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 De-
fense relating to biotechnology, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Biotech Futures Act’’. 
SEC. 2. BIOTECHNOLOGY ROADMAP. 
(a) ROADMAP REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall develop a biotechnology roadmap to guide the efforts 
of the Department of Defense relating to biotechnology. 
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(b) ELEMENTS.—In the roadmap required by sub-
section (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— 
(1) clearly articulate the strategic objectives of 
the Department of Defense relating to bio-
technology; 
(2) for each strategic objective, establish spe-
cific goals and milestones for the achievement of 
such objective, including timelines for meeting such 
goals and milestones; 
(3) in the case of each updated version of the 
roadmap following submittal of the initial roadmap 
under subsection (d)(1), include— 
(A) a review of the goals and milestones 
established under paragraph (2) to ensure such 
goals and milestones continue to align with 
strategic objectives under paragraph (1); and 
(B) a description of any goals and mile-
stones that changed as a result of such review; 
(4) separately identify each biotechnology effort 
covered by the strategy, including any programs, 
projects, or other activities associated with such ef-
fort within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 
the Armed Forces, and other organizations of the 
Department, and for each such effort provide— 
(A) a description of the effort; 
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(B) an estimate of the funding dedicated 
to the effort; 
(C) a timeline for carrying out the effort; 
and 
(D) an explanation of how the effort aligns 
with the strategic objectives under paragraph 
(1); 
(5) identify and describe the role of each orga-
nization of the Department with responsibilities re-
lating to biotechnology under the strategy; 
(6) establish metrics to measure the progress of 
the Department in meeting the objectives, goals, and 
milestones under the strategy; 
(7) based on such metrics, assess the progress 
of the Department in meeting such objectives, goals, 
and milestones; 
(8) based on the results of such assessment, 
make any necessary adjustments to the planning 
and execution of the roadmap to ensure the Depart-
ment makes continuous progress toward achieving 
the objectives under paragraph (1); 
(9) assess the overall risk to the security of the 
United States of the biotechnology efforts covered by 
the strategy; 
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(10) analyze any requirements of the Federal 
Government that hinder the ability of the Depart-
ment to advance and use biotechnology; 
(11) provide for the development and support of 
the biotechnology workforce of the Department, in-
cluding personnel with responsibilities relating di-
rectly to biotechnology and personnel who indirectly 
support the biotechnology efforts of the Department 
such as personnel involved program management, 
acquisition, investment, and legal matters; 
(12) with respect to the biotechnology workforce 
described in paragraph (11)— 
(A) identify the total number of bio-
technology positions required to support the ob-
jectives of the roadmap— 
(i) as of the date of the road map; 
and 
(ii) over the periods of five and 10 
years following such date; 
(B) indicate the number of such positions 
that have been filled as of the date of the road-
map; 
(C) describe the positions included in the 
biotechnology workforce, including a description 
of— 
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(i) the role of each position in sup-
porting the objectives under paragraph (1); 
and 
(ii) the qualifications required for 
each position, including any qualifications 
relating to seniority level, education, train-
ing, and security clearances; 
(D) identify any challenges affecting the 
ability of the Department to develop the bio-
technology workforce and propose solutions to 
those challenges; 
(E) assess whether the codes used to de-
fine positions and roles within the workforce of 
the Department adequately cover the range of 
positions and personnel that comprise the bio-
technology workforce, such as personnel in re-
search, engineering, and testing; 
(F) identify mechanisms to enable the De-
partment to access outside expertise relating to 
biotechnology, including mechanisms to assem-
ble a pool of outside experts who have been 
prequalified (including by obtaining any nec-
essary security clearances) to provide advice 
and assistance to the Department on matters 
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relating to biotechnology on an as-needed basis; 
and 
(G) assess whether personnel occupying ex-
isting positions in the Department could be 
used to meet biotechnology workforce needs 
with additional training and, if so, the nature 
and scope of the training required; and 
(13) address collaboration between the Depart-
ment and international partners to advance research 
on biotechnology, which shall include— 
(A) a description of any international part-
nerships under which the United States is col-
laborating with partners to conduct bio-
technology research and development for de-
fense purposes; 
(B) a description of any new international 
partnerships that may be entered into, or exist-
ing partnerships that may be modified, to pro-
vide for such collaboration; and 
(C) identification of any challenges affect-
ing the ability of the Department engage in 
such collaboration with international partners, 
including— 
(i) any limitations on co-investments 
within international partnerships; 
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(ii) any United States export controls 
or other technology protections that hinder 
information sharing within such partner-
ships; and 
(iii) any other challenges that may 
prevent the full utilization of such partner-
ships for such collaboration. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the roadmap re-
quired under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall 
consult with— 
(1) the Under Secretary of Defense for Re-
search and Engineering; 
(2) the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisi-
tion and Sustainment; 
(3) the Secretaries of the military departments; 
and 
(4) such other officials of the Department of 
Defense as the Secretary determines appropriate. 
(d) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS; UPDATES.— 
(1) INITIAL SUBMISSION.—Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congres-
sional defense committees the roadmap developed 
under subsection (a). 
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(2) ANNUAL
UPDATES.—Not less frequently 
than once every two years following the submittal of 
the initial roadmap under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall— 
(A) review and update the roadmap; and 
(B) submit an updated version of the road-
map to the congressional defense committees. 
(3) FORM.—Each version of the roadmap re-
quired to be submitted under this subsection may be 
submitted in classified form, but if so submitted, 
shall include an unclassified executive summary. 
(e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—On annual basis, the 
Secretary shall make an unclassified version of the most 
recent roadmap submitted under subsection (d) available 
on a publicly accessible website of the Department of De-
fense. 
(f) BIOTECHNOLOGY DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘biotechnology’’ means the application of science and 
technology to living organisms and to parts, products and 
models of such organisms to alter living or non-living ma-
terials for the production of knowledge, goods, or services. 
Æ 
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