I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 591 

To provide for a coordinated Federal research program to ensure continued 

United States leadership in engineering biology. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2015 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself and Mr. SENSENBRENNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for a coordinated Federal research program 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 ‘‘Engineering Biology 

5 Research and Development Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Cellular and molecular processes may be 

9 used, mimicked, or redesigned to develop new prodVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Feb 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H591.IH H591

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1 ucts, processes, and systems that improve societal 

2 well-being, strengthen national security, and con3 tribute to the economy. 

4 (2) Engineering biology relies on scientists and 

5 engineers with a diverse and unique set of skills 

6 combining the biological, physical, and information 

7 sciences and engineering. 

8 (3) Long-term research and development is nec9 essary to create breakthroughs in engineering biol10 ogy. Such research and development requires govern11 ment investment as the benefits are too distant or 

12 uncertain for industry to support alone. 

13 (4) The Federal Government can play an im14 portant role by facilitating the development of tools 

15 and technologies to further advance engineering biol16 ogy, including multiple user facilities that the Fed17 eral Government is uniquely able to support. 

18 (5) Since other countries are investing signifi19 cant resources in engineering biology, the United 

20 States is at risk of losing its competitive lead in this 

21 emerging area if it does not invest the necessary re22 sources and have a national strategy. 

23 (6) A National Engineering Biology Initiative 

24 can serve to establish new research directions and 

25 technology goals, improve interagency coordination 


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1 and planning processes, drive technology transfer, 

2 and help ensure optimal returns on the Federal in3 vestment. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘Advisory Committee’’ means the 

7 advisory committee designated under section 5; 

8 (2) the term ‘‘biomanufacturing’’ means the 

9 manufacturing of products using biological manufac10 turing technologies; 

11 (3) the term ‘‘engineering biology’’ means the 

12 science and engineering of cellular and molecular 

13 processes to advance fundamental understanding of 

14 complex natural systems and to develop new and ad15 vance existing products, processes, and systems that 

16 will contribute significantly to societal well-being, 

17 national security, and the economy; 

18 (4) the term ‘‘Interagency Committee’’ means 

19 the interagency committee designated under section 

20 4(e); and 

21 (5) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the National 

22 Engineering Biology Research and Development 

23 Program established under section 4. 


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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENGINEERING BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND 

2 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall implement a 

4 National Engineering Biology Research and Development 

5 Program to advance societal well-being, national security, 

6 and economic productivity and competitiveness through— 

7 (1) advancing areas of research at the intersec8 tion of the biological, physical, and information 

9 sciences and engineering; 

10 (2) supporting social science research that ad11 vances the field of engineering biology and contrib12 utes to the adoption of new products, processes, and 

13 technologies; 

14 (3) expanding the number of researchers, edu15 cators, and students with engineering biology train16 ing; 

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

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

22 to engineering biology. 

23 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro24 gram shall include— 

25 (1) sustained support for engineering biology 

26 research and development through— 


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1 (A) grants to individual investigators and 

2 interdisciplinary teams of investigators; 

3 (B) projects funded under joint solicita4 tions by a collaboration of no fewer than two 

5 agencies participating in the Program; and 

6 (C) interdisciplinary research centers that 

7 are organized to investigate basic research 

8 questions and carry out technology development 

9 and demonstration activities; 

10 (2) education and training of undergraduate 

11 and graduate students in research at the intersection 

12 of biological, physical, and information sciences and 

13 engineering; 

14 (3) activities to develop robust mechanisms for 

15 tracking and quantifying the outputs and economic 

16 benefits of engineering biology; and 

17 (4) activities to accelerate the translation and 

18 commercialization of new products, processes, and 

19 technologies by— 

20 (A) identifying precompetitive research op21 portunities; 

22 (B) facilitating public-private partnerships 

23 in engineering biology research and develop24 ment; 


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1 (C) connecting researchers, graduate stu2 dents, and postdoctoral fellows with entrepre3 neurship education and training opportunities; 

4 and 

5 (D) supporting proof of concept activities 

6 and the formation of startup companies includ7 ing through programs such as the Small Busi8 ness Innovation Research Program and the 

9 Small Business Technology Transfer Program. 

10 (c) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Program shall 

11 include, to the maximum extent practicable, outreach to 

12 primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institutions 

13 about Program opportunities, and shall encourage the de14 velopment of research collaborations between research-in15 tensive universities and primarily undergraduate and mi16 nority-serving institutions. 

17 (d) ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCI18 ETAL ISSUES.—Program activities shall take into account 

19 ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate soci20 etal issues, including the need for safeguards and moni21 toring systems to protect society against the unintended 

22 release of engineered materials produced, by— 

23 (1) supporting research, including in the social 

24 sciences, and other activities addressing ethical, 

25 legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal 


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1 issues related to engineering biology, including inte2 grating research on these topics with the research 

3 and development in engineering biology, and ensur4 ing that the results of such research are widely dis5 seminated, including through interdisciplinary engi6 neering biology research centers described in sub7 section (b)(1); and 

8 (2) ensuring, through the agencies and depart9 ments that participate in the Program, that public 

10 input and outreach are integrated into the Program 

11 by the convening of regular and ongoing public dis12 cussions through mechanisms such as citizen panels, 

13 consensus conferences, and educational events, as 

14 appropriate. 

15 (e) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President shall 

16 designate an interagency committee on engineering biol17 ogy, which shall include representatives from the Office 

18 of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science 

19 Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Aer20 onautics and Space Administration, the National Institute 

21 of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protec22 tion Agency, and any other agency that the President con23 siders appropriate. The Director of the Office of Science 

24 and Technology Policy shall select a chairperson from 

25 among the members of the Interagency Committee. The 


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1 Interagency Committee shall oversee the planning, man2 agement, and coordination of the Program. The Inter3 agency Committee shall— 

4 (1) provide for interagency coordination of Fed5 eral engineering biology research, development, and 

6 other activities undertaken pursuant to the Pro7 gram; 

8 (2) establish and periodically update goals and 

9 priorities for the Program; 

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

11 date of enactment of this Act, and update every 5 

12 years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the 

13 Program and meet the goals and priorities estab14 lished under paragraph (2) and describe— 

15 (A) the Program’s support for long-term 

16 funding for interdisciplinary engineering biology 

17 research and development; 

18 (B) the Program’s support for education 

19 and public outreach activities; 

20 (C) the Program’s support for research 

21 and other activities on ethical, legal, environ22 mental, and other appropriate societal issues re23 lated to engineering biology; and 

24 (D) how the Program will move results out 

25 of the laboratory and into application for the 


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1 benefit of society and United States competi2 tiveness; 

3 (4) propose an annually coordinated interagency 

4 budget for the Program that will ensure the mainte5 nance of a robust engineering biology research and 

6 development portfolio and ensure that the balance of 

7 funding across the Program is sufficient to meet the 

8 goals and priorities established for the Program; 

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

10 such as the Small Business Innovation Research 

11 Program and the Small Business Technology Trans12 fer Program, in support of the goal described in sub13 section (b)(4); and 

14 (6) in carrying out its responsibilities under this 

15 section, take into consideration the recommendations 

16 of the Advisory Committee, the results of the work17 shop convened under section 6, existing reports on 

18 related topics, and the views of academic, State, in19 dustry, and other appropriate groups. 

20 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Interagency Committee 

21 shall prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the 

22 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later 


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1 than 90 days after submission of the President’s annual 

2 budget request, that includes— 

3 (1) the Program budget for the fiscal year to 

4 which such budget request applies, and for the then 

5 current fiscal year, including a breakout of spending 

6 for each agency participating in the Program, and 

7 for the development and acquisition of any research 

8 facilities and instrumentation; and 

9 (2) an assessment of how Federal agencies are 

10 implementing the plan described in subsection 

11 (e)(5), and a description of the amount and number 

12 of Small Business Innovation Research and Small 

13 Business Technology Transfer awards made in sup14 port of the Program. 

15 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall designate an 

17 advisory committee on engineering biology research and 

18 development with at least 12 members, including rep19 resentatives of research and academic institutions, indus20 try, and nongovernmental entities, who are qualified to 

21 provide advice on the Program. 

22 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as23 sess— 

24 (1) progress made in implementing the Pro25 gram; 


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1 (2) the need to revise the Program; 

2 (3) the balance of activities and funding across 

3 the Program; 

4 (4) whether the Program priorities and goals 

5 developed by the Interagency Committee are helping 

6 to maintain United States leadership in engineering 

7 biology; 

8 (5) the management, coordination, implementa9 tion, and activities of the Program; and 

10 (6) whether ethical, legal, environmental, and 

11 other appropriate societal issues are adequately ad12 dressed by the Program. 

13 (c) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall report 

14 within 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 and thereafter not less frequently than once every 5 years, 

16 to the President, the Committee on Science, Space, and 

17 Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

19 Senate, on its findings of the assessment carried out under 

20 this section and its recommendations for ways to improve 

21 the Program. 

22 (d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA23 TION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Com25 mittee. 


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1 SEC. 6. EXTERNAL REVIEW OF ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRON2 MENTAL, AND SOCIETAL ISSUES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na5 tional Science Foundation shall enter into an agreement 

6 with the National Academies to convene a workshop to 

7 review the ethical, legal, environmental, and other appro8 priate societal issues related to engineering biology re9 search and development. The goals of the workshop shall 

10 be to— 

11 (1) assess the current research on such issues; 

12 (2) evaluate the research gaps relating to such 

13 issues; and 

14 (3) provide recommendations on how the Pro15 gram can address the research needs identified. 

16 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

18 the National Science Foundation shall transmit to the 

19 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a sum22 mary report containing the findings of the workshop con23 vened under this section. 

24 SEC. 7. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 

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

26 the Program, the National Science Foundation shall— 


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1 (1) support basic research at the intersection of 

2 the biological, physical, and information sciences and 

3 engineering through individual grants and through 

4 interdisciplinary research centers; 

5 (2) support research on the environmental and 

6 social effects of engineering biology; 

7 (3) provide research instrumentation support 

8 for engineering biology disciplines; and 

9 (4) award grants, on a competitive basis, to en10 able institutions to support graduate students and 

11 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi12 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

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

14 Program, the Director of the National Institute of Stand15 ards and Technology shall— 

16 (1) establish a bioscience research program to 

17 advance the development of standard reference ma18 terials and measurements and to create new data 

19 tools, techniques, and processes necessary to advance 

20 engineering biology and biomanufacturing; 

21 (2) provide access to user facilities with ad22 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

23 other resources to industry, institutions of higher 

24 education, nonprofit organizations, and government 

25 agencies to perform research and testing; and 


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1 (3) provide technical expertise to inform the de2 velopment of guidelines and safeguards for new 

3 products, processes, and systems of engineering biol4 ogy. 

5 (c) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—As part of the Pro6 gram, the Secretary of Energy shall— 

7 (1) conduct and support basic research, devel8 opment, demonstration, and commercial application 

9 activities in engineering biology disciplines, including 

10 in the areas of synthetic biology, advanced biofuel 

11 development, biobased materials, and environmental 

12 remediation; and 

13 (2) provide access to user facilities with ad14 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

15 other resources, as appropriate, to industry, institu16 tions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, 

17 and government agencies to perform research and 

18 testing. 

19 (d) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS20 TRATION.—As part of the Program, the National Aero21 nautics and Space Administration shall— 

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

24 field of synthetic biology, and related to Earth and 

25 space sciences, aeronautics, space technology, and 


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1 space exploration and experimentation, consistent 

2 with the priorities established in the National Acad3 emies’ decadal surveys; 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 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—As 

9 part of the Program, the Environmental Protection Agen10 cy shall support research on how products, processes, and 

11 systems of engineering biology will affect the environment. 

Æ 


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