[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4413 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Synthetic Biology Advancement Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the application of synthetic biology to accelerate 
        innovation in food and agriculture is critical to--
                    (A) the national security and economic future of 
                the United States; and
                    (B) the ability of the United States to feed and 
                fuel the global economy;
            (2) while agriculture has experienced significant 
        advancements in productivity and sustainability, the future of 
        the food system relies on disruptive technologies catalyzed by 
        synthetic biology at the intersections of soil health, plant 
        science, animal health, and, ultimately, human health;
            (3) synthetic biology is a key tool to defend against 
        terrorism and high-consequence events;
            (4) investments into synthetic biology will catalyze the 
        strengths of engineering, agriculture, and manufacturing to 
        develop a resilient food and agriculture system;
            (5) resiliency is accomplished through advanced 
        biotechnology and digital solutions to keep the United States 
        at the forefront of feeding the United States and the world;
            (6) Congress has historically prioritized a safe and secure 
        food supply in the United States, as evidenced by the enactment 
        of the Securing Our Agriculture and Food Act (Public Law 115-
        43; 131 Stat. 884); and
            (7) innovation and research are necessary to push the 
        boundaries of science to develop disruptive technologies that 
        advance national security through food security.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY CENTER.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) 1862 institution; 1890 institution.--The terms ``1862 
        Institution'' and ``1890 Institution'' have the meanings given 
        those terms in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, 
        Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601).
            (2) 1994 institution.--The term ``1994 Institution'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 532 of the Equity in 
        Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; 
        Public Law 103-382).
            (3) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the National 
        Synthetic Biology Center established under subsection (b)(1).
            (4) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible 
        institution'' means--
                    (A) an 1862 Institution;
                    (B) an 1890 Institution; and
                    (C) a 1994 Institution.
            (5) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
    (b) Establishment of National Synthetic Biology Center.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        head of any other relevant Federal agency, shall establish a 
        center, to be known as the ``National Synthetic Biology 
        Center'', to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
        institutions.
            (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Center is to provide a hub 
        for researchers and industry partners in the United States to 
        discover and develop science-based solutions based on synthetic 
        biology to improve agricultural performance while minimizing 
        environmental impact and improving overall food system 
        resiliency.
    (c) Partnerships.--The Center shall provide grants to eligible 
institutions to carry out projects in partnership with not fewer than 1 
other entity, which may include--
            (1) a nonprofit organization;
            (2) a State entity;
            (3) a National Laboratory;
            (4) an 1862 Institution;
            (5) an 1890 Institution;
            (6) a 1994 Institution; or
            (7) any combination of entities described in paragraphs (1) 
        through (6).
    (d) Application.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible institution seeking a grant 
        under this section shall submit an application to the Center at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Center may require.
            (2) Requirements.--An application submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall include, at a minimum, a description of how the 
        proposed project will--
                    (A) promote innovative synthetic biology 
                technologies and practices that address current and 
                emerging challenges in the food and agriculture sector;
                    (B) foster the development and dissemination of 
                science-based educational resources and training 
                programs on synthetic biology for stakeholders in the 
                agricultural community;
                    (C) enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and 
                resiliency of food production systems through synthetic 
                biology interventions; and
                    (D) monitor and evaluate the impacts, benefits, and 
                challenges of implementing synthetic biology solutions 
                in real-world agricultural settings.
    (e) Use of Funds.--
            (1) Research priorities.--In awarding grants to eligible 
        institutions, the Center shall prioritize the following areas 
        of research:
                    (A) Cellular biology.
                    (B) Genomes to phenomes.
                    (C) Microbiomes or microbes.
                    (D) Gene editing.
                    (E) Digital agriculture.
                    (F) Fermentation.
                    (G) Controlled environment agriculture.
            (2) Purposes.--An eligible institution receiving a grant 
        from the Center may use the grant for the following purposes:
                    (A) To explore and advance biotechnology applied to 
                food science in the creation of new protein sources for 
                human and animal consumption.
                    (B) To build on the Agricultural Genome to Phenome 
                Initiative (also known as the ``AG2PI'') of the 
                National Institute of Food and Agriculture to inform 
                approaches to understanding how variable weather, 
                environments, and production systems interact with 
                genetic diversity in crops and animals to impact growth 
                and productivity.
                    (C) To advance the development and 
                commercialization of nutritional and therapeutic 
                innovations to improve the health of livestock and 
                companion animals.
                    (D) To create new crops that have functional 
                mutations that improve performance and increase climate 
                resiliency through increased efficiency in the use of 
                inputs and increased disease and pest resistance.
                    (E) To apply artificial intelligence, machine 
                learning, data science, and advanced computational 
                processes to accelerate modeling and measurement for 
                new synthetic biological solutions.
                    (F) To strengthen advanced manufacturing sciences 
                and infrastructure to use microorganisms to produce 
                food and agricultural products, including vaccines, 
                crop protection products, and food products for human 
                and animal nutrition, by capitalizing on the strength 
                of food science, engineering, and pharmacy.
                    (G) To advance diversity of crops to increase the 
                food supply and explore pharmaceutical plant-based 
                derivatives within a controlled environment.
    (f) Timing of Awards.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Center shall begin awarding grants under 
this section.
    (g) Coordination.--
            (1) Grant recipients.--An eligible institution receiving a 
        grant from the Center under this section shall endeavor to 
        coordinate with a wide range of experts and researchers to 
        create efficiency in the innovation development pipeline.
            (2) Center.--The Center shall coordinate with technology 
        transfer offices or technology licensing offices in order to 
        disseminate innovations and reach commercialization.
    (h) Website.--The Center shall establish and maintain a website 
with a user friendly portal in order to disseminate synthetic biology 
findings and connect researchers and innovators to collaborative 
opportunities.
    (i) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Center shall submit to the 
relevant committees of Congress a report detailing--
            (1) any findings from the research funded by the Center;
            (2) the progress of any innovation funded by the Center;
            (3) a description of the focus and proposed goals of each 
        grant recipient;
            (4) an assessment, based on a common set of metrics across 
        all grant recipients, of the success of each grant recipient in 
        improving efficiency in the innovation development pipeline; 
        and
            (5) any recommendations for administrative or legislative 
        action that may optimize the effectiveness of the research 
        activities carried out by grant recipients under this section.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary--
            (1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, 
        to remain available until expended, for the awarding of grants 
        by the Center; and
            (2) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, 
        to remain available until expended, for the establishment of 
        the Center and for other activities of the Center.
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