[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2676 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2676
To require the Director of the National Science Foundation to carry out
a cloud laboratory network program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2025
Mr. Young (for himself and Mr. Kim) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Director of the National Science Foundation to carry out
a cloud laboratory network program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cloud Labs to Advance Biotechnology
Act of 2025'' or the ``Cloud LAB Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in section 5002
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9401).
(2) Authorized research.--The term ``authorized
researcher'' means an individual who has been appropriately
authorized to access data generated by the cloud laboratories
through a process established by the Director in establishing
the cloud laboratory network.
(3) Biological data.--The term ``biological data'' means
the information, including associated descriptors, derived from
the structure, function, or process of a biological system that
is either measured, collected, or aggregated for analysis.
(4) Cloud laboratory.--The term ``cloud laboratory'' means
a physical laboratory that is equipped with research
instrumentation and advanced robots that can be programmed and
controlled remotely by scientists in order to conduct
continuous experiments and collect associated data.
(5) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(6) Phase ii cloud laboratory.--The term ``phase II cloud
laboratory'' means a cloud laboratory funded by a grant awarded
under section 3(c).
(7) Phase iii cloud laboratory.--The term ``phase III cloud
laboratory'' means a cloud laboratory funded by a grant awarded
under section 3(d).
(8) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
and Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
SEC. 3. CLOUD LABORATORY NETWORK PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Program Established.--
(1) Authorization.--The Director, in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy, and the Under Secretary, shall carry out a
pilot program in accordance with this section that establishes
a cloud laboratory network that helps to coordinate the
activities of cloud laboratories established by the Director
and cloud laboratories independently operated by other entities
(such as private industry, government laboratories, and
academic institutions), to further the purposes described in
paragraph (3).
(2) Consultation.--The Director shall consult, to the
greatest extent practicable, with other departments and
agencies involved with cloud laboratories, and any government
entities responsible for interagency consultation of
biotechnology, such as that in the Executive Office of the
President, to deduplicate efforts from different programs, and
to increase awareness and connectivity of the cloud laboratory
network established under subsection (b)(1).
(3) Purpose of the cloud laboratory network.--The cloud
laboratory network described in paragraph (1) shall--
(A) serve the purpose of tracking and cataloging
the different biotechnology capabilities at each cloud
laboratory;
(B) help researchers connect to the capabilities
needed to pursue a line of research; and
(C) provide the opportunity for cloud laboratories
to connect and collaborate on best practices, including
data collection and data sharing, data standards, and
needs.
(4) Cloud laboratory purposes.--Each cloud laboratory
supported under this section shall accomplish the following
purposes:
(A) Generate high-quality biological data through
automated experimentation that will be collected for
use and analysis by authorized researchers for the
purposes of training artificial intelligence models or
other types of biological data analysis models.
(B) Provide researchers access to high-quality
experimental instrumentation and data collection for
the purposes of advancing individual research projects.
(b) Phase I of Cloud Laboratory Network Pilot Program.--
(1) Establishment of the cloud laboratory network.--Not
later than 360 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Director, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and
the Under Secretary, shall establish the cloud laboratory
network as described in subsection (a)(1).
(2) Implementation plan.--Not later than 360 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation
with the Secretary of Energy, the Under Secretary, and others
as appropriate, shall prepare and submit an implementation plan
to Congress that includes the following:
(A) An assessment of the state of public and
private cloud laboratories in the United States,
particularly cloud laboratories focused on
biotechnology, as of the date of the report, including
the number of cloud laboratories, the location of the
cloud laboratories, and the financing or payment
mechanism for each cloud laboratory.
(B) An implementation plan for a national cloud
laboratory network and an associated grant program that
includes a mechanism for deciding on the location of
each cloud laboratory funded under the grant program in
this section.
(C) A plan to coordinate the network of cloud
laboratories that are already established, in addition
to those funded under this section.
(D) A plan outlining how data generated through the
cloud laboratories will be stored, published, and made
available and accessible to authorized researchers as a
public resource, including a plan to have the data made
publicly available in a secure and accessible format.
(E) A scheme for access to data generated through
the cloud laboratories funded under this section and
the payment or subscription model that will be required
to access the cloud laboratory infrastructure and such
data, which--
(i) describes how users can apply and use
the infrastructure for the cloud laboratories
funded under this section, giving special
consideration toward providing equitable
access;
(ii) allows users doing nonproprietary work
to access such cloud laboratories at no or
minimal cost; and
(iii) includes a request for information to
industry to understand what companies would
need in order to subscribe to such a data
generation service.
(F) An outline of sample intellectual property
agreements for the cloud laboratories funded under this
section related to all data gathering and
experimentation, which may include different agreements
in order to further the different purposes described in
subsection (a)(2).
(G) A plan for engagement with industry and
academic institutions that manage cloud laboratories to
include them in the cloud laboratory network.
(H) A plan for building in considerations related
to cybersecurity, biosecurity, and research security
from the beginning of development for each cloud
laboratory.
(I) The estimated cost of carrying out the full
pilot program establishing the cloud laboratory network
broken down by year.
(3) Cloud laboratory advisory board.--
(A) Consultation.--In preparing the implementation
plan under paragraph (2), the Director shall consult
with the advisory board established under this
paragraph.
(B) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall
establish, and lead, a cloud laboratory advisory board
(referred to in this paragraph as the ``advisory
board'').
(C) Members.--
(i) Composition.--The advisory board shall
consist of--
(I) employees of the National
Science Foundation and employees of
such other Federal agencies as the
Director determines appropriate;
(II) academic researchers in all
areas of biotechnology, including
computational biology, synthetic
biology, cell biology, structural
biology, robotics, and analytical
chemistry;
(III) researchers and practitioners
in the fields of biosafety,
biosecurity, ethics, and relevant
social science disciplines; and
(IV) industry representatives from
different sectors of biotechnology,
including health, agriculture, chemical
production, and platform technologies.
(ii) Selection.--The selection and number
of people on the advisory board shall be at the
discretion of the Director.
(D) Duties.--The advisory board shall--
(i) propose biological data collection
priorities through consultation with the
biotechnology research community, including
academia and private companies;
(ii) advise in ways that the cloud
laboratories funded under this section are
developed and expanded in such a way that
maximizes usability across the disciplines of
biotechnology while minimizing duplication
across the network of cloud laboratories funded
under this section;
(iii) advise on the definition of
authorized researcher to ensure research
security, but also allow access to all tiers of
research and teaching institutions, including
primarily undergraduate institutions, minority-
serving institutions, and historically Black
colleges and universities;
(iv) produce an annual report outlining all
recommendations and actions that were taken
over the course of the year; and
(v) provide guidance and recommendations to
the Director regarding--
(I) ensuring that appropriate
safeguards are in place to prevent the
misuse of cloud laboratories funded
under this section;
(II) ensuring the implementation of
a rigorous cybersecurity scheme across
the network of such cloud laboratories;
(III) ensuring that access to the
cloud laboratories funded under this
section is equitable; and
(IV) ensuring that such cloud
laboratories appreciably increase
access to high-end laboratory equipment
to otherwise underresourced entities.
(E) Termination.--The advisory board shall
terminate on the date that is 12 years after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(c) Phase II Cloud Laboratory Awards.--
(1) Awards authorized.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and subject to the availability
of appropriations, the Director, in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy, the Under Secretary, and the relevant
individual in the Executive Office of the President responsible
for coordinating interagency efforts related to biotechnology,
shall, using the process developed in subsection (b)(2)(B),
make grant awards, on a competitive basis, for the development
and operation of not fewer than 2 cloud laboratories.
(2) Operational deadline.--Each phase II cloud laboratory
shall be fully operational by the date that is 3 years after
the date of enactment of this Act.
(3) Duration.--An award under this subsection for a phase
II cloud laboratory shall be for not less than an 8-year
period.
(d) Phase III Cloud Laboratory Awards.--
(1) Awards authorized.--Not later than 4 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and subject to the availability
of appropriations, the Director, in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy and the Under Secretary, shall make grant
awards, on a competitive basis, for the development and
operation of not fewer than 3 cloud laboratories.
(2) Relationship to phase ii cloud laboratories.--The phase
III cloud laboratories shall be separate, and in addition to,
the phase II cloud laboratories.
(3) Duration.--An award under this subsection for a phase
III cloud laboratory shall be for not less than a 6-year
period.
(4) Award basis.--In making awards under this subsection,
the Director shall utilize a similar competitive process as
used for awards for phase II cloud laboratories, which may be
adjusted based on lessons learned from the establishment of the
phase II cloud laboratories.
(e) Cloud Laboratory Pilot Award Program Implementation Reports.--
Beginning 1 year after the date on which all awards are made for phase
II cloud laboratories, and annually thereafter, the Director shall
prepare and submit a report to Congress regarding the progress,
including any successes, of all cloud laboratories supported under the
pilot grant program under this section.
(f) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect on the date
that is 12 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
<all>