II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4413 

To provide for the establishment of a National Synthetic Biology Center, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a National Synthetic 

Biology Center, 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 ‘‘Synthetic Biology Ad5 vancement Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the application of synthetic biology to accel9 erate innovation in food and agriculture is critical 

10 to— 


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1 (A) the national security and economic fu2 ture of the United States; and 

3 (B) the ability of the United States to feed 

4 and fuel the global economy; 

5 (2) while agriculture has experienced significant 

6 advancements in productivity and sustainability, the 

7 future of the food system relies on disruptive tech8 nologies catalyzed by synthetic biology at the inter9 sections of soil health, plant science, animal health, 

10 and, ultimately, human health; 

11 (3) synthetic biology is a key tool to defend 

12 against terrorism and high-consequence events; 

13 (4) investments into synthetic biology will cata14 lyze the strengths of engineering, agriculture, and 

15 manufacturing to develop a resilient food and agri16 culture system; 

17 (5) resiliency is accomplished through advanced 

18 biotechnology and digital solutions to keep the 

19 United States at the forefront of feeding the United 

20 States and the world; 

21 (6) Congress has historically prioritized a safe 

22 and secure food supply in the United States, as evi23 denced by the enactment of the Securing Our Agri24 culture and Food Act (Public Law 115–43; 131 

25 Stat. 884); and 


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1 (7) innovation and research are necessary to 

2 push the boundaries of science to develop disruptive 

3 technologies that advance national security through 

4 food security. 

5 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY CENTER. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) 1862 INSTITUTION; 1890 INSTITUTION.— 

8 The terms ‘‘1862 Institution’’ and ‘‘1890 Institu9 tion’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

10 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Edu11 cation Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601). 

12 (2) 1994 INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘1994 Insti13 tution’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

14 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Sta15 tus Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 

16 103–382). 

17 (3) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 

18 National Synthetic Biology Center established under 

19 subsection (b)(1). 

20 (4) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi21 ble institution’’ means— 

22 (A) an 1862 Institution; 

23 (B) an 1890 Institution; and 

24 (C) a 1994 Institution. 


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1 (5) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na2 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

3 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

4 U.S.C. 15801). 

5 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL SYNTHETIC BI8 OLOGY CENTER.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the head of any other relevant Federal 

11 agency, shall establish a center, to be known as the 

12 ‘‘National Synthetic Biology Center’’, to award 

13 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible institu14 tions. 

15 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center is to 

16 provide a hub for researchers and industry partners 

17 in the United States to discover and develop science18 based solutions based on synthetic biology to im19 prove agricultural performance while minimizing en20 vironmental impact and improving overall food sys21 tem resiliency. 

22 (c) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Center shall provide grants 

23 to eligible institutions to carry out projects in partnership 

24 with not fewer than 1 other entity, which may include— 

25 (1) a nonprofit organization; 


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1 (2) a State entity; 

2 (3) a National Laboratory; 

3 (4) an 1862 Institution; 

4 (5) an 1890 Institution; 

5 (6) a 1994 Institution; or 

6 (7) any combination of entities described in 

7 paragraphs (1) through (6). 

8 (d) APPLICATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution seek10 ing a grant under this section shall submit an appli11 cation to the Center at such time, in such manner, 

12 and containing such information as the Center may 

13 require. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—An application submitted 

15 under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, a 

16 description of how the proposed project will— 

17 (A) promote innovative synthetic biology 

18 technologies and practices that address current 

19 and emerging challenges in the food and agri20 culture sector; 

21 (B) foster the development and dissemina22 tion of science-based educational resources and 

23 training programs on synthetic biology for 

24 stakeholders in the agricultural community; 


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1 (C) enhance the efficiency, sustainability, 

2 and resiliency of food production systems 

3 through synthetic biology interventions; and 

4 (D) monitor and evaluate the impacts, ben5 efits, and challenges of implementing synthetic 

6 biology solutions in real-world agricultural set7 tings. 

8 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 (1) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—In awarding 

10 grants to eligible institutions, the Center shall 

11 prioritize the following areas of research: 

12 (A) Cellular biology. 

13 (B) Genomes to phenomes. 

14 (C) Microbiomes or microbes. 

15 (D) Gene editing. 

16 (E) Digital agriculture. 

17 (F) Fermentation. 

18 (G) Controlled environment agriculture. 

19 (2) PURPOSES.—An eligible institution receiv20 ing a grant from the Center may use the grant for 

21 the following purposes: 

22 (A) To explore and advance biotechnology 

23 applied to food science in the creation of new 

24 protein sources for human and animal con25 sumption. 


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1 (B) To build on the Agricultural Genome 

2 to Phenome Initiative (also known as the 

3 ‘‘AG2PI’’) of the National Institute of Food 

4 and Agriculture to inform approaches to under5 standing how variable weather, environments, 

6 and production systems interact with genetic di7 versity in crops and animals to impact growth 

8 and productivity. 

9 (C) To advance the development and com10 mercialization of nutritional and therapeutic in11 novations to improve the health of livestock and 

12 companion animals. 

13 (D) To create new crops that have func14 tional mutations that improve performance and 

15 increase climate resiliency through increased ef16 ficiency in the use of inputs and increased dis17 ease and pest resistance. 

18 (E) To apply artificial intelligence, ma19 chine learning, data science, and advanced com20 putational processes to accelerate modeling and 

21 measurement for new synthetic biological solu22 tions. 

23 (F) To strengthen advanced manufac24 turing sciences and infrastructure to use micro25 organisms to produce food and agricultural 


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1 products, including vaccines, crop protection 

2 products, and food products for human and ani3 mal nutrition, by capitalizing on the strength of 

4 food science, engineering, and pharmacy. 

5 (G) To advance diversity of crops to in6 crease the food supply and explore pharma7 ceutical plant-based derivatives within a con8 trolled environment. 

9 (f) TIMING OF AWARDS.—Not later than 1 year after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Center shall begin 

11 awarding grants under this section. 

12 (g) COORDINATION.— 

13 (1) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—An eligible institution 

14 receiving a grant from the Center under this section 

15 shall endeavor to coordinate with a wide range of ex16 perts and researchers to create efficiency in the in17 novation development pipeline. 

18 (2) CENTER.—The Center shall coordinate with 

19 technology transfer offices or technology licensing of20 fices in order to disseminate innovations and reach 

21 commercialization. 

22 (h) WEBSITE.—The Center shall establish and main23 tain a website with a user friendly portal in order to dis24 seminate synthetic biology findings and connect research25 ers and innovators to collaborative opportunities. 


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1 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, 

3 the Center shall submit to the relevant committees of Con4 gress a report detailing— 

5 (1) any findings from the research funded by 

6 the Center; 

7 (2) the progress of any innovation funded by 

8 the Center; 

9 (3) a description of the focus and proposed 

10 goals of each grant recipient; 

11 (4) an assessment, based on a common set of 

12 metrics across all grant recipients, of the success of 

13 each grant recipient in improving efficiency in the 

14 innovation development pipeline; and 

15 (5) any recommendations for administrative or 

16 legislative action that may optimize the effectiveness 

17 of the research activities carried out by grant recipi18 ents under this section. 

19 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary— 

21 (1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

22 through 2029, to remain available until expended, 

23 for the awarding of grants by the Center; and 

24 (2) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

25 through 2029, to remain available until expended, 


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1 for the establishment of the Center and for other ac2 tivities of the Center. 

Æ 


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