,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ddac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bc1      
#bjbd,mr4 ,young 7for himself and ,mr4  
,padilla7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,agriculture1         
,nutrition1 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill    
,to provide for the establishment of a  
,national ,synthetic ,biology ,center1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,synthetic ,biology ,advancement ,act of
 #bjbd4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds  
that-- 7#a7 the application of synthetic
 biology to accelerate innovation in    
food and agriculture is critical to--   
7,a7 the national security and economic 
future of the ,united ,states2 and  7,b7
 the ability of the ,united ,states to  
feed and fuel the global economy2  7#b7 
while agriculture has experienced       
significant advancements in productivity
 and sustainability1 the future of the  
food system relies on disruptive        

technologies catalyzed by synthetic     
biology at the intersections of soil    
health1 plant science1 animal health1   
and1 ultimately1 human health2  7#c7    
synthetic biology is a key tool to      
defend against terrorism and            
high-consequence events2  7#d7          
investments into synthetic biology will 
catalyze the strengths of engineering1  
agriculture1 and manufacturing to       
develop a resilient food and agriculture
 system2  7#e7 resiliency is            
accomplished through advanced           
biotechnology and digital solutions to  
keep the ,united ,states at the         
forefront of feeding the ,united ,states
 and the world2  7#f7 ,congress has     
historically prioritized a safe and     
secure food supply in the ,united       
,states1 as evidenced by the enactment  
of the ,securing ,our ,agriculture and  
,food ,act 7,public ,law #aae-dc2 #aca  
,stat4 #hhd72 and  7#g7 innovation and  
research are necessary to push the      
boundaries of science to develop        

disruptive technologies that advance    
national security through food security4
  #c4 ,national ,synthetic ,biology     
,center  7a7 ,definitions ,in this      
section3 7#a7 #ahfb ,institution2 #ahij 
institution ,the terms #ahfb            
,institution and #ahij ,institution have
 the meanings given those terms in      
section #b of the ,agricultural         
,research1 ,extension1 and ,education   
,reform ,act of #aiih 7#g ,u4,s4,c4     
#gfja74  7#b7 #aiid ,institution ,the   
term #aiid ,institution has the meaning 
given the term in section #ecb of the   
,equity in ,educational ,land-,grant    
,status ,act of #aiid 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cja
 note2 ,public ,law #ajc-chb74  7#c7    
,center ,the term ,center means the     
,national ,synthetic ,biology ,center   
established under subsection 7b77#a74   
7#d7 ,eligible institution ,the term    
eligible institution means-- 7,a7 an    
#ahfb ,institution2  7,b7 an #ahij      
,institution2 and  7,c7 a #aiid         
,institution4  7#e7 ,national           

,laboratory ,the term ,national         
,laboratory has the meaning given the   
term in section #b of the ,energy       
,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db ,u4,s4,c4    
#aehja74  7#f7 ,secretary ,the term     
,secretary means the ,secretary of      
,agriculture4  7b7 ,establishment of    
,national ,synthetic ,biology ,center   
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 in    
consultation with the head of any other 
relevant ,federal agency1 shall         
establish a center1 to be known as the  
,national ,synthetic ,biology ,center1  
to award grants1 on a competitive basis1
 to eligible institutions4  7#b7        
,purpose ,the purpose of the ,center is 
to provide a hub for researchers and    
industry partners in the ,united ,states
 to discover and develop science-based  
solutions based on synthetic biology to 
improve agricultural performance while  
minimizing environmental impact and     
improving overall food system           
resiliency4  7c7 ,partnerships ,the     
,center shall provide grants to eligible

 institutions to carry out projects in  
partnership with not fewer than #a other
 entity1 which may include-- 7#a7 a     
nonprofit organization2  7#b7 a ,state  
entity2  7#c7 a ,national ,laboratory2  
7#d7 an #ahfb ,institution2  7#e7 an    
#ahij ,institution2  7#f7 a #aiid       
,institution2 or  7#g7 any combination  
of entities described in paragraphs 7#a7
 through 7#f74  7d7 ,application  7#a7  
,in general ,an eligible institution    
seeking a grant under this section shall
 submit an application to the ,center at
 such time1 in such manner1 and         
containing such information as the      
,center may require4  7#b7 ,requirements
 ,an application submitted under        
paragraph 7#a7 shall include1 at a      
minimum1 a description of how the       
proposed project will-- 7,a7 promote    
innovative synthetic biology            
technologies and practices that address 
current and emerging challenges in the  
food and agriculture sector2  7,b7      
foster the development and dissemination

 of science-based educational resources 
and training programs on synthetic      
biology for stakeholders in the         
agricultural community2  7,c7 enhance   
the efficiency1 sustainability1 and     
resiliency of food production systems   
through synthetic biology interventions2
 and  7,d7 monitor and evaluate the     
impacts1 benefits1 and challenges of    
implementing synthetic biology solutions
 in real-world agricultural settings4   
7e7 ,use of funds  7#a7 ,research       
priorities ,in awarding grants to       
eligible institutions1 the ,center shall
 prioritize the following areas of      
research3 7,a7 ,cellular biology4  7,b7 
,genomes to phenomes4  7,c7 ,microbiomes
 or microbes4  7,d7 ,gene editing4  7,e7
 ,digital agriculture4  7,f7            
,fermentation4  7,g7 ,controlled        
environment agriculture4  7#b7 ,purposes
 ,an eligible institution receiving a   
grant from the ,center may use the grant
 for the following purposes3 7,a7 ,to   
explore and advance biotechnology       

applied to food science in the creation 
of new protein sources for human and    
animal consumption4  7,b7 ,to build on  
the ,agricultural ,genome to ,phenome   
,initiative 7also known as the          
,,ag#b,,pi7 of the ,national ,institute 
of ,food and ,agriculture to inform     
approaches to understanding how variable
 weather1 environments1 and production  
systems interact with genetic diversity 
in crops and animals to impact growth   
and productivity4  7,c7 ,to advance the 
development and commercialization of    
nutritional and therapeutic innovations 
to improve the health of livestock and  
companion animals4  7,d7 ,to create new 
crops that have functional mutations    
that improve performance and increase   
climate resiliency through increased    
efficiency in the use of inputs and     
increased disease and pest resistance4  
7,e7 ,to apply artificial intelligence1 
machine learning1 data science1 and     
advanced computational processes to     
accelerate modeling and measurement for 

new synthetic biological solutions4     
7,f7 ,to strengthen advanced            
manufacturing sciences and              
infrastructure to use microorganisms to 
produce food and agricultural products1 
including vaccines1 crop protection     
products1 and food products for human   
and animal nutrition1 by capitalizing on
 the strength of food science1          
engineering1 and pharmacy4  7,g7 ,to    
advance diversity of crops to increase  
the food supply and explore             
pharmaceutical plant-based derivatives  
within a controlled environment4  7f7   
,timing of awards ,not later than #a    
year after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,center shall begin awarding 
grants under this section4  7g7         
,coordination  7#a7 ,grant recipients   
,an eligible institution receiving a    
grant from the ,center under this       
section shall endeavor to coordinate    
with a wide range of experts and        
researchers to create efficiency in the 
innovation development pipeline4  7#b7  

,center ,the ,center shall coordinate   
with technology transfer offices or     
technology licensing offices in order to
 disseminate innovations and reach      
commercialization4  7h7 ,website ,the   
,center shall establish and maintain a  
website with a user friendly portal in  
order to disseminate synthetic biology  
findings and connect researchers and    
innovators to collaborative             
opportunities4  7i7 ,report ,not later  
than #b years after the date of         
enactment of this ,act1 and every #b    
years thereafter1 the ,center shall     
submit to the relevant committees of    
,congress a report detailing-- 7#a7 any 
findings from the research funded by the
 ,center2  7#b7 the progress of any     
innovation funded by the ,center2  7#c7 
a description of the focus and proposed 
goals of each grant recipient2  7#d7 an 
assessment1 based on a common set of    
metrics across all grant recipients1 of 
the success of each grant recipient in  
improving efficiency in the innovation  

development pipeline2 and  7#e7 any     
recommendations for administrative or   
legislative action that may optimize the
 effectiveness of the research          
activities carried out by grant         
recipients under this section4  7j7     
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the
 ,secretary-- 7#a7 #e1jjj1jjj for each  
of fiscal years #bjbe through #bjbi1 to 
remain available until expended1 for the
 awarding of grants by the ,center2 and 
7#b7 #a1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years
 #bjbe through #bjbi1 to remain         
available until expended1 for the       
establishment of the ,center and for    
other activities of the ,center4