Sec. 124. National Engineering Biology Research and Development Program
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The President shall implement a National Engineering Biology Research and Development Program to advance societal well-being, national security, and economic productivity and competitiveness through— advancing areas of research at the intersection of the biological, physical, and information sciences and engineering; supporting social science research that advances the field of engineering biology and contributes to the adoption of new products, processes, and technologies; expanding the number of researchers, educators, and students with engineering biology training; accelerating the translation and commercialization of engineering biology research and development by the private sector; and improving the interagency planning and coordination of Federal Government activities related to engineering biology.
The activities of the Program shall include— sustained support for engineering biology research and development through— grants to individual investigators and interdisciplinary teams of investigators; projects funded under joint solicitations by a collaboration of no fewer than two agencies participating in the Program; and interdisciplinary research centers that are organized to investigate basic research questions and carry out technology development and demonstration activities; education and training of undergraduate and graduate students in research at the intersection of biological, physical, and information sciences and engineering; activities to develop robust mechanisms for tracking and quantifying the outputs and economic benefits of engineering biology; and activities to accelerate the translation and commercialization of new products, processes, and technologies by— identifying precompetitive research opportunities; facilitating public-private partnerships in engineering biology research and development; connecting researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows with entrepreneurship education and training opportunities; and supporting proof of concept activities and the formation of startup companies including through programs such as the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program.
The Program shall include, to the maximum extent practicable, outreach to primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institutions about Program opportunities, and shall encourage the development of research collaborations between research-intensive universities and primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institutions. Program activities shall take into account ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal issues, including the need for safeguards and monitoring systems to protect society against the unintended release of engineered materials produced, by— supporting research, including in the social sciences, and other activities addressing ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal issues related to engineering biology, including integrating research on these topics with the research and development in engineering biology, and ensuring that the results of such research are widely disseminated, including through interdisciplinary engineering biology research centers described in subsection (b)(1)(C); and ensuring, through the agencies and departments that participate in the Program, that public input and outreach are integrated into the Program by the convening of regular and ongoing public discussions through mechanisms such as citizen panels, consensus conferences, and educational events, as appropriate.
The President shall designate an interagency committee on engineering biology, which shall include representatives from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency, and any other agency that the President considers appropriate. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall select a chairperson from among the members of the Interagency Committee.
The Interagency Committee shall oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the Program. The Interagency Committee shall— provide for interagency coordination of Federal engineering biology research, development, and other activities undertaken pursuant to the Program; establish and periodically update goals and priorities for the Program; develop, not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this subtitle, and update every 5 years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the Program and meet the goals and priorities established under paragraph
(2)and describe— the Program’s support for long-term funding for interdisciplinary engineering biology research and development; the Program’s support for education and public outreach activities; the Program’s support for research and other activities on ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal issues related to engineering biology; and how the Program will move results out of the laboratory and into application for the benefit of society and United States competitiveness; propose an annually coordinated interagency budget for the Program that will ensure the maintenance of a robust engineering biology research and development portfolio and ensure that the balance of funding across the Program is sufficient to meet the goals and priorities established for the Program; develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, such as the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, in support of the goals described in subsection (b)(4); and in carrying out its responsibilities under this section, take into consideration the recommendations of the Advisory Committee, the results of the workshop convened under section 126, existing reports on related topics, and the views of academic, State, industry, and other appropriate groups. The Interagency Committee shall prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 90 days after submission of the President’s annual budget request, that includes— the Program budget for the fiscal year to which such budget request applies, and for the then current fiscal year, including a breakout of spending for each agency participating in the Program, and for the development and acquisition of any research facilities and instrumentation; and an assessment of how Federal agencies are implementing the plan described in subsection (e)(5), and a description of the amount and number of Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer awards made in support of the Program.