NSCEB Monthly Newsletter
March 2026
As we celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the release of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s major report and Action Plan for Congress, we are excited to introduce our new monthly newsletter! Each month we’ll recap the previous month’s work and look ahead to the next. March was a busy month, so this is the perfect time to catch up with all we’ve been doing.
From the introduction of 6 new bipartisan bills based on our recommendations, to more Biotech Across America Roadshow stops, to our State Symposium, I’m excited to share all that the Commission is accomplishing. The legislative cycle is in full swing on Capitol Hill, and we are busy working with Congress to pass even more of the Commission’s 49 report recommendations.
We hope you will continue to consider the NSCEB a resource as we drive our work forward this year – Commissioners and staff would love to hear your feedback and ideas.
Best,
Caitlin
Biotech Across America State Symposium
On March 25, more than 100 state and local officials, biotech industry leaders, researchers and innovators who are shaping biotechnology ecosystems across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. for the Biotech Across America State Symposium.
Built on the NSCEB’s Biotech Across America Roadshow, the Symposium connected local and regional biotech hubs in a unique forum to compare approaches, identify shared challenges, and highlight strategies that can be adapted or scaled across different regions to build a stronger national biotechnology ecosystem. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium, the Federation of American Scientists, and the American Alliance for Biomanufacturing partnered with the Commission to bring the day’s programming to life.
After the Commission ends its work in December 2026, we hope stakeholders around the country will continue to connect, develop and strengthen biotech hubs, and advocate for strategic biotechnology policy. To facilitate more of that collaboration,the Commission compiled examples of state and local leadership in its State Resource Guide. Using case studies, this tool allows stakeholders to learn from what has worked for others across the country in the areas of commercialization, talent pipelines, and bioliteracy.
If you have a success story to share in one of these categories, please submit it for inclusion in our State Resource Guide here.
Learn more about the State Symposium here.
Following the State Symposium, the NSCEB joined With Honor for a reception marking the one year anniversary of the release of the Commission’s Action Plan for American biotechnology leadership. Commissioners and friends of the NSCEB celebrated policy progress over the past year and came away energized to implement as many more of the Commission’s recommendations as possible.
Legislative News
As of April 1, 2026, biotech champions in both the House and the Senate have taken bipartisan legislative action on 39 provisions and 14 stand-alone bills that reflect 34 NSCEB recommendations. 25 of those provisions have been signed into law, either in full or in part, and the White House has taken executive action on 9 NSCEB recommendations.
In March 2026 alone, Members of the House and Senate introduced 6 bipartisan bills to advance key NSCEB recommendations. Taken together, these pieces of legislation will enable the American biotechnology sector to out-innovate our strategic competitors.
America’s Living Library Act of 2026 (H.R. 7832/S. 4023)— The U.S. is home to a wide array of organisms and ecosystems, many of which are unique to our public lands. That variety of life represents a diverse genetic library that has already spurred critical biotechnology innovations like the PCR test.
To access the amazing wealth of unique biological data that exists in the U.S. public lands system, the America’s Living Library Act directs the Department of the Interior to begin a project to collect, catalog, and sequence genomic information of animals, plants, fungi, and microbes on U.S. public lands.
H.R. 7832 Original Co-Sponsors: Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05) and Representative Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04).
S. 4023 Original Co-Sponsors: Senator Todd Young (R-IN); Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT).
Learn more here.
Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act (H.R. 7936)— While the U.S. leads in biotechnology innovation, we lack the infrastructure to build what we invent. Biomanufacturing will reshape America’s industrial base and reshore manufacturing across a range of industries.
The Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act of 2026 would direct the U.S. Secretary of Energy to establish at least two bioindustrial scale-up facilities that would accelerate the scaling of emerging bioindustrial technologies.
H.R. 7936 Original Co-Sponsors: Representative Jim Baird (R-IN-04), Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05), Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17).
Cloud Labs to Advance Biotechnology Act (Cloud LAB Act) (H.R.7801/S.2676)— Cloud labs are physical laboratory facilities that combine advances in AI, robotics, and automation while also providing U.S. scientists remote access to high-quality automated instrumentation from anywhere in the country.
The Cloud LAB Act would direct the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a national network of cloud labs for the purposes of generating high-quality biological data through automated instrumentation. These cloud labs would provide researchers with greater access to high-quality experimental instrumentation and data collection to advance their research and train future AI models.
H.R.7801 Original Co-Sponsors: Representative Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23), Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17)
S.2676 Original Co-Sponsors: Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ).
Learn more here.
AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act of 2026 (H.R.7907/S.4069)— The convergence of AI and biotechnology is unlocking innovations across every sector. Developing AI-ready data is vital for researchers to continue accelerated discovery.
The AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act of 2026 would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director to facilitate the development of standards and frameworks to make biological data ready for use in AI models and create minimum requirements of qualified federally funded research that ensure resulting biological data are AI-ready.
H.R. 7907 Original Co-Sponsors: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23)
S.4069 Original Co-Sponsors: Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
Learn more here.
Additional Legislative News:
- House BIOTech Caucus Endorses NSCEB Bills: RepresentativesStephanie Bice (R-OK-05) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Co-Chairs and Co-Founders of the bipartisan BIOTech Caucus, announced the Caucus’s first slate of endorsed legislation. This included the National Biotechnology Initiative Act (H.R. 2756) and the Biomanufacturing Excellence Act (H.R. 6089). Learn more here.
- The Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (S.3971)-This bill would reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, has passed both the House and Senate. It reflects NSCEB report recommendations (2.2d) and will pass into law once the President signs.
- The Biodefense Diplomacy Enhancement Act (H.R. 7653) –The bill would direct the Secretary of State to improve cooperation in biodefense, biosecurity, and biotechnology matters. This bill was introduced in the House, and was passed out of the Committee of Foreign Affairs. The next step is a vote in the House. This bill partially reflects NSCEB report recommendations (6.1e and 6.2b).
Biotech Across America Roadshow
On March 12, Commissioners visited Manus in Augusta, Georgia, a company that is leveraging biomanufacturing to revitalize industrial infrastructure with renewed purpose.
When Manus reopened a formerly-defunct manufacturing facility and hired back dozens of employees, they captured the potential of biomanufacturing. Not only its impact on economic growth and supply chain resilience, but biomanufacturing’s power to create new jobs and reshore critical manufacturing jobs.
Learn more here.
On March 13, Commissioners visited Atlanta, Georgia, where a rigorous academic ecosystem feeds into strong talent pipelines and dynamic start-ups. Commissioners toured the Georgia Bioscience Training Center in Covington before visiting the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing (CMaT) at Georgia Tech, where they met students and entrepreneurs developing the future of this technology. Georgia Life Sciences partnered with the NSCEB to coordinate this Georgia Trip
Learn more here.
NSCEB in the News
1. Synthetic blood and instant runways: How biotech can benefit the warfighter | Commissioner Dov Zakheim wrote about maximizing the benefits that biotechnology brings is not solely a Pentagon effort. Biotechnology involves a whole-of-government national security enterprise that ranges from agriculture, to energy, to health, to education.
2. How the U.S. can maintain biotech leadership | Senators Alex Padilla and Todd Young shared their bipartisan work on U.S. security amid rapid biotech advances and growing competition.
3. Incubate and the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology Convene Capitol Hill Roundtable on U.S. Biotech Competitiveness | Participants, including Vice Chair Michelle Rozo, discussed several policy areas shaping the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. biotechnology sector and the investment climate for early-stage research and development.
April Look Ahead
- April 7: U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship field hearing, “Fueling Innovation: The Role of Small Businesses in America’s Bioeconomy,” in Carmel, Indiana
- April 22-23: New Orleans, Louisiana Roadshow
- April 27-28: Huntsville, Alabama 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
