HR 3029 — To amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening, and for other purposes.

changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION ACT

DIVISION B--RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

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TITLE II--NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE

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 Subtitle B--Measurement Research

SEC. 10221. ENGINEERING BIOLOGY AND BIOMETROLOGY.

 (a) In General.--The Director, in coordination with the 
National Engineering Biology Research and Development 
Initiative established pursuant to title IV, shall--
 (1) support basic measurement science and technology 
 research for engineering biology, biomanufacturing, and 
 biometrology to advance--
 (A) measurement technologies to support 
 foundational understanding of the mechanisms of 
 conversion of DNA information into cellular 
 function;
 (B) technologies for measurement of such 
 biomolecular components and related systems;
 (C) new data tools, techniques, and processes 
 to improve engineering biology, 
 biomanufacturing, and biometrology research; 
 [and]
 (D) best practices, guidelines, and technical 
 standards for risk management associated with 
 engineering biology and biomanufacturing, 
 including risks associated with the use of 
 artificial intelligence; and
 [(D)] (E) other areas of measurement science 
 and technology research determined by the 
 Director to be critical to the development and 
 deployment of engineering biology, 
 biomanufacturing and biometrology;
 (2) support activities to inform and expand the 
 development of measurements infrastructure needed to 
 develop technical standards to establish 
 interoperability and facilitate commercial development 
 of biomolecular measurement technology and engineering 
 biology applications;
 (3) convene industry, institutions of higher 
 education, nonprofit organizations, Federal 
 laboratories, and other Federal agencies engaged in 
 engineering biology research and development to develop 
 coordinated technical roadmaps for authoritative 
 measurement of the molecular components of the cell;
 (4) provide access to user facilities with advanced 
 or unique equipment, services, materials, and other 
 resources to industry, institutions of higher 
 education, nonprofit organizations, and government 
 agencies to perform research and testing;
 (5) establish or expand collaborative partnerships or 
 consortia with other Federal agencies engaged in 
 engineering biology research and development, 
 institutions of higher education, Federal laboratories, 
 and industry to advance engineering biology 
 applications; and
 (6) support graduate and postgraduate research and 
 training in biometrology, biomanufacturing, and 
 engineering biology.
 (b) Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening Tools and Standards.--
 (1) In general.--The Director, in consultation with 
 heads of Federal agencies the Director considers 
 appropriate, shall carry out measurement research to 
 support the development and improvement of best 
 practices and technical standards for biosecurity 
 measures related to nucleic acid synthesis, including 
 the following:
 (A) Testing to improve the accuracy, 
 efficacy, and reliability of screening for 
 nucleic acid synthesis.
 (B) Best practices, including security and 
 access controls, for operational security and 
 managing sequence-of-concern databases to 
 support such screening.
 (C) Technical implementation guidance to 
 ensure such screening is effective and secure.
 (D) Conformity-assessment best practices and 
 technical standards.
 (E) Methods to evaluate the impact and 
 effectiveness of the implementation of 
 subparagraphs (A) through (D).
 (2) Consortium.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
 Director shall convene a consortium of stakeholders, 
 including industry, institutions of higher education, 
 nonprofit organizations, and customers to carry out the 
 following:
 (A) Develop and periodically update consensus 
 priorities and best practices, as appropriate, 
 for synthetic nucleic acid procurement 
 screening mechanisms.
 (B) Develop roadmaps to inform the activities 
 carried out under paragraph (1).
 (3) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the first 
 meeting of the consortium under paragraph (2), the 
 Director shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
 House of Representatives a report summarizing the 
 findings of the consortium.
 (4) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the funds 
 authorized to be appropriated for the National 
 Institute of Standards and Technology pursuant to this 
 section for scientific and technical research and 
 services laboratory activities, there is authorized to 
 be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
 2026 through 2030 to carry out this subsection.
 [(b)] (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may 
be construed to alter the policies, processes, or practices of 
individual Federal agencies in effect on the day before the 
date of the enactment of this Act relating to the conduct or 
support of biomedical research and advanced development, 
including the solicitation and review of extramural research 
proposals.
 [(c)] (d) Controls.--In carrying out activities authorized by 
this section, the Secretary shall ensure proper security 
controls are in place to protect sensitive information, as 
appropriate.

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