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NSCEB Monthly Newsletter – August 2026

NSCEB Monthly Newsletter

August 2026

As we prepare for the “breather” that August recess offers those of us around Washington, this update is chock full of evidence that lawmakers still have their eyes on the future of the U.S. biotech industry. 

In July, members introduced two new, bipartisan bills focused on how biotech diplomacy can project strength, leverage the work of likeminded countries, and open new markets for U.S. businesses.   

Plus, we have a new piece out on how NSCEB recommendations can change the future of rare disease treatment and cures. After talking with a range of stakeholders in this job, plus my brief stint as a healthcare staffer on the Hill, it’s clear that policymaker action could change the experience of rare disease families. Whether you work on this issue or not, I encourage you read it!

-Caitlin   

 

New! NSCEB Publishes Legislative Drafts

NSCEB is now publishing discussion drafts for select legislation that has yet to be introduced. These discussion drafts can be used as a starting point to tackle the complex issues at play within the NSCEB’s recommendations for strengthening the biotech sector in the United States. The drafts can be found here.

 

ICYMI: Accelerating Rare Disease Innovation through an All-of-Government Strategy

In July, the NSCEB published a look at the challenges and recommended solutions for treating and curing rare diseases in the United States. The Commission identified the hurdles that hinder rare disease innovation such as funding difficulties, regulatory roadblocks, data quality and availability, and the challenges of manufacturing. The paper highlights that an all-of-government approach to biotechnology will help address these challenges across applications of biotechnology. For example, the creation of a National Biotechnology Coordination Office (NBCO) would promote federal coordination and streamline the regulatory structures across the U.S. government currently inhibiting innovation, including for rare disease treatments.

Read the analysis here.

 

ICYMI: Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs Endorse Bills that Reflect NSCEB Recommendations

Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs released an outline on their approach to resilience in the age of biology. The approach includes endorsements of strategic biotech policy, including five bipartisan bills that reflect NSCEB recommendations on biological data, biosecurity, biotech scaling, and AIxBio innovation.

The endorsed legislation includes the AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act (H.R.7907/S.4069), the Biosecurity Modernization and Innovation Act (S.3741), the SCALE Biology Act (H.R.8981), the America’s Living Library Act (H.R.7832/S.4023), and the Web of Biological Data Act (H.R. 9307/S.4770)

These bills prioritize both discovery and responsibility, cementing American leadership for the next generation of technology breakthroughs. 

Read more here.

 

NSCEB by the Numbers

As of August 1, 2026:  

  • 40 NSCEB recommendations have seen bipartisan legislative action in either the House or the Senate. 
  • 32 standalone bipartisan bills with NSCEB recommendations have been introduced in either the House or Senate. 
  • 26 provisions that reflect NSCEB recommendations, either in full or in part, have been signed into law. 
  • 9 NSCEB recommendations included in White House executive actions. 
  • 24 states visited on the Biotech Across America Roadshow. 
  • 400+ organizations have participated in Roadshow events. 

 

REMINDER! The Biotech Across America District Spotlight Series 

From now through the end of August, the Commission invites you to host gatherings as part of the Biotech Across America District Spotlight with stakeholders in your area to discuss your region’s successes, challenges, and how federal policy might better support the ecosystem’s future growth. Commission staff will work with you to design the event, including content and communications support. If you are interested in organizing or participating in an event in your area, please email: ideas@biotech.senate.gov.  

 

Legislative News

This month, biotech champions on the Hill introduced two new bipartisan bills and included multiple key provisions in FY27 House appropriations bills and the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act passed by both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.  

Web of Biological Data Act of 2026 (H.R.9307/S.4770) —Introduced on June 11 in both the House and Senate, this bill would establish the Web of Biological Data (WOBD), a single point of entry for researchers to access high-quality biological data, especially those managed or funded by the federal government. This would allow U.S researchers to spend less time curating biological data and more time testing hypotheses, training models, designing novel biological functions, and ultimately ensuring America outcompetes strategic competitors such as China. 

House Sponsors: Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07), Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) 

Senate Sponsors: Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) 

Learn more here. 

FY27 House Appropriations Biotech Provisions (Full Committee Markup)   

The House Appropriations Committee is continuing its FY27 appropriations process. Each bill includes two parts, bill text and report language. Bill text moves on to the House floor, while report language is given the weight of law once the bill passes out of committee. 

You can see all FY27 appropriations provisions that reflect NSCEB recommendations here. 

This month, the committee marked up several appropriations bills. Key biotech provisions in report language include:  

  • The Financial Services General Government report recognizes the importance of centralized interagency coordination on biotechnology, as well as directs OMB to report on crosscut budget amounts of federal biotechnology spending and regulatory overlap, gaps, and ambiguities related to biotechnology product regulation. 
  • The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies report includes key provisions such as encouraging NIH to assess the feasibility of using publicly available research tools, such as a platform, to link federated, AI-ready biomedical datasets and AI foundation models trained on such data. 
  • The Defense report includes Congressional budget adds for key biotechnology programs, and applauds DOW for pursuing six Critical Technology Areas, one of which is biomanufacturing. 

FY27 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Biotech Provisions (Full Committee Markup) 

This month, both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees marked up their versions of the NDAA. Full lists of biotech provisions in each bill are available here and here. The House and Senate are each expected to take up the bill in their respective chambers this month. Key provisions include: 

  • Comptroller General Review of Military Specifications related to biotechnology: Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a comprehensive assessment of military product specifications (MIL-SPECs) to determine whether they disadvantage biotechnology-derived products and biomaterials.  
  • Ensuring Commercialization for Shelf-Stable Blood Prototype: Directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to provide a briefing on the status of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) shelf-stable blood program. 

 

Monthly Legislative Spotlight

Each month we’ll highlight a different piece of legislation reflecting key NSCEB recommendations. We encourage you to continue using your voice to advocate for these key policy ideas.  

Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act of 2026 (H.R.7936)

Summary: This bill would amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish at least two bioindustrial scale-up facilities. These facilities would accelerate the scaling of emerging bioindustrial technologies, including through coordination with other relevant facilities such as those under the Department of Defense (DOD) 

House Sponsors: Rep. James Baird (R-IN-4), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6), Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK-5), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Rep. Josh Riley (D-NY-19), Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX-17), Rep. Don Davis (D-NC-1) 

Learn more here.

Bioindustrial Infrastructure for Open Scale-up, Commercialization, and Accelerated Launch Ecosystems (BIO-SCALE) Act (H.R.8918)

Summary: This bill would direct the Secretary of Commerce, through the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, to establish at least three nonprofit, product-agnostic precommercial scale-up facilities. These facilities would enable and accelerate the scaling of non-pharmaceutical biotechnologies, including through coordination with other relevant facilities such as those under the DOD and Department of Energy (DOE).

House Sponsors: Rep. James Baird (R-IN-4), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6) 

Learn more here.

 

Biotech Across America Roadshow

Recent Roadshow Stops 

Denver, Colorado – July 23–24

Colorado has a deep mining history, and NSCEB Commissioner Alexander Titus visited the Denver area to learn more about the next generation of Colorado’s industry: Biomining. Leaders in Colorado’s biotech industry are pioneering new ways to get more from the mining resources we already have in the U.S.. The Centennial State is providing that solution our critical mineral supply chain vulnerability.

Learn more here.   

Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio – July 30-31

Ohio’s biotech industry is leveraging the Midwest’s manufacturing strength to develop biomanufacturing infrastructure to meet the growing demand for biotech products. Hubs in Columbus and Cleveland are driving workforce development, advanced biomedical solutions, and biomanufacturing infrastructure—turning Ohio into a crossroads of biotechnology capability.

Learn more here.

 

NSCEB in the News

American Scientist | Biotechnology and the Spirit of American Discovery

NSCEB Chair Senator Young and Vice Chair Michelle Rozo step through the history of American innovation through the lens of policy, federal support for discovery, and national need.

BioSpace | US ‘eroding’ lead in rare diseases a matter of national security

The NSCEB recommends the U.S. government put supportive policies in place for rare disease drug development, such as a finalized platform designation from the FDA and the allowance of novel trial designs for small patient populations.

The Denver Gazette | Federal biotech commission examines Colorado’s role in critical minerals production

Leaders from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology met last week at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. The roundtable session was part of the commission’s ongoing Biotech Across America series of regional outreach and education. Meetings. The Colorado stop focused on using microbiology to recover strategic minerals from mining waste and other domestic sources.

The Big 3 podcast from Coalition for a Prosperous America | The Big 3: The Biotech Race — How China is Winning & What Congress Must Do Now

This week on The Big 3, Mihir Torsekar is joined by Caitlin Frazer, Executive Director of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, to discuss one of the most important—and least understood—strategic competitions facing the United States…While most Americans associate biotech with new medicines and cancer treatments, biotechnology is rapidly becoming a foundational technology with applications across agriculture, defense, critical minerals, advanced materials, energy production, and manufacturing.

U.S. National Science Foundation | NSF announces $400M investment in new national network of AI-programmable cloud laboratories in alignment with the U.S. government’s Genesis Mission

In its April 2025 report, the NSCEB recommended a network of cloud-laboratories to accelerate discovery, no matter where the researcher is.

Legis 1 | Senate Panel Weighs Science Funding as China Expands Tech Lead

The hearing comes as U.S. officials increasingly warn about China’s advances in critical technologies. The NSCEB recently concluded that the United States is falling behind China in key areas of emerging biotechnology after previously assessing that the United States maintained the lead.

 

August Look Ahead

  • August 4: Kansas Roadshow
  • August 11: New Mexico Roadshow
  • August 21: Rhode Island Roadshow
  • August 24-25: Washington Roadshow

 

About NSCEB: The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology is a time-limited, high-impact legislative branch advisory entity whose purpose is to advance and secure biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and associated technologies for U.S. national security and to prepare the United States for the bioindustrial revolution. The Commission published a comprehensive report in April 2025, including recommendations for action by Congress and the federal government. The bipartisan Commission is composed of Congressionally-appointed Commissioners with members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as experts from industry, academia, and government. For more information about the Commission and to view the report, visit: biotech.senate.gov.

Contacts:

NSCEB: press@biotech.senate.gov