[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2696 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2696
To establish a Foundation for Enabling Biotechnology Innovation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 3, 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Foundation for Enabling Biotechnology Innovation.
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 ``Foundation for Enabling
Biotechnology Innovation Act''.
SEC. 2. FOUNDATION FOR ENABLING BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION.
(a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Science Foundation
shall establish a nonprofit foundation to be known as the ``Foundation
for Enabling Biotechnology Innovation''.
(b) Mission.--The mission of the Foundation for Enabling
Biotechnology Innovation (referred to in this Act as the
``Foundation'') shall be to accelerate commercialization of
biotechnology products in the United States by supporting and enhancing
the capacity of Federal agencies and fostering collaboration across
sectors.
(c) Activities.--In carrying out its mission under subsection (b),
the Foundation may carry out the following:
(1) Promote public-private partnerships that leverage
expertise and resources across sectors to foster innovation and
address challenges in commercialization of biotechnology
products.
(2) Convene relevant stakeholders to develop expert
recommendations on biotechnology commercialization, including
horizon scanning for emerging technologies and regulation of
novel products that may be commercialized in the future.
(3) Advance collaboration and dialogue between Federal
agencies that contribute to commercialization of biotechnology
and relevant stakeholders, including industry, institutions of
higher education, and nonprofit and philanthropic
organizations.
(4) Support and conduct public engagement, education, and
outreach activities about innovation, regulation,
commercialization, and use of biotechnology products, including
to evaluate efficacy of communication methods.
(5) Facilitate market access for United States
biotechnology products, including through international
engagement, commercial and regulatory diplomacy, and
development of shared norms and standards.
(6) Support studies, projects, and research on topics such
as market acceptance and regulatory process improvement,
including through direct funding, grants, competitions, and
other methods.
(7) Develop and implement education and fellowship
programs, which may include--
(A) short courses on biotechnology product
commercialization;
(B) shadowing experiences with relevant Federal
agencies;
(C) capstone projects, in which participants
develop ideas to advance biotechnology
commercialization; and
(D) support for participants such as stipends,
travel, health insurance, professional development, and
other appropriate expenditures as determined
appropriate by the Foundation.
(8) Provide direct support to Federal agencies for discrete
or ongoing projects.
(9) Conduct other activities as determined necessary by the
Foundation to carry out its mission.
(d) Limitation.--The Foundation shall not be an agency or
instrumentality of the Federal Government and the Foundation shall not
conduct any regulation of biotechnology products or any other products.
(e) Support.--The Foundation may receive, administer, solicit,
accept, and use funds, gifts, devises, or bequests, either absolutely
or in trust of real or personal property or any income therefrom or
other interest therein to support activities under subsection (c),
except that this subsection shall not apply if any of such is from a
foreign country of concern or a foreign entity of concern.
(f) Tax Exempt Status.--The Board of the Foundation for Enabling
Biotechnology Innovation shall take all necessary and appropriate steps
to ensure the Foundation is an organization described in section 501(c)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code.
(g) Board of Directors.--
(1) Establishment.--The Foundation for Enabling
Biotechnology Innovation shall be governed by a Board of
Directors (referred to in this section as the ``Board'').
(2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of the
following:
(A) Not fewer than 5 voting members described in
paragraph (4).
(B) Ex officio nonvoting members described in
paragraph (5).
(3) Initial members.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall--
(A) seek to enter into an agreement with the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine to develop a list of individuals to serve as
members of the Board who are well-qualified and meet
the requirements in paragraph (4); and
(B) appoint the initial members of the Board from
such list not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(4) Voting members.--
(A) Representation.--The voting members of the
Board shall be drawn from a broad cross-section of
stakeholders across sectors, regions, and communities,
including from institutions of higher education,
industry, and nonprofit and philanthropic
organizations.
(B) Experience.--The voting members of the Board
shall have the experience and qualifications to provide
advice and information to advance the mission of the
Foundation for Enabling Biotechnology Innovation.
(C) Federal employees.--No employee of the Federal
Government may be appointed as a voting member of the
Board.
(5) Nonvoting members.--
(A) Ex officio members.--The ex officio members of
the Board shall be designated by--
(i) the Director of the National Science
Foundation;
(ii) the Secretary of Defense;
(iii) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(iv) the Secretary of Health and Human
Services;
(v) the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency; and
(vi) the heads of other agencies, as agreed
upon by the Board.
(B) No voting power.--The ex officio members
described in subparagraph (A) shall not have voting
power on the Board.
(6) Chair and vice chair.--
(A) In general.--The Board shall designate, from
among its voting members--
(i) an individual to serve as the Chair of
the Board; and
(ii) an individual to serve as the Vice
Chair of the Board.
(B) Terms.--The term of service of the Chair and
Vice Chair of the Board shall end on the earlier of--
(i) the date that is 3 years after the date
on which the Chair or Vice Chair of the Board
is designated for the respective position; or
(ii) the last day of the term of service of
the member, as determined under paragraph (7),
who is designated to be Chair or Vice Chair of
the Board.
(C) Representation.--The Chair and Vice Chair of
the Board may not be representatives of the same area
of subject matter expertise or entity.
(7) Terms and vacancies.--
(A) Term limits.--The term of office of each voting
member of the Board shall be not more than 5 years,
except that a member of the Board may continue to serve
after the expiration of their term, if no new member is
appointed to replace the departing Board member.
(B) Initial members.--Of the initial members of the
Board appointed under paragraph (3), half of such
members shall serve for 4 years and half of such
members shall serve for 5 years, as determined by the
Chair of the Board.
(C) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the voting
membership of the Board--
(i) shall be filled in accordance with the
bylaws of the Foundation by individuals who are
well qualified and meet the requirements in
paragraph (4);
(ii) shall not affect the power of the
remaining members to carry out the duties of
the Board; and
(iii) shall be filled by an individual
selected by the Board.
(D) Renewal.--Board members may be renewed for
additional terms, as long as the individual continues
to meet the requirements in paragraph (4).
(8) Quorum.--A majority of the voting members of the Board
shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting the
business of the Board.
(9) Duties.--The Board shall carry out the following:
(A) Establish bylaws for the Foundation in
accordance with paragraph (10).
(B) Provide overall direction for the activities of
the Foundation and establish priority activities.
(C) Coordinate with the Director of the National
Science Foundation regarding the activities of the
Foundation for Enabling Biotechnology Innovation to
ensure consistency with the programs and policies of
the National Science Foundation and other Federal
agencies.
(D) Evaluate the performance of the Chief Executive
Officer of the Foundation.
(E) Actively solicit and accept funds, gifts,
grants, devises, or bequests of real or personal
property to the Foundation, including from private
entities.
(F) Carry out any other necessary activities of the
Foundation.
(10) Bylaws.--The Board shall establish bylaws for the
Foundation, ensuring that--
(A) the bylaws of the Foundation shall include--
(i) policies for the selection of the Board
members, officers, employees, agents, and
contractors of the Foundation;
(ii) policies, including ethical and
disclosure standards, including--
(I) the acceptance, solicitation,
and disposition of donations and grants
to the Foundation, including
appropriate limits on the ability of
donors to designate, by stipulation or
restriction, the use or recipient of
donated funds; and
(II) the disposition of assets of
the Foundation;
(iii) policies that subject all employees,
fellows, trainees, and other agents of the
Foundation (including appointed voting members
and ex officio members of the Board) to
conflict-of-interest standards; and
(iv) the specific duties of the Chief
Executive Officer of the Foundation; and
(B) the bylaws of the Foundation and activities
carried out under such bylaws do not--
(i) reflect unfavorably upon the ability of
the Foundation to carry out its
responsibilities or official duties in a fair
and objective manner; or
(ii) compromise, or appear to compromise,
the integrity of any Federal Governmental
agency or program, or any officer or employee
employed by, or involved in a Federal
Governmental agency or program.
(11) Compensation.--
(A) In general.--Members of the Board may not
receive compensation for serving on the Board.
(B) Certain expenses.--In accordance with the
bylaws of the Foundation, members of the Board may be
reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in
lieu of subsistence and other necessary expenses
incurred in carrying out the duties of the Board.
(12) Personal liability.--The members of the Board shall
not be personally liable for carrying out the duties of the
Board, except for malfeasance.
(h) Administration.--
(1) Chief executive officer.--
(A) In general.--The Foundation shall have a Chief
Executive Officer who shall be appointed by the Board,
and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board, and
for whom the Board shall establish the rate of
compensation.
(B) Duties.--Subject to the bylaws established
under subsection (g)(10), the Chief Executive Officer
shall be responsible for--
(i) carrying out the activities of the
Foundation under subsection (c);
(ii) hiring, promoting, compensating, and
discharging officers and employees of the
Foundation and defining the duties of such
officers and employees;
(iii) accepting and administering donations
to the Foundation and administering the assets
of the Foundation;
(iv) entering into contracts and executing
legal instruments as appropriate in carrying
out the activities of the Foundation; and
(v) performing other functions as necessary
to operate the Foundation.
(2) Strategic plan.--Not later than 1 year after the
appointment of the Chief Executive Officer, the Foundation
shall submit to the Director of the National Science
Foundation, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a
strategic plan that contains the following:
(A) A plan for the Foundation to become financially
self-sustaining not later than 5 years after the
submission of the strategic plan, aside from regular
appropriations.
(B) Short- and long-term objectives of the
Foundation, as identified by the Board.
(C) The efforts the Foundation will take to be
transparent in the processes of the Foundation.
(D) The financial goals and benchmarks of the
Foundation for the 10 years following the submission of
the strategic plan.
(E) The efforts the Foundation will make to ensure
maximum complementarity and minimum redundancy with
Federal activities related to biotechnology
commercialization.
(3) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the
appointment of the Chief Executive Officer, and not
later than February 1 of each year thereafter, the
Foundation shall publish a report describing the
activities of the Foundation during the immediately
preceding fiscal year that includes the
accomplishments, operations, activities, and financial
condition of the Foundation.
(B) Financial condition.--Each such report shall
include a comprehensive statement of all support
provided to the Foundation, including funds, gifts,
grants, devises, or bequests of real or personal
property, and describing the amount of support from
each person or entity, the persons or entities from
which such support is received, and any restrictions on
the purposes for which such support may be used.
(C) Publication.--The Foundation shall make copies
of each report submitted under this paragraph
available--
(i) to the Director of the National Science
Foundation, the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate, and the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of
the House of Representatives; and
(ii) for public inspection, and shall upon
request, provide a copy of the report to any
individual for a charge not to exceed the cost
of providing such copy.
(4) Audits and disclosure.--The Foundation shall--
(A) provide for annual audits of the financial
condition of the Foundation, including a full list of
the Foundation's donors and any restrictions on the
purposes for which gifts to the Foundation may be used;
and
(B) make such audits, and all other records,
documents, and other papers of the Foundation,
available to the Director of the National Science
Foundation and the Comptroller General of the United
States for examination or audit.
(5) Transfer of funds.--The Foundation may transfer funds
and property to Federal agencies that contribute to
commercialization of biotechnology, which those agencies may
accept and use to further the mission of the Foundation as
described in subsection (b).
(i) Integrity.--
(1) In general.--To ensure integrity in the operations of
the Foundation, the Board shall develop and enforce procedures
relating to standards of conduct, financial disclosure
statements, conflicts of interest (including recusal and waiver
rules), audits, and any other matters determined appropriate by
the Board.
(2) Conflicts of interest.--To mitigate conflicts of
interest, any individual who is an officer, employee, or member
of the Board is prohibited from any participation in
deliberations by the Foundation of a matter that would directly
or predictably affect any financial interest of any of the
following:
(A) Such individual.
(B) A relative of such individual.
(C) A business organization or other entity in
which such individual has an interest, including an
organization or other entity with which such individual
is negotiating employment.
(3) Citizenship.--To mitigate risks from malign foreign
influence, any individual who is an officer, employee, or
member of the Board shall be--
(A) a citizen or national (as defined in section
101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a))) of the United States;
(B) an alien admitted to the United States as a
refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); or
(C) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))).
(j) Intellectual Property.--The Board shall adopt written standards
to govern the ownership and licensing of any intellectual property
rights developed by the Foundation or derived from the collaborative
efforts of the Foundation.
(k) Full Faith and Credit.--The United States shall not be liable
for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation. The full
faith and credit of the United States shall not extend to any
obligations of the Foundation.
(l) Support Services.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation may provide facilities, utilities, and support services to
the Foundation.
(m) Non-Applicability.--Chapters 5 and 10 of title 5, United States
Code, shall not apply to the Foundation.
(n) Separate Fund Accounts.--The Board shall ensure that amounts
received pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under
subsection (o) are held in a separate account from any other funds
received by the Foundation.
(o) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) National science foundation.--There are authorized to
be appropriated to the Director of the National Science
Foundation $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, and every
subsequent year to carry out this section.
(2) Foundation for enabling biotechnology innovation.--From
amounts appropriated to the National Science Foundation for
each fiscal year, the Director of the National Science
Foundation shall transfer not less than $4,000,000 per year to
the Foundation.
(p) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Board of Directors
of the Foundation, established pursuant to subsection (g).
(2) Foreign country of concern.--The term ``foreign country
of concern'' has the meaning given such term in section 10638
of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation
Act (42 U.S.C. 19237; enacted as part of division B of Public
Law 117-167).
(3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term ``foreign entity
of concern'' has the meaning given such term in section 10638
of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation
Act (42 U.S.C. 19237; enacted as part of division B of Public
Law 117-167).
(4) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the
Foundation for Enabling Biotechnology Innovation established
pursuant to subsection (a).
(5) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(6) Relative.--The term ``relative'' has the meaning given
such term in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code.
<all>