[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5462-S5464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3663. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Kim) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1067. CLOUD LAB ACT OF 2025.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Cloud
Labs to Advance Biotechnology Act of 2025'' or the ``Cloud
LAB Act of 2025''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in section
5002 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9401).
(2) Authorized research.--The term ``authorized
researcher'' means an individual who has been appropriately
authorized to access data generated by the cloud laboratories
through a process established by the Director in establishing
the cloud laboratory network.
(3) Biological data.--The term ``biological data'' means
the information, including associated descriptors, derived
from the structure, function, or process of a biological
system that is either measured, collected, or aggregated for
analysis.
(4) Cloud laboratory.--The term ``cloud laboratory'' means
a physical laboratory that is equipped with research
instrumentation and advanced robots that can be programmed
and controlled remotely by scientists in order to conduct
continuous experiments and collect associated data.
(5) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(6) Phase ii cloud laboratory.--The term ``phase II cloud
laboratory'' means a cloud
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laboratory funded by a grant awarded under subsection (e).
(7) Phase iii cloud laboratory.--The term ``phase III cloud
laboratory'' means a cloud laboratory funded by a grant
awarded under subsection (f).
(8) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
and Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
(c) Program Established.--
(1) Authorization.--The Director, in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy, and the Under Secretary, shall carry out
a pilot program in accordance with this section that
establishes a cloud laboratory network that helps to
coordinate the activities of cloud laboratories established
by the Director and cloud laboratories independently operated
by other entities (such as private industry, government
laboratories, and academic institutions), to further the
purposes described in paragraph (3).
(2) Consultation.--The Director shall consult, to the
greatest extent practicable, with other departments and
agencies involved with cloud laboratories, and any government
entities responsible for interagency consultation of
biotechnology, such as that in the Executive Office of the
President, to deduplicate efforts from different programs,
and to increase awareness and connectivity of the cloud
laboratory network established under subsection (d)(1).
(3) Purpose of the cloud laboratory network.--The cloud
laboratory network described in paragraph (1) shall--
(A) serve the purpose of tracking and cataloging the
different biotechnology capabilities at each cloud
laboratory;
(B) help researchers connect to the capabilities needed to
pursue a line of research; and
(C) provide the opportunity for cloud laboratories to
connect and collaborate on best practices, including data
collection and data sharing, data standards, and needs.
(4) Cloud laboratory purposes.--Each cloud laboratory
supported under this section shall accomplish the following
purposes:
(A) Generate high-quality biological data through automated
experimentation that will be collected for use and analysis
by authorized researchers for the purposes of training
artificial intelligence models or other types of biological
data analysis models.
(B) Provide researchers access to high-quality experimental
instrumentation and data collection for the purposes of
advancing individual research projects.
(d) Phase I of Cloud Laboratory Network Pilot Program.--
(1) Establishment of the cloud laboratory network.--Not
later than 360 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Director, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy
and the Under Secretary, shall establish the cloud laboratory
network as described in subsection (c)(1).
(2) Implementation plan.--Not later than 360 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation
with the Secretary of Energy, the Under Secretary, and others
as appropriate, shall prepare and submit an implementation
plan to Congress that includes the following:
(A) An assessment of the state of public and private cloud
laboratories in the United States, particularly cloud
laboratories focused on biotechnology, as of the date of the
report, including the number of cloud laboratories, the
location of the cloud laboratories, and the financing or
payment mechanism for each cloud laboratory.
(B) An implementation plan for a national cloud laboratory
network and an associated grant program that includes a
mechanism for deciding on the location of each cloud
laboratory funded under the grant program in this section.
(C) A plan to coordinate the network of cloud laboratories
that are already established, in addition to those funded
under this section.
(D) A plan outlining how data generated through the cloud
laboratories will be stored, published, and made available
and accessible to authorized researchers as a public
resource, including a plan to have the data made publicly
available in a secure and accessible format.
(E) A scheme for access to data generated through the cloud
laboratories funded under this section and the payment or
subscription model that will be required to access the cloud
laboratory infrastructure and such data, which--
(i) describes how users can apply and use the
infrastructure for the cloud laboratories funded under this
section, giving special consideration toward providing
equitable access;
(ii) allows users doing nonproprietary work to access such
cloud laboratories at no or minimal cost; and
(iii) includes a request for information to industry to
understand what companies would need in order to subscribe to
such a data generation service.
(F) An outline of sample intellectual property agreements
for the cloud laboratories funded under this section related
to all data gathering and experimentation, which may include
different agreements in order to further the different
purposes described in subsection (c)(2).
(G) A plan for engagement with industry and academic
institutions that manage cloud laboratories to include them
in the cloud laboratory network.
(H) A plan for building in considerations related to
cybersecurity, biosecurity, and research security from the
beginning of development for each cloud laboratory.
(I) The estimated cost of carrying out the full pilot
program establishing the cloud laboratory network broken down
by year.
(3) Cloud laboratory advisory board.--
(A) Consultation.--In preparing the implementation plan
under paragraph (2), the Director shall consult with the
advisory board established under this paragraph.
(B) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish, and
lead, a cloud laboratory advisory board (referred to in this
paragraph as the ``advisory board'').
(C) Members.--
(i) Composition.--The advisory board shall consist of--
(I) employees of the National Science Foundation and
employees of such other Federal agencies as the Director
determines appropriate;
(II) academic researchers in all areas of biotechnology,
including computational biology, synthetic biology, cell
biology, structural biology, robotics, and analytical
chemistry;
(III) researchers and practitioners in the fields of
biosafety, biosecurity, ethics, and relevant social science
disciplines; and
(IV) industry representatives from different sectors of
biotechnology, including health, agriculture, chemical
production, and platform technologies.
(ii) Selection.--The selection and number of people on the
advisory board shall be at the discretion of the Director.
(D) Duties.--The advisory board shall--
(i) propose biological data collection priorities through
consultation with the biotechnology research community,
including academia and private companies;
(ii) advise in ways that the cloud laboratories funded
under this section are developed and expanded in such a way
that maximizes usability across the disciplines of
biotechnology while minimizing duplication across the network
of cloud laboratories funded under this section;
(iii) advise on the definition of authorized researcher to
ensure research security, but also allow access to all tiers
of research and teaching institutions, including primarily
undergraduate institutions, minority-serving institutions,
and historically Black colleges and universities;
(iv) produce an annual report outlining all recommendations
and actions that were taken over the course of the year; and
(v) provide guidance and recommendations to the Director
regarding--
(I) ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place to
prevent the misuse of cloud laboratories funded under this
section;
(II) ensuring the implementation of a rigorous
cybersecurity scheme across the network of such cloud
laboratories;
(III) ensuring that access to the cloud laboratories funded
under this section is equitable; and
(IV) ensuring that such cloud laboratories appreciably
increase access to high-end laboratory equipment to otherwise
underresourced entities.
(E) Termination.--The advisory board shall terminate on the
date that is 12 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(e) Phase II Cloud Laboratory Awards.--
(1) Awards authorized.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and subject to the
availability of appropriations, the Director, in consultation
with the Secretary of Energy, the Under Secretary, and the
relevant individual in the Executive Office of the President
responsible for coordinating interagency efforts related to
biotechnology, shall, using the process developed in
subsection (d)(2)(B), make grant awards, on a competitive
basis, for the development and operation of not fewer than 2
cloud laboratories.
(2) Operational deadline.--Each phase II cloud laboratory
shall be fully operational by the date that is 3 years after
the date of enactment of this Act.
(3) Duration.--An award under this subsection for a phase
II cloud laboratory shall be for not less than an 8-year
period.
(f) Phase III Cloud Laboratory Awards.--
(1) Awards authorized.--Not later than 4 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and subject to the
availability of appropriations, the Director, in consultation
with the Secretary of Energy and the Under Secretary, shall
make grant awards, on a competitive basis, for the
development and operation of not fewer than 3 cloud
laboratories.
(2) Relationship to phase ii cloud laboratories.--The phase
III cloud laboratories shall be separate, and in addition to,
the phase II cloud laboratories.
(3) Duration.--An award under this subsection for a phase
III cloud laboratory shall be for not less than a 6-year
period.
(4) Award basis.--In making awards under this subsection,
the Director shall utilize a similar competitive process as
used for awards for phase II cloud laboratories, which may be
adjusted based on lessons learned from the establishment of
the phase II cloud laboratories.
(g) Cloud Laboratory Pilot Award Program Implementation
Reports.--Beginning 1 year after the date on which all awards
are made for phase II cloud laboratories, and annually
thereafter, the Director shall prepare and submit a report to
Congress regarding the progress, including any successes, of
all cloud laboratories supported under the pilot grant
program under this section.
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(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section--
(1) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
(2) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
(3) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
(4) $127,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; and
(5) $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2029.
(i) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect on the
date that is 12 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
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