[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 88 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3216-S3217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1746. Mr. LUJAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to
establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the
National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security,
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title V of division B, add the following:
SEC. 25__. NATIONAL LABORATORY BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(2) NNSA.--The term ``NNSA'' means the National Nuclear
Security Administration.
(3) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the joint program
office established under subsection (b)(2).
(4) Office of intelligence and counterintelligence.--The
term ``Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence'' means
the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the
Department.
(5) Office of science.--The term ``Office of Science''
means the Office of Science of the Department.
(6) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the National
Laboratory Biotechnology Program established under subsection
(b)(1).
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(b) National Laboratory Biotechnology Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a National
Laboratory Biotechnology Program to integrate the resources
of the Department, including the Office of Science, the
Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and the NNSA,
to provide research, development, test and evaluation, and
response capabilities to respond to--
(A) long-term biotechnology threats facing the United
States; and
(B) any remaining threats posed by COVID-19.
(2) Joint program office.--To carry out the Program, the
Secretary shall establish a joint program office, which shall
comprise appropriate leadership from the Office of Science,
the NNSA, and the National Laboratories.
(3) Functions.--The Office shall--
(A) oversee the development and operation of major research
activities of the Program;
(B) periodically review and recommend updates as necessary
to Program policies and guidelines for the development and
operation of major research activities;
(C) collaborate with the directors of research directorates
of the Department, directors of National Laboratories, and
other senior Department officials, as appropriate, to gain
greater access to top researchers and new and potentially
transformative ideas;
(D) enable access to broad scientific and technical
expertise and resources that will lead to the deployment of
innovative products, including through--
(i) research and development, including proof of concept,
technical development, and compliance testing activities; and
(ii) early-stage product development, including through--
(I) computational modeling and simulation;
(II) molecular structural determination;
(III) genomic sequencing;
(IV) epidemiological and logistics support;
(V) knowledge discovery infrastructure and scalable
protected data;
(VI) advanced manufacturing to address supply chain
bottlenecks;
(VII) new capabilities for testing of clinical and
nonclinical samples;
(VIII) understanding environmental fate and transport of
viruses; and
(IX) discovery of potential therapeutics through
computation and molecular structure determination;
(E) provide access to user facilities with advanced or
unique equipment, services, materials, and other resources to
perform research and testing;
[[Page S3217]]
(F) support technology transfer and related activities; and
(G) promote access and development across the Federal
Government and to United States industry, including startup
companies, of early applications of the technologies,
innovations, and expertise beneficial to the public that are
derived from Program activities.
(4) Biodefense expertise.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out the Program, the Office
shall support research that harnesses the capabilities of the
National Laboratories to address advanced biological threats
of national security significance through assessments and
research and development programs that--
(i) support the near- and long-term biodefense needs of the
United States;
(ii) support the national security community in reducing
uncertainty and risk;
(iii) enable greater access to top researchers and new and
potentially transformative ideas for biodefense of human,
animal, plant, environment, and infrastructure assets
(including physical, cyber, and economic infrastructure); and
(iv) enable access to broad scientific and technical
expertise and resources that will lead to the development and
deployment of innovative biodefense assessments and
solutions, including through--
(I) the accessing, monitoring, and evaluation of biological
threats to reduce risk, including through analysis and
prioritization of gaps and vulnerabilities across open-source
and classified data;
(II) development of scientific and technical roadmaps--
(aa) to address gaps and vulnerabilities;
(bb) to inform analyses of technologies; and
(cc) to accelerate the application of unclassified research
to classified applications; and
(III) demonstration activities to enable deployment,
including--
(aa) threat signature development and validation;
(bb) automated anomaly detection using artificial
intelligence and machine learning;
(cc) fate and transport dynamics for priority scenarios;
(dd) data curation, access, storage, and security at scale;
and
(ee) risk assessment tools.
(B) Resources.--The Secretary shall ensure that the Office
is provided and uses sufficient resources to carry out
subparagraph (A).
(5) Strengthening institutional research and private
partnerships.--
(A) In general.--The Office shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, promote cooperative research and development
activities under the Program, including collaboration between
appropriate industry and academic institutions to promote
innovation and knowledge creation.
(B) Accessibility of information.--The Office shall
develop, maintain, and publicize information on scientific
user facilities and capabilities supported by laboratories of
the Department for combating biotechnology threats, which
shall be accessible for use by individuals from academic
institutions and industry.
(C) Academic participation.--The Office shall, to the
maximum extent practicable--
(i) conduct outreach about internship opportunities
relating to activities under the Program primarily to
institutions of higher education and minority-serving
institutions of higher education;
(ii) encourage the development of research collaborations
between research-intensive universities and the institutions
described in clause (i); and
(iii) provide traineeships at the institutions described in
clause (i) to graduate students who pursue a masters or
doctoral degree in an academic field relevant to research
advanced under the Program.
(6) Evaluation and plan.--
(A) In general.--Not less frequently than biennially, the
Secretary shall--
(i) evaluate the activities carried out under the Program;
and
(ii) develop a strategic research plan under the Program,
which shall be made publicly available and submitted to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
(B) Classified information.--If the strategic research plan
developed under subparagraph (A)(ii) contains classified
information, the plan--
(i) shall be made publicly available and submitted to the
committees of Congress described in subparagraph (A)(ii) in
an unclassified format; and
(ii) may, as part of the submission to those committees of
Congress only, include a classified annex containing any
sensitive or classified information, as necessary.
(7) Interagency collaboration.--The Office may collaborate
with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Defense, and the
heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies
to advance biotechnology research and development under the
Program.
(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this
section, to remain available until expended--
(A) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
(B) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
(C) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
(D) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
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