[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7936 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7936
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to support the development,
demonstration, and commercial application of biotechnology products to
increase energy resiliency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2026
Mr. Baird (for himself, Ms. Houlahan, Mrs. Bice, and Mr. Khanna)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to support the development,
demonstration, and commercial application of biotechnology products to
increase energy resiliency, 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 ``Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply
Chains and Energy Resiliency Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the biggest roadblock for United States biotechnology
innovators to commercialization is proving that their products
and processes can scale, thus showing investors a path to
financial return;
(2) the United States faces several main challenges to
securing the broad range of infrastructure needed for the
breadth of products that biotechnology can make, which are
that--
(A) the United States lacks sufficient
biomanufacturing capacity, including because
researchers are generating new products faster than
manufacturing capacity is increasing and building new
facilities is expensive and time-consuming; and
(B) biomanufacturing technologies of the future
have yet to mature into routine commercial
applications, as current biomanufacturing facilities
are generally optimized for 1 type of product and are
usually not compatible with other products; and
(3) to position the United States as a leader in
bioindustrial innovation and enable participation in
groundbreaking projects through state-of-the-art
infrastructure, it is critical to establish technology
maturation facilities to provide world-class capabilities.
SEC. 3. BIOINDUSTRIAL SCALE-UP FOR SUPPLY CHAINS AND ENERGY RESILIENCY.
Section 932 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16232) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
paragraphs (5) and (7), respectively;
(B) by inserting before paragraph (5) (as so
redesignated) the following:
``(1) Biobased product.--The term `biobased product' has
the meaning given the term in section 9001 of the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101).
``(2) Bioindustrial manufacturing.--The term `bioindustrial
manufacturing' means the use of living organisms, cells,
tissues, enzymes, or cell-free systems to produce materials and
products for nonpharmaceutical applications.
``(3) Biointermediate.--The term `biointermediate' means an
intermediate product that is derived from biomass or waste
streams, including carbon oxides.
``(4) Biomanufacturing.--The term `biomanufacturing' means
the use of biological systems to produce goods and services at
commercial scale.'';
(C) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so
redesignated) the following:
``(6) Biotechnology.--The term `biotechnology' means
technology that applies to or is enabled by life sciences
innovation or product development.''; and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so
redesignated) the following:
``(8) Open access.--The term `open access', with respect to
infrastructure, data, or research resources, means that those
resources are--
``(A) available without licensing or intellectual
property barriers; and
``(B) accessible to public and private entities on
an equitable basis.
``(9) Phytobiome.--The term `phytobiome' means a network of
interactions of plants, their associated communities of
organisms, and their environmental context.
``(10) Technology maturation.--The term `technology
maturation' means the development, testing, and scaling of
technologies to a level of readiness suitable for
commercialization or integration into industrial processes,
including activities such as prototyping, pilot-scale testing
and demonstration, and early-stage manufacturing and market
entry.
``(11) Waste stream.--The term `waste stream' includes
municipal solid waste, food waste, urban wood waste, food
processing and fermentation waste, sewage, biogas, industrial
waste gases, carbon oxides, atmospheric oxides, and waste gases
that are effluents or byproduct streams from various societal
pursuits that are targeted toward disposal, discharge, or
burning.''; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Bioindustrial Technology Maturation Facilities.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than September 30, 2030, the
Secretary shall establish not fewer than 2 bioindustrial
technology maturation facilities (referred to in this
subsection as `covered facilities')--
``(A) to conduct research, development,
demonstration, and commercial application to derisk
product and process technologies for biotechnology-
based products relevant to the mission of the
Department;
``(B) that are precommercial; and
``(C) that shall operate as user facilities
available to governmental and nongovernmental users.
``(2) Considerations.--In determining the number, type, and
location of covered facilities to establish, the Secretary
shall--
``(A) consider--
``(i) the greatest needs of industry and
the gaps in current types of infrastructure;
``(ii) unique capabilities that are
currently not available anywhere in the world;
``(iii) how the covered facilities may--
``(I) complement current
infrastructure and capabilities,
including infrastructure and
capabilities of--
``(aa) the Department,
including National
Laboratories;
``(bb) the Department of
Defense;
``(cc) the Department of
Commerce; and
``(dd) other covered
facilities; and
``(II) increase production levels
by functioning as a connected network,
including by ensuring that available
fermentation capacity, including of
covered facilities and facilities of
the Department, covers the full range
needed for precommercial scale-up; and
``(iv) how each covered facility aligns
with regional and local workforce needs, pre-
existing capabilities, the skills required for
the proposed biomanufacturing operations, and
the potential for regional and local workforce
development and job creation; and
``(B) ensure that--
``(i) covered facilities are in
geographically diverse locations--
``(I) to maximize access to
biological material needed as an input
to bioindustrial manufacturing
processes;
``(II) to leverage available
industrial and academic expertise,
including workforce and human capital;
and
``(III) to leverage relevant
domestic infrastructure required to
secure supply chains for chemicals and
other materials;
``(ii) covered facilities are complementary
to each other and any other existing related
facilities; and
``(iii) the first covered facility is
planned and built within a 2-year time period,
and the plan for the second and each subsequent
facility is developed while construction occurs
on the earlier planned covered facility.
``(3) Activities.--Activities carried out by a covered
facility may include the following:
``(A) Conducting pilot and demonstration projects
to evaluate bioindustrial manufacturing processes and
technologies for customers.
``(B) Conducting activities to scale bioindustrial
manufacturing processes and products for scale-up and
deployment efforts, and larger, higher, or different
levels of production for customers.
``(C) Developing, testing, and implementing
applications and tools, including equipment, hardware,
software, and algorithms, with industry and academic
partners.
``(D) Addressing technical challenges around
bioindustrial manufacturing inputs and the technologies
and processes that break down or convert biomass, waste
streams, and other inputs that are useful to the
bioindustrial manufacturing process, biointermediates,
or other products.
``(E) Supporting training and workforce development
needs in bioindustrial manufacturing.
``(F) Establishing an interoperable, secure,
digital infrastructure for collaborative data exchange
across entities in the bioindustrial manufacturing
community, including government agencies, industry, and
academia.
``(G) Developing and implementing digital tools,
process security and assurance capabilities,
cybersecurity protocols, and best practices for data
storage, sharing, and analysis.
``(H) Leveraging data, modeling, and expertise to
assist stakeholders in quantifying economic effects of,
and future investment strategies relating to, emerging
processes and technologies, and incorporating those
findings into techno-economic analysis.
``(I) Any other activity that the Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(4) Collaboration.--In carrying out the activities
described in paragraph (3), a covered facility may--
``(A) develop and implement policies to ensure open
access to the covered facility for public and private
sector entities, with a focus on inclusion of rural
communities;
``(B) pursue cost-sharing and cofunding
arrangements or opportunities with private sector
stakeholders to supplement Federal funding and promote
financial sustainability; and
``(C) to maximize the impact of the covered
facility, coordinate and collaborate with--
``(i) industry partners, including to
identify priority research, development, and
demonstration needs;
``(ii) other Department facilities,
including National Laboratories;
``(iii) the defense community, including
the Department of Defense and BioMADE;
``(iv) the agricultural community and
relevant Federal agencies, including the
Department of Agriculture;
``(v) the transportation sector and
relevant Federal agencies, including the
Department of Transportation;
``(vi) other Federal agencies, including
the Department of Commerce, as determined
necessary by the covered facility;
``(vii) Federal education and workforce
development programs, including the National
Science Foundation;
``(viii) institutions of higher education;
``(ix) rural community stakeholders;
``(x) nonprofit organizations;
``(xi) State and local governments; and
``(xii) international bodies with relevant
scientific expertise.
``(5) Request for information.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of the Bioindustrial Scale-Up for
Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act of 2026, the Secretary
shall publish a request for information that shall be used by
the Secretary to evaluate--
``(A) existing and planned bioindustrial technology
maturation facilities in the United States, including
facilities with gas fermentation technologies and
large-scale fermentation tanks with robust sensor
suites;
``(B) best practices for collaboration at those
facilities; and
``(C) any other information determined necessary
for the development of the strategic plan under
paragraph (6).
``(6) Strategic plan.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply
Chains and Energy Resiliency Act of 2026, the Secretary shall
submit to the relevant congressional committees a strategic
plan for the implementation of this subsection that includes--
``(A) an assessment of capacity scaling needs to
determine what type of additional technology maturation
facilities are needed;
``(B) a description of the type, size, and location
of each covered facility that the Secretary intends to
establish;
``(C) the total number of covered facilities that
the Secretary intends to establish;
``(D) the timelines associated with planning and
execution of each covered facility, phased over time;
and
``(E) a general description of--
``(i) the focus of each covered facility,
including the types of manufacturing equipment,
if any, that are expected to be procured for
each covered facility;
``(ii) how covered facilities will work as
a network to maximize the variety of
bioindustrial products available to be produced
by the network, including how the capabilities
of covered facilities will complement the
capabilities of existing and planned technology
maturation facilities, including those of other
Federal agencies, including the Department of
Commerce and the Department of Defense;
``(iii) how that network will support the
establishment and maintenance of the
bioindustrial manufacturing industrial base;
``(iv) how the Secretary intends to ensure
that data is collected and shared with the rest
of that network, as applicable; and
``(v) how the Secretary intends to
coordinate with other Federal agencies,
including the Department of Commerce and the
Department of Defense, to ensure the effective
use of funds, development of capabilities, and
prioritization of biotechnologies.
``(7) Intellectual property protections.--
``(A) Federal employee contributions.--Any
intellectual property created by a Federal employee at
a covered facility in the performance of the duties of
that Federal employee shall be considered to be part of
the public domain.
``(B) Other entities.--Any intellectual property
created by an individual at a covered facility who is
not a Federal employee shall be protected under
applicable intellectual property laws, subject to the
terms of the contractual agreement that the individual
has entered into with the Secretary.
``(C) Data sharing.--To the maximum extent
practicable, a covered facility shall establish a
secure, interoperable digital system to facilitate data
exchange across government, academia, and industry.
``(8) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of the Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply
Chains and Energy Resiliency Act of 2026, and at least once
every year thereafter for the following 7 years, the Secretary
shall submit to the relevant congressional committees, and make
publicly available, a report on the activities carried out
under this subsection during the year covered by the report,
including the progress made in implementing the strategic plan
under paragraph (6), including--
``(A) the number of existing covered facilities;
``(B) the number of additional covered facilities
being planned, if any;
``(C) a description of the activities carried out
by covered facilities; and
``(D) any collaborations under paragraph (4).
``(9) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this
subsection $225,500,000 for the period of fiscal years 2026
through 2030.''.
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
The table of contents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law
109-58; 119 Stat. 594) is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 1 the following:
``Sec. 2. Definitions.''.
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