 

12 take into account ethical, legal, environmental, safety, secu13 rity, and other appropriate societal issues by— 

14 (1) supporting research, including in the social 

15 sciences, and other activities addressing ethical, legal, 

16 environmental, and other appropriate societal issues 

17 related to engineering biology, including integrating 

18 research on such topics with the research and develop19 ment in engineering biology, and ensuring that the 

20 results of such research are widely disseminated, in21 cluding through interdisciplinary engineering biology 

22 research centers described in subsection (b)(1); 

23 (2) supporting research and other activities re24 lated to the safety and security implications of engi25 neering biology, including outreach to increase awareVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 ness among Federal researchers and Federally-funded 

2 researchers at institutions of higher education about 

3 potential safety and security implications of engineer4 ing biology research, as appropriate; 

5 (3) ensuring that input from Federal and non6 Federal experts on the ethical, legal, environmental, 

7 safety, security, and other appropriate societal issues 

8 related to engineering biology is integrated into the 

9 Initiative; and 

10 (4) ensuring, through the agencies and depart11 ments that participate in the Initiative, that public 

12 input and outreach are integrated into the Initiative 

13 by the convening of regular and ongoing public dis14 cussions through mechanisms such as workshops, con15 sensus conferences, and educational events, as appro16 priate. 

17 SEC. 5. INITIATIVE COORDINATION. 

18 (a) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President, acting 

19 through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall 

20 designate an interagency committee to coordinate engineer21 ing biology, which shall be co-chaired by the Office of 

22 Science and Technology Policy, and include representatives 

23 from the National Science Foundation, the Department of 

24 Energy, the Department of Defense, the National Aero25 nautics and Space Administration, the National Institute 


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1 of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protec2 tion Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the National 

3 Institutes of Health, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and 

4 any other agency that the President considers appropriate 

5 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Interagency Committee’’). 

6 The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

7 shall select an additional co-chairperson from among the 

8 members of the Interagency Committee. The Interagency 

9 Committee shall oversee the planning, management, and co10 ordination of the Initiative. The Interagency Committee 

11 shall— 

12 (1) provide for interagency coordination of Fed13 eral engineering biology research, development, and 

14 other activities undertaken pursuant to the Initiative; 

15 (2) establish and periodically update goals and 

16 priorities for the Initiative; 

17 (3) develop, not later than 12 months after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, and update every 3 

19 years, a strategic plan submitted to the Committee on 

20 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate that— 

23 (A) guides the activities of the Initiative for 

24 purposes of meeting the goals and priorities esVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 tablished under (and updated pursuant to) para2 graph (2); and 

3 (B) describes— 

4 (i) the Initiative’s support for long5 term funding for interdisciplinary engineer6 ing biology research and development; 

7 (ii) the Initiative’s support for edu8 cation and public outreach activities; 

9 (iii) the Initiative’s support for re10 search and other activities on ethical, legal, 

11 environmental, safety, security, and other 

12 appropriate societal issues related to engi13 neering biology including— 

14 (I) an applied biorisk manage15 ment research plan; 

16 (II) recommendations for inte17 grating security into biological data 

18 access and international reciprocity 

19 agreements; 

20 (III) recommendations for manu21 facturing restructuring to support en22 gineering biology research, develop23 ment, and scaling-up initiatives; and 

24 (IV) an evaluation of existing bio25 security governance policies, guidance, 


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1 and directives for the purposes of cre2 ating a unified, adaptable, evidence3 based framework to respond to emerg4 ing biosecurity challenges created by 

5 advances in engineering biology; 

6 (iv) how the Initiative will move re7 sults out of the laboratory and into applica8 tion for the benefit of society and United 

9 States competitiveness; and 

10 (v) how the Initiative will measure 

11 and track the contributions of engineering 

12 biology to United States economic growth 

13 and other societal indicators; 

14 (4) develop a national genomic sequencing strat15 egy to ensure engineering biology research fully 

16 leverages plant, animal, and microbe biodiversity to 

17 enhance long-term innovation and competitiveness in 

18 engineering biology in the United States; 

19 (5) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, 

20 such as the Small Business Innovation Research Pro21 gram and the Small Business Technology Transfer 

22 Program as described in section 9 of the Small Busi23 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638), in support of the activities 

24 described in section 4(b)(3); and 


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1 (6) in carrying out this section, take into consid2 eration the recommendations of the advisory com3 mittee established under section 6, the results of the 

4 workshop convened under section 7, existing reports 

5 on related topics, and the views of academic, State, 

6 industry, and other appropriate groups. 

7 (b) TRIENNIAL REPORT.—Beginning with fiscal year 

8 2022 and ending in fiscal year 2028, not later than 90 days 

9 after submission of the President’s annual budget request 

10 and every third fiscal year thereafter, the Interagency Com11 mittee shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 

12 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa13 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans14 portation of the Senate a report that includes— 

15 (1) a summarized agency budget in support of 

16 the Initiative for the fiscal year to which such budget 

17 request applies, for the following 2 fiscal years, for the 

18 then current fiscal year, including a breakout of 

19 spending for each agency participating in the Pro20 gram, and for the development and acquisition of any 

21 research facilities and instrumentation; and 

22 (2) an assessment of how Federal agencies are 

23 implementing the plan described in subsection (a)(3), 

24 including— 


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1 (A) a description of the amount and num2 ber of awards made under the Small Business 

3 Innovation Research Program and the Small 

4 Business Technology Transfer Program (as de5 scribed in section 9 of the Small Business Act 

6 (15 U.S.C. 638)) in support of the Initiative; 

7 (B) a description of the amount and num8 ber of projects funded under joint solicitations by 

9 a collaboration of no fewer than 2 agencies par10 ticipating in the Initiative; and 

11 (C) a description of the effect of the newly 

12 funded projects by the Initiative. 

13 (c) INITIATIVE OFFICE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

15 an Initiative Coordination Office, with a Director 

16 and full-time staff, which shall— 

17 (A) provide technical and administrative 

18 support to the interagency committee and the ad19 visory committee established under section 6; 

20 (B) serve as the point of contact on Federal 

21 engineering biology activities for government or22 ganizations, academia, industry, professional so23 cieties, State governments, interested citizen 

24 groups, and others to exchange technical and 

25 programmatic information; 


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1 (C) oversee interagency coordination of the 

2 Initiative, including by encouraging and sup3 porting joint agency solicitation and selection of 

4 applications for funding of activities under the 

5 Initiative; 

6 (D) conduct public outreach, including dis7 semination of findings and recommendations of 

8 the advisory committee established under section 

9 6, as appropriate; 

10 (E) serve as the coordinator of ethical, legal, 

11 environmental, safety, security, and other appro12 priate societal input; and 

13 (F) promote access to, and early applica14 tion of, the technologies, innovations, and exper15 tise derived from Initiative activities to agency 

16 missions and systems across the Federal Govern17 ment, and to United States industry, including 

18 startup companies. 

19 (2) FUNDING.—The Director of the Office of 

20 Science and Technology Policy shall develop an esti21 mate of the funds necessary to carry out the activities 

22 of the Initiative Coordination Office, including an es23 timate of how much each participating agency de24 scribed in subsection (a) will contribute to such funds, 


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1 and submit such estimate to Congress no later than 

2 90 days after the enactment of this Act. 

3 (3) TERMINATION.—The Initiative Coordination 

4 Office established under this subsection shall termi5 nate on the date that is 10 years after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The agency co-chair of the inter9 agency committee established in section 5 shall, in consulta10 tion with the Office of Science and Technology Policy, des11 ignate or establish an advisory committee on engineering 

12 biology research and development (in this section referred 

13 to as the ‘‘advisory committee’’) to be composed of not fewer 

14 than 12 members, including representatives of research and 

15 academic institutions, industry, and nongovernmental enti16 ties, who are qualified to provide advice on the Initiative. 

17 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The advisory committee shall as18 sess— 

19 (1) the current state of United States competi20 tiveness in engineering biology, including the scope 

21 and scale of United States investments in engineering 

22 biology research and development in the international 

23 context; 


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1 (2) current market barriers to commercialization 

2 of engineering biology products, processes, and tools 

3 in the United States; 

4 (3) progress made in implementing the Initia5 tive; 

6 (4) the need to revise the Initiative; 

7 (5) the balance of activities and funding across 

8 the Initiative; 

9 (6) whether the strategic plan developed or up10 dated by the interagency committee established under 

11 section 5 is helping to maintain United States leader12 ship in engineering biology; 

13 (7) the management, coordination, implementa14 tion, and activities of the Initiative; and 

15 (8) whether ethical, legal, environmental, safety, 

16 security, and other appropriate societal issues are 

17 adequately addressed by the Initiative. 

18 (c) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than 2 years after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 

20 than once every 3 years thereafter, the advisory committee 

21 shall submit to the President, the Committee on Science, 

22 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and 

23 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

24 of the Senate, a report on— 


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1 (1) the findings of the advisory committee’s as2 sessment under subsection (b); and 

3 (2) the advisory committee’s recommendations 

4 for ways to improve the Initiative. 

5 (d) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

6 ACT.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

7 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee. 

8 (e) TERMINATION.—The advisory committee estab9 lished under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that 

10 is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 7. EXTERNAL REVIEW OF ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRON12 MENTAL, SAFETY, SECURITY, AND SOCIETAL 

13 ISSUES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 

16 Science Foundation shall seek to enter into an agreement 

17 with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

18 Medicine to conduct a review, and make recommendations 

19 with respect to, the ethical, legal, environmental, safety, se20 curity, and other appropriate societal issues related to engi21 neering biology research and development. The review shall 

22 include— 

23 (1) an assessment of the current research on such 

24 issues; 


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1 (2) a description of the research gaps relating to 

2 such issues; 

3 (3) recommendations on how the Initiative can 

4 address the research needs identified pursuant to 

5 paragraph (2); and 

6 (4) recommendations on how engineering biology 

7 researchers can best incorporate considerations of eth8 ical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and other 

9 societal issues into the development of research pro10 posals and the conduct of research. 

11 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The agreement entered 

12 into under subsection (a) shall require the National Acad13 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to, not later 

14 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act— 

15 (1) submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

16 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

17 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation of the Senate a report containing the findings 

19 and recommendations of the review conducted under 

20 subsection (a); and 

21 (2) make a copy of such report available on a 

22 publicly accessible website. 

23 SEC. 8. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 

24 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—As part of the 

25 Initiative, the National Science Foundation shall— 


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1 (1) support basic research in engineering biology 

2 through individual grants, collaborative grants, and 

3 through interdisciplinary research centers; 

4 (2) support research on the environmental, legal, 

5 ethical, and social implications of engineering biol6 ogy; 

7 (3) provide support for research instrumentation 

8 for engineering biology disciplines, including support 

9 for research, development, optimization and valida10 tion of novel technologies to enable the dynamic study 

11 of molecular processes in situ; 

12 (4) support curriculum development and re13 search experiences for secondary, undergraduate, and 

14 graduate students in engineering biology and bio15 manufacturing; and 

16 (5) award grants, on a competitive basis, to en17 able institutions to support graduate students and 

18 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi19 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

20 (b) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—As part of the Ini21 tiative, the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

22 and Technology shall— 

23 (1) establish a bioscience research program to ad24 vance the development of standard reference materials 

25 and measurements and to create new data tools, techVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734

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1 niques, and processes necessary to advance engineer2 ing biology and biomanufacturing; 

3 (2) provide access to user facilities with ad4 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

5 other resources to industry, institutions of higher edu6 cation, nonprofit organizations, and government 

7 agencies to perform research and testing; and 

8 (3) provide technical expertise to inform the po9 tential development of guidelines or safeguards for 

10 new products, processes, and systems of engineering 

11 biology. 

12 (c) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—As part of the Initia13 tive, the Secretary of Energy shall— 

14 (1) conduct and support research, development, 

15 demonstration, and commercial application activities 

16 in engineering biology, including in the areas of syn17 thetic biology, advanced biofuel development, biobased 

18 materials, and environmental remediation; 

19 (2) support the development, optimization and 

20 validation of novel, scalable tools and technologies to 

21 enable the dynamic study of molecular processes in 

22 situ; and 

23 (3) provide access to user facilities with ad24 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

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1 formance computing, as appropriate, to industry, in2 stitutions of higher education, nonprofit organiza3 tions, and government agencies to perform research 

4 and testing. 

5 (d) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—As part of the Ini6 tiative, the Secretary of Defense shall— 

7 (1) conduct and support research and develop8 ment in engineering biology and associated data and 

9 information sciences; 

10 (2) support curriculum development and re11 search experiences in engineering biology and associ12 ated data and information sciences across the mili13 tary education system, to include service academies, 

14 professional military education, and military grad15 uate education; and 

16 (3) assess risks of potential national security and 

17 economic security threats relating to engineering biol18 ogy. 

19 (e) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRA20 TION.—As part of the Initiative, the National Aeronautics 

21 and Space Administration shall— 

22 (1) conduct and support basic and applied re23 search in engineering biology, including in synthetic 

24 biology, and related to Earth and space sciences, aero25 nautics, space technology, and space exploration and 


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1 experimentation, consistent with the priorities estab2 lished in the National Academies’ decadal surveys; 

3 and 

4 (2) award grants, on a competitive basis, that 

5 enable institutions to support graduate students and 

6 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi7 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

8 (f) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—As part of the 

9 Initiative, the Secretary of Agriculture shall— 

10 (1) support research and development in engi11 neering biology, including in synthetic biology and 

12 biomaterials; 

13 (2) award grants through the National Institute 

14 of Food and Agriculture; and 

15 (3) support development conducted by the Agri16 cultural Research Service. 

17 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—As part 

18 of the Initiative, the Environmental Protection Agency shall 

19 support research on how products, processes, and systems 

20 of engineering biology will affect or can protect the environ21 ment. 

22 (h) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV23 ICES.— 


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1 (1) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.—As part 

2 of the Initiative, the Director of the National Insti3 tutes of Health shall— 

4 (A) support research and development to 

5 advance the understanding and application of 

6 engineering biology for human health, including 

7 in synthetic biology, cell and tissue engineering, 

8 computational biology, and artificial intel9 ligence; 

10 (B) support and accelerate the application 

11 of biomedical research and technologies through 

12 cross-disciplinary collaboration and training 

13 programs; 

14 (C) support research on ethical, legal, safe15 ty, and societal implications of emerging biotech16 nologies; and 

17 (D) award grants on a competitive basis, 

18 that enable institutions to support graduate stu19 dents and postdoctoral fellows who perform some 

20 of their engineering biology research across mul21 tiple disciplinary departments. 

22 (2) FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.—As part 

23 of the Initiative, the Commissioner of Food and 

24 Drugs shall— 


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1 (A) support research and evaluation of safe2 ty, potency, and efficacy of novel biologic prod3 ucts and biomanufacturing technologies; and 

4 (B) ensure the timely development of screen5 ing methods to evaluate safety and security of 

6 new biological products and processes. 


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Calendar No. 636 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3734 

[Report No. 116–330] 

A BILL 

To provide for a coordinated Federal research iniship in engineering biology. tiative to ensure continued United States leaderDECEMBER 15, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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