National Biotechnology Initiative Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Todd Young
Introduced
Summary
This bill creates a White House-led effort to "coordinate federal biotechnology activities" across agencies to strengthen national security, boost U.S. competitiveness, and accelerate commercialization. It sets up a National Biotechnology Coordination Office, an interagency committee, and requires a national strategy, annual reporting, expert convenings, and a public federal biotechnology website.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 6 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Support for biotech startups, research, and talent
If enacted, agencies would use SBIR and STTR programs to fund biotech proof-of-concept work and startup formation. Agencies would also give companies, universities, and nonprofits access to advanced user facilities and, where appropriate, secure high-performance computing. Agencies would support international talent exchanges with fellowships and work-authorization programs to help recruit researchers from partner countries. You must meet each program's eligibility rules to benefit.
New national biotech strategy and reports
If enacted, the NBCO and the Interagency Committee would publish a national biotechnology strategy within 2 years and update it at least every 5 years. The strategy must list goals, recommend actions, include a 5-year budget for urgent priorities, and inventory federal biological data databases. The NBCO would also send an annual report to Congress starting one year after enactment, except in strategy years. The Government Accountability Office would begin a review 3 years after enactment, brief Congress at 3.5 years, and report by year 4, then repeat every 5 years until 20 years after enactment.
New White House biotech coordination office
If enacted, the President would create a National Biotechnology Coordination Office (NBCO) and appoint a Director within 180 days. The Director would advise the President, coordinate agencies, hire staff, and convene an Interagency Committee. The National Science Foundation would provide administrative support and the bill would authorize $22 million for FY2026, $35 million for FY2027, and $25 million each for FY2028–FY2030. The Office could call expert meetings without following the Federal Advisory Committee Act for those meetings. The NBCO would begin a wind-down 20 years after enactment and transfer authorities to the Interagency Committee or other agencies.
Centralized biotech data hub and website
If enacted, agencies would create and maintain genomics, epigenomics, and other biological databases and build a centralized access hub. The hub would include rules for curation, interoperability, and privacy and security protections. The NBCO and Interagency Committee would also publish a single federal biotechnology website within 540 days to centralize information for the public, policymakers, and researchers.
Faster regulatory pathways for biotech
If enacted, agencies would coordinate to speed and clarify regulatory review for biotechnology products. The bill would ease rules for well-understood product types and create clear pathways and short-term trials to test new pathways. If the NBCO and Interagency Committee cannot agree on a pathway, the Office of Management and Budget would identify gaps and require an interagency agreement with timelines and data expectations.
Federal incentives to retool industrial sites
If enacted, federal agencies would offer incentives to retool existing industrial sites for biotechnology manufacturing and scale-up. This could help site owners and local workers attract biotech investment and new jobs. The bill does not guarantee direct cash payments to households.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Todd Young
IN • R
Cosponsors
Alex Padilla
CA • D
Sponsored 4/9/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in