[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5465-S5467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3670. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Padilla) 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, insert the following:
SEC. __. WEB OF BIOLOGICAL DATA.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Advisory board.--The term ``advisory board'' means the
advisory board established under subsection (h).
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Laboratory selected under subsection (b)(1)(A).
(3) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory''
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(5) Web.--The term ``Web'' means the Web of Biological Data
established under subsection (b)(1)(A).
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(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(A) through a competitive process, award a grant to a
National Laboratory to establish a centralized data resource,
to be known as the ``Web of Biological Data'', to facilitate
biological research through advanced computational methods
such as artificial intelligence; and
(B) establish a research and development program to further
data science relating to generating, storing, curating, and
managing biological data.
(2) Contents.--The Web shall--
(A) serve as a single point of entry for researchers to
access different sources of biological data, especially those
funded by the Federal Government, by directly hosting data or
providing access to existing databases;
(B) have metrics and metadata to indicate data quality,
including usability, interoperability, and completeness; and
(C) include tiered levels of cybersecurity safeguards and
access controls to protect different types of biological data
assets hosted in or connected to the Web.
(c) Duties of Director.--As part of establishing the Web,
the Director may--
(1) enter into data sharing agreements, memoranda of
understanding, or other relevant contracts with other Federal
departments and agencies to integrate biological datasets
into the Web that are not hosted by the Department of Energy;
(2) enter into cost-sharing agreements with nongovernmental
entities to fund the Web;
(3) establish partnerships with other Federal agencies,
academia, industry, and international partners and allies to
optimize usability and performance of the Web; and
(4) carry out any other activities determined necessary by
the Secretary to advance United States biological data
curation and sharing.
(d) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation
with the Secretary, shall submit to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives an
implementation plan for the Web that describes--
(1) how the Director and the Secretary shall implement this
section;
(2) a plan for working with Federal agencies--
(A) to acquire data that was collected through Federal
funding; and
(B) to digitize biological samples that are currently owned
or funded by the Federal Government;
(3) the type of initial projects that shall be pursued
under the program established under subsection (b)(1)(B);
(4) a plan for exploring and implementing cost-sharing
agreements, including with philanthropy and industry, to
assist in cost-sharing for the Web;
(5) a cybersecurity plan for the Web; and
(6) how the Director will leverage partnerships with other
Federal agencies, academia, and industry.
(e) Phase I.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall--
(1) test an initial version of the Web, which shall--
(A) focus on specific biological data subtypes selected in
consultation with the advisory board, representatives from
other Federal departments and agencies, and external
stakeholders from industry and academia;
(B) include a single point-of-entry interface for
biological data that--
(i) optimizes user experience and data management;
(ii) is built around human-centered design principles;
(iii) is built with the capability to expand to other
datasets and biological datatypes beyond the initial version;
and
(iv) is built with tiered security access;
(C) include initial frameworks, developed in collaboration
with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, for
application programming interfaces focusing on hosting an
initial list of biological data subtypes; and
(D) include appropriate cybersecurity and access safeguards
to protect data accessible by the Web, including limiting
access to adversarial countries and countries that do not
participate in reciprocal data sharing, as determined by the
Secretary;
(2) as part of developing the initial version of the Web
described in paragraph (1)--
(A) work with Federal agencies to acquire data that was
collected through Federal funding;
(B) develop cost-sharing agreements, including with
philanthropic and industry members, to fund the Web; and
(C) work with biotechnology stakeholders to test and
evaluate the initial version and implement any needed changes
to ensure usability;
(3) select initial research projects to fund under the
research and development program established under subsection
(b)(1)(B); and
(4) submit a report to the committees described in
subsection (j) on the implementation of this subsection and
plans for carrying out subsection (f).
(f) Phase II.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall expand the Web--
(A) to be accessible to United States researchers;
(B) to accommodate different types of biological data; and
(C) to be capable of adapting and expanding based on the
emergence of new biological data.
(2) Features.--The expanded version of the Web described in
paragraph (1) shall have the following features:
(A) A fully realized single point-of-entry interface that--
(i) is connected to any dataset or database that hosts
federally funded data;
(ii) hosts biological data not already stored by other
Federal databases; and
(iii) hosts relevant bioinformatic tools for optimized
access and analysis.
(B) A full suite of interoperability frameworks associated
with different types of biological data, metadata, and
appropriate ontologies.
(C) An online interface that optimizes usability, including
the ability to rapidly search through metadata across
databases.
(D) Incorporation of human-centered design principles into
user interfaces.
(E) A standard quality and format for the hosted biological
data that is appropriate for training artificial intelligence
models.
(F) Restrictions on data sharing with countries described
in subsection (e)(1)(D).
(G) Appropriate cybersecurity requirements and tiered
safeguards related to the sensitivity of data to prevent
misuse of data.
(3) Other activities.--In the 3-year period following the
2-year period described in subsection (e), the Secretary
shall continue--
(A) to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (2) of that subsection; and
(B) to carry out the research and development program
established under subsection (b)(1)(B).
(g) Independent Assessment of Cybersecurity.--The Director
shall seek to enter into a contract with an external entity
to conduct a biannual independent assessment of the
cybersecurity safeguards and access controls of the Web.
(h) Advisory Board.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
Secretary selects a National Laboratory under subsection
(b)(1)(A), the Secretary shall establish an advisory board to
oversee the implementation of the Web and ensure that the Web
maximizes the usability of biological datasets across
sectors.
(2) Chair.--The Chair of the advisory board shall be the
Director.
(3) Members.--The advisory board shall consist of 12
members, of whom--
(A) 4 shall be representatives of industry;
(B) 2 shall be representatives of academia;
(C) 2 shall be representatives of National Laboratories
(excluding the National Laboratory selected under subsection
(b)(1)(A)); and
(D) 3 shall be representatives of relevant Federal
departments and agencies, as determined by the Director.
(4) FACA exemption.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States
Code, shall not apply to the advisory board.
(i) Collaboration.--In developing the Web, the Director
shall collaborate with--
(1) Federal departments and agencies involved in biosafety
and biosecurity capabilities to assist with implementation of
proper cybersecurity and biosecurity safeguards;
(2) the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource
of the National Science Foundation to ensure integration of
well-curated biological data with cutting-edge foundational
artificial intelligence tools;
(3) the National Institute of Standards and Technology to
ensure that--
(A) the data included in the Web is formatted in a way that
is appropriate for training artificial intelligence models;
and
(B) associated application programming interfaces and
ontologies are sufficiently adaptable to changes in
biological data;
(4) the National Library of Medicine to ensure
compatibility and interoperability between the National
Center for Biotechnology information databases and the Web;
(5) a nongovernmental group that is qualified to implement
an online interface that maximizes usability by the public
and human-centered design; and
(6) any other Federal departments and agencies determined
relevant by the Director.
(j) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director
shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives a report describing--
(1) progress made in developing the Web, including--
(A) the quantity of data stored directly on the Web and
accessible through application programming interfaces;
(B) collaborations with other Federal agencies and
department; and
(C) user engagement;
(2)(A) any cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified by an
assessment carried out pursuant to subsection (g); and
(B) actions taken to address those vulnerabilities; and
(3) plans for maintenance, expansion, and development of
the Web in the subsequent year.
(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated--
(1) $50,000,000 for each of the first 2 years following the
date of enactment of this Act to carry out subsection (e);
and
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(2) on completion of subsection (e) and the submission of
the report described in paragraph (4) of that subsection,
$200,000,000 for each of the subsequent 3 years to carry out
this section.
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