[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4991 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4991
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish an extremophile whole
genome sequencing initiative, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 15, 2026
Mr. Rounds (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish an extremophile whole
genome sequencing initiative, 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 ``Homestake AI Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. EXTREMOPHILE WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING INITIATIVE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered facility.--The term ``covered facility'' means
the long-term storage facility planned for under subsection
(c)(1)(E).
(2) Initiative.--The term ``initiative'' means the
extremophile whole genome sequencing initiative established
under subsection (b).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy, acting through the Undersecretary of Science.
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an initiative, to
be known as the ``extremophile whole genome sequencing initiative'',
that shall--
(1) be consistent with the goals of the Genesis Mission
announced in Executive Order 14363 (90 Fed. Reg. 55035;
relating to launching the Genesis Mission); and
(2) facilitate the collection of new genomic data that will
contribute to advances in scientific discovery and may support
the development of new healthcare treatments.
(c) Initiative.--
(1) In general.--Under the initiative, the Secretary
shall--
(A) collect, catalogue, and sequence the whole
genomes and metabolites of samples from animals,
plants, fungi, and microbes found in locations selected
under paragraph (3);
(B) establish a database for the data collected
under subparagraph (A), or use an existing database,
such as the database of the National Center for
Biotechnology Information, including sequence data,
genome assemblies, peptides, metabolite data,
annotations, and associated metadata, including genome
and transcriptome data, metabolome data, and proteome
data;
(C) collaborate with industry, academia, and other
government agencies to collate existing relevant data
for inclusion in the database established or used under
subparagraph (B);
(D) make that database accessible to persons in the
United States, subject to the condition that the
Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable,
prevent the sharing of such information with adversary
nations or foreign persons; and
(E) not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, develop a plan for the
construction of a new long-term storage facility--
(i) for, at a minimum, the samples
collected under subparagraph (A); and
(ii) in such a manner that the facility may
continue to operate in the case of a
catastrophic incident (as defined in section
602 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management
Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701)).
(2) Third party collection.--The Secretary may enter into
contracts with third party entities, including institutions of
higher education or private sector entities, to collect samples
under paragraph (1)(A).
(3) Locations for collection.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
select not fewer than 5 locations from which to collect
samples under paragraph (1)(A), at least 1 of which
shall be a mine or former mine that--
(i) is deeper than 4,500 feet; and
(ii) houses an underground science
facility.
(B) Considerations.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary shall select
locations under subparagraph (A)--
(I) that are unique or are exposed
to unique properties, such as extreme
heat or pressure;
(II) that are under risk of
destruction before 2050 from natural or
unnatural forces;
(III) based on the potential for
finding useful organisms that will
contribute to advances in scientific
research and discovery; and
(IV) that may support the
development of new healthcare
treatments relating to cancer,
including cancers affecting children
and individuals with high mortality
rates, diabetes, and dementia,
including Alzheimer's disease.
(ii) Preference.--In selecting locations
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may give
preference to a location on land owned or
controlled by the Department of Energy
(including National Laboratories).
(iii) Range of extreme conditions.--In
selecting locations under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall ensure that the locations
reflect a broad range of extreme conditions.
(4) Long-term storage facility.--In selecting a location
for the covered facility under the plan developed under
paragraph (1)(E), the Secretary shall consider, among other
factors determined relevant by the Secretary--
(A) colocation in a Department of Energy facility
or a facility that receives significant funding from
the Department of Energy;
(B) the benefits of storing the applicable
materials underground in a remote area; and
(C) the ability of the location to withstand
natural disasters, such as earthquakes, wildfires, or
meteor strikes.
(5) Data standards.--In carrying out the initiative, the
Secretary shall--
(A) leverage existing and emerging data standards
to ensure--
(i) high-quality data are obtained under
the initiative; and
(ii) data collected under the initiative
are considered usable and interoperable, with
appropriate metadata to be included;
(B) ensure that data outputs under the initiative--
(i)(I) meet applicable Federal data
standards for biological data; or
(II) if there are no applicable Federal
data standards described in subclause (I), meet
data standards for the initiative established
by the Secretary, in consultation with the
National Institute of Standards and Technology
and other relevant agencies, based on
findability, accessibility, interoperability,
and reusability data principles and using
industry best practices; and
(ii) are updated to comply with any
applicable United States Geological Survey
standards for biological data; and
(C) ensure that appropriate cybersecurity and
access safeguards are implemented to protect the data
generated or stored under the initiative, including by
ensuring that data outputs under the initiative are
updated as necessary to meet applicable Federal
cybersecurity standards for genomic data, including
controls consistent with the National Institute of
Standards and Technology special publications 800-53
(relating to Security and Privacy Controls for
Information Systems and Organizations) and 800-111
(relating to Guide to Storage Encryption Technologies
for End User Devices) or any successor framework.
(6) Long-term storage requirements.--The Secretary may
consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of
the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian
Institution with respect to storage capabilities for the
management and long-term storage of samples collected under the
initiative, subject to the following:
(A) Access to samples collected under the
initiative may be managed by the respective
institutional collection managers, with--
(i) the natural history collections managed
by the Director of the National Museum of
Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution;
and
(ii) the germplasm repository and the
covered facility managed by the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(B) Before any samples are stored at the covered
facility, the Secretary shall--
(i) evaluate the species to be sampled to
identify which species need to be collected for
long-term storage; and
(ii) from among the species identified
under clause (i), identify which species should
be considered to be high-priority species.
(C) Any samples identified for long-term storage
under subparagraph (B)(i)--
(i) shall be collected and stored at the
covered facility after the covered facility is
operational; and
(ii) may be stored in an alternative
location until that date.
(D) Any high-priority species identified under
subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be collected for storage in
each of--
(i) the natural history collections to be
managed by the Director of the National Museum
of Natural History of the Smithsonian
Institution;
(ii) the germplasm repository to be managed
by the Secretary of Agriculture; and
(iii) the covered facility.
(E) Any physical samples collected under the
initiative shall not be transferred, exported, or
loaned outside the United States.
(F) Any physical storage, curation, and laboratory
processing of samples collected under the initiative
shall occur within facilities located in the United
States.
(G) The Secretary may accept donated samples for
storage from third parties or other countries.
(7) Sequencing and data processing.--In carrying out the
initiative, the Secretary shall--
(A) collaborate with the Secretary of Agriculture,
the Director of the National Museum of Natural History
of the Smithsonian Institution, and the heads of other
applicable Federal agencies to sequence genomic
information from samples collected under the
initiative;
(B) develop and use standardized sequencing
protocols to ensure consistency and comparability of
data; and
(C) incorporate automated data processing and
quality checks to ensure the reliability of the data.
(8) Termination of collection.--No collection of samples
under paragraph (1)(A) may occur by the Secretary or a third
party pursuant to a contract entered into under paragraph (2)
after the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(d) Coordination With Other Entities.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the initiative, the
Secretary may coordinate with--
(A) other offices within the Department of Energy;
(B) the Department of Agriculture;
(C) any other relevant agency that may benefit from
utilizing the covered facility;
(D) the Smithsonian Institution, including the
National Museum of Natural History;
(E) the Department of Health and Human Services,
including the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the National Institutes of Health,
including the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative;
(F) academia;
(G) nonprofit organizations, including
organizations focused on the collection of data for the
discovery of treatments for cancer, diabetes, and
dementia, including Alzheimer's disease;
(H) nonprofit organizations that support
biodiversity conservation, including nonprofit
organizations in allied countries described in
subsection (e)(2); and
(I) private sector entities, including entities in
the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and artificial
intelligence industries.
(2) Private sector contributions.--There shall be
established a foundation, which shall be an organization
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that
Code, to receive in-kind contributions from biotechnology and
other private sector companies to assist in carrying out the
initiative and supporting the operation of the covered
facility.
(3) Other agency resources.--The Secretary may use the
services, personnel, and facilities of another agency if agreed
to by that agency.
(e) Working Group.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a working
group to coordinate with private and public sector initiatives
in the United States and allied countries described in
paragraph (2) collecting relevant genomic data to create
alignment between scientific groups--
(A) to maximize beneficial research output; and
(B) to minimize duplicative spending of the
initiative.
(2) Allied countries described.--The allied countries
referred to in paragraph (1) are--
(A) Australia;
(B) member countries of the European Union;
(C) Japan;
(D) South Korea;
(E) New Zealand; and
(F) the United Kingdom.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out
this section.
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