Bioeconomy Research and Development Act of 2020

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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bioeconomy Research 4 and Development Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3734 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) Cellular and molecular processes may be 3 used, mimicked, or redesigned to develop new prod- 4 ucts, processes, and systems that improve societal 5 well-being, strengthen national security, and con- 6 tribute to the economy. 7 (2) Engineering biology relies on a workforce 8 with a diverse and unique set of skills combining the 9 biological, physical, chemical, and information 10 sciences and engineering. 11 (3) Long-term research and development is nec- 12 essary to create breakthroughs in engineering biol- 13 ogy. Such research and development requires govern- 14 ment investment as many of the benefits are too dis- 15 tant or uncertain for industry to support alone. 16 (4) Research is necessary to inform evidence- 17 based governance of engineering biology and to sup- 18 port the growth of the engineering biology industry. 19 (5) The Federal Government has an obligation 20 to ensure that ethical, legal, environmental, safety, 21 security, and societal implications of its science and 22 technology research and investment follows policies 23 of responsible innovation and fosters public trans- 24 parency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3734 RS (6) The Federal Government can play an im- 1 portant role by facilitating the development of tools 2 and technologies to further advance engineering biol- 3 ogy, including user facilities, by facilitating public- 4 private partnerships, by supporting risk research, 5 and by facilitating the commercial application in the 6 United States of research funded by the Federal 7 Government. 8 (7) The United States led the development of 9 the science and engineering techniques that created 10 the field of engineering biology, but due to increas- 11 ing international competition, the United States is 12 at risk of losing its competitive advantage if does not 13 invest the necessary resources and have a national 14 strategy. 15 (8) A National Engineering Biology Initiative 16 can serve to establish new research directions and 17 technology goals, improve interagency coordination 18 and planning processes, drive technology transfer to 19 the private sector, and help ensure optimal returns 20 on the Federal investment. 21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 (1) BIOMANUFACTURING.—The term ‘‘bio- 24 manufacturing’’ means the utilization of biological 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3734 RS systems to develop new and advance existing prod- 1 ucts, tools, and processes at commercial scale. 2 (2) ENGINEERING BIOLOGY.—The term ‘‘engi- 3 neering biology’’ means the application of engineer- 4 ing design principles and practices to biological sys- 5 tems, including molecular and cellular systems, to 6 advance fundamental understanding of complex nat- 7 ural systems and to enable novel or optimize func- 8 tions and capabilities. 9 (3) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 10 the National Engineering Biology Research and De- 11 velopment Initiative established under section 4. 12 (4) OMICS.—The term ‘‘omics’’ refers to the 13 collective technologies used to explore the roles, rela- 14 tionships, and actions of the various types of mol- 15 ecules that make up the cells of an organism. 16 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENGINEERING BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND 17 DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 19 Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall implement 20 a National Engineering Biology Research and Develop- 21 ment Initiative to advance societal well-being, national se- 22 curity, sustainability, and economic productivity and com- 23 petitiveness through— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3734 RS (1) advancing areas of research at the intersec- 1 tion of the biological, physical, chemical, data, and 2 computational sciences and engineering to accelerate 3 scientific understanding and technological innovation 4 in engineering biology; 5 (2) advancing areas of biomanufacturing re- 6 search to optimize, standardize, scale, and deliver 7 new products and solutions; 8 (3) supporting social and behavioral sciences 9 and economics research that advances the field of 10 engineering biology and contributes to the develop- 11 ment and public understanding of new products, 12 processes, and technologies; 13 (4) improving the understanding of engineering 14 biology of the scientific and lay public and sup- 15 porting greater evidence-based public discourse 16 about its benefits and risks; 17 (5) supporting risk research, including under 18 subsection (d); 19 (6) supporting the development of novel tools 20 and technologies to accelerate scientific under- 21 standing and technological innovation in engineering 22 biology; 23 (7) expanding the number of researchers, edu- 24 cators, and students with engineering biology train- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3734 RS ing, including from traditionally underrepresented 1 and underserved populations; 2 (8) accelerating the translation and commer- 3 cialization of engineering biology research and devel- 4 opment by the private sector; and 5 (9) improving the interagency planning and co- 6 ordination of Federal Government activities related 7 to engineering biology. 8 (b) INITIATIVE ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the 9 Initiative shall include— 10 (1) sustained support for engineering biology 11 research and development through— 12 (A) grants to individual investigators and 13 teams of investigators, including interdiscipli- 14 nary teams; 15 (B) projects funded under joint solicita- 16 tions by a collaboration of no fewer than two 17 agencies participating in the Initiative; and 18 (C) interdisciplinary research centers that 19 are organized to investigate basic research 20 questions, carry out technology development 21 and demonstration activities, and increase un- 22 derstanding of how to scale up engineering biol- 23 ogy processes, including biomanufacturing; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3734 RS (2) sustained support for databases and related 1 tools, including— 2 (A) support for curated genomics, 3 epigenomics, and all other relevant omics data- 4 bases, including plant and microbial databases, 5 that are available to researchers to carry out 6 engineering biology research; 7 (B) development of standards for such 8 databases, including for curation, interoper- 9 ability, and protection of privacy and security; 10 (C) support for the development of com- 11 putational tools, including artificial intelligence 12 tools, that can accelerate research and innova- 13 tion using such databases; and 14 (D) an inventory and assessment of all 15 Federal government omics databases to identify 16 opportunities for consolidation and inform in- 17 vestment in such databases as critical infra- 18 structure for the engineering biology research 19 enterprise; 20 (3) sustained support for the development, opti- 21 mization, and validation of novel tools and tech- 22 nologies to enable the dynamic study of molecular 23 processes in situ, including through— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3734 RS (A) research conducted at Federal labora- 1 tories; 2 (B) grants to investigators at institutions 3 of higher education and other nonprofit re- 4 search institutions; and 5 (C) through the Small Business Innovation 6 Research Program and the Small Business 7 Technology Transfer Program, as described in 8 section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 9 638); 10 (4) education and training of undergraduate 11 and graduate students in engineering biology, in bio- 12 manufacturing, in bioprocess engineering, and in 13 areas of computational science applied to engineer- 14 ing biology and in the related ethical, legal, environ- 15 mental, safety, security, and other societal issues; 16 (5) activities to develop robust mechanisms for 17 tracking and quantifying the outputs and economic 18 benefits of engineering biology; and 19 (6) activities to accelerate the translation and 20 commercialization of new products, processes, and 21 technologies by— 22 (A) identifying precompetitive research op- 23 portunities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3734 RS (B) facilitating public-private partnerships 1 in engineering biology research and develop- 2 ment; 3 (C) connecting researchers, graduate stu- 4 dents, and postdoctoral fellows with entrepre- 5 neurship education and training opportunities; 6 and 7 (D) supporting proof of concept activities 8 and the formation of startup companies includ- 9 ing through programs such as the Small Busi- 10 ness Innovation Research Program and the 11 Small Business Technology Transfer Program. 12 (c) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Initiative 13 shall include, to the maximum extent practicable, outreach 14 to primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institu- 15 tions about Initiative opportunities, and shall encourage 16 the development of research collaborations between re- 17 search-intensive universities and primarily undergraduate 18 and minority-serving institutions. 19 (d) ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY, 20 SECURITY, AND SOCIETAL ISSUES.—Initiative activities 21 shall take into account ethical, legal, environmental, safe- 22 ty, security, and other appropriate societal issues by— 23 (1) supporting research, including in the social 24 sciences, and other activities addressing ethical, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3734 RS legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal 1 issues related to engineering biology, including inte- 2 grating research on such topics with the research 3 and development in engineering biology, and ensur- 4 ing that the results of such research are widely dis- 5 seminated, including through interdisciplinary engi- 6 neering biology research centers described in sub- 7 section (b)(1); 8 (2) supporting research and other activities re- 9 lated to the safety and security implications of engi- 10 neering biology, including outreach to increase 11 awareness among Federal researchers and Federally- 12 funded researchers at institutions of higher edu- 13 cation about potential safety and security implica- 14 tions of engineering biology research, as appropriate; 15 (3) ensuring that input from Federal and non- 16 Federal experts on the ethical, legal, environmental, 17 safety, security, and other appropriate societal issues 18 related to engineering biology is integrated into the 19 Initiative; and 20 (4) ensuring, through the agencies and depart- 21 ments that participate in the Initiative, that public 22 input and outreach are integrated into the Initiative 23 by the convening of regular and ongoing public dis- 24 cussions through mechanisms such as workshops, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3734 RS consensus conferences, and educational events, as 1 appropriate. 2 SEC. 5. INITIATIVE COORDINATION. 3 (a) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President, act- 4 ing through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 5 shall designate an interagency committee to coordinate en- 6 gineering biology, which shall be co-chaired by the Office 7 of Science and Technology Policy, and include representa- 8 tives from the National Science Foundation, the Depart- 9 ment of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National 10 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Insti- 11 tute of Standards and Technology, the Environmental 12 Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the 13 National Institutes of Health, the Bureau of Economic 14 Analysis, and any other agency that the President con- 15 siders appropriate (in this section referred to as the 16 ‘‘interagency committee’’). The Director of the Office of 17 Science and Technology Policy shall select an additional 18 co-chairperson from among the members of the Inter- 19 agency Committee. The Interagency Committee shall over- 20 see the planning, management, and coordination of the 21 Initiative. The Interagency Committee shall— 22 (1) provide for interagency coordination of Fed- 23 eral engineering biology research, development, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3734.RS S3734 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3734 RS other activities undertaken pursuant to the Initia- 1 tive; 2 (2) establish and periodically update goals and 3 priorities for the Initiative; 4 (3) develop, not later than 12 months after the 5 date of enactment of this Act, and update every 3 6 years, a strategic plan submitted to the Committee 7 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 8 Representatives and the Com [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]