[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.
                                 ______