,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cdfh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #aa1 #bjbe ,mr4 ,fetterman 7for himself and ,mr4 ,budd7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to establish a national programmable cloud laboratories network to enhance research efficiency1 innovation1 and collaboration1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,national ,programmable ,cloud ,laboratories ,network ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,definitions 7a7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,artificial intelligence ,the term artificial intelligence has the meaning given such term in section #ejjb of the ,william ,m4 7,mac7 ,thornberry ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjba 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #idja74 7#b7 ,director ,unless otherwise provided1 the term ,director means the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation4 7#c7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74 7#d7 ,network ,the term ,network means the ,national ,programmable ,cloud ,laboratories ,network4 7#e7 ,node ,the term node means a programmable cloud laboratory designated as part of the ,network4 7#f7 ,non-designated laboratory ,the term non-designated laboratory means any ,federal1 academic1 nonprofit1 or private industry programmable cloud laboratory not selected as a node under section #c4 7#g7 ,programmable cloud laboratory ,the term programmable cloud laboratory means a physical laboratory that is equipped with research instrumentation and advanced manufacturing capabilities1 including robotics and artificial intelligence1 that can be securely and remotely programmed and controlled in order to conduct experiments and collect associated data4 #c4 ,national ,programmable ,cloud ,laboratories ,network 7a7 ,purposes ,the purposes of the ,network established under this ,act are-- 7#a7 to maintain leadership by the ,united ,states in advanced experimentation1 laboratory automation1 and artificial intelligence for scientific research1 advanced manufacturing1 long-term economic competitiveness1 and national security2 7#b7 to reduce the cost of federally funded research through automation and reproducibility2 7#c7 to accelerate national competitiveness by transferring government-funded research to private-sector commercial applications2 7#d7 to improve collaboration among federally funded national laboratories1 institutions of higher education1 and private industry2 7#e7 to ensure that investment in programmable cloud laboratories results in measurable cost savings1 efficiencies1 and long-term fiscal sustainability2 7#f7 to incentivize private-sector cost-sharing in research infrastructure and equipment2 7#g7 to support workforce development aligned with the technical needs of industry in the ,united ,states2 7#h7 to advance the development of a domestic industrial base for scientific automation tools1 artificial intelligence systems for experimentation1 and robotics platforms for use in laboratory settings2 and 7#i7 to further programmable cloud laboratory research in areas such as materials science1 biotechnology1 chemistry1 and other scientific or engineering disciplines where automation and cloud-enabled experimentation can deliver transformative results1 including advanced materials synthesis and characterization1 scalable biotechnology experimentation1 and high-throughput chemical catalyst development4 7b7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,director1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology1 shall designate and oversee a ,national ,programmable ,cloud ,laboratories ,network of not more than #f nodes to support secure1 standards-based1 and cost-effective remote experimentation and automated research4 7#b7 ,assessment sequencing ,the assessment required under section #e shall be conducted only after the final designation of nodes under paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,nodes ,the ,network shall consist of nodes that-- 7,a7 enable programmable workflows and automated science2 7,b7 provide access to advanced scientific and manufacturing instruments1 including artificial intelligence-enabled tools2 7,c7 collaborate to establish and adopt common standards1 protocols1 and best practices2 and 7,d7 support interoperability across and between nodes4 7c7 ,application and selection 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall issue a public solicitation for eligible entities to apply for node designation4 7#b7 ,eligible entities ,eligible entities that may apply for designation as a node include-- 7,a7 institutions of higher education2 7,b7 nonprofit research organizations2 7,c7 private-sector research entities2 and 7,d7 consortia or collaborations of the entities described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c74 7d7 ,applications for designation ,an eligible entity that desires to apply for designation as a node in the ,network shall submit an application to the ,director at such time and in such manner as the ,director may require4 ,the application shall include-- 7#a7 a technical and programmatic plan for laboratory operations1 automation capabilities1 and data integration2 7#b7 a plan to achieve long-term self-sustainability1 including metrics1 interim milestones1 and a timeline for reducing reliance on ,federal funding2 and 7#c7 evidence of non-,federal cost share1 private capital1 or other third-party contributions demonstrating self-sustainability potential4 7e7 ,evaluation of applicants ,the ,director shall ensure that the process for selecting eligible entities for designation in the ,network shall be competitive1 merit-reviewed1 and transparent1 evaluating-- 7#a7 pre-existing laboratory infrastructure and suitability for automated science2 7#b7 capacity to support distributed1 cloud-enabled programmable workflows for multiple users2 7#c7 likelihood of achieving long-term sustainability without continued ,federal funding2 7#d7 demonstrated ability to collaborate with other nodes1 academic partners1 industry partners1 or other ,federal research agencies 7as defined in section #ajjjb of the ,research and ,development1 ,competition1 and ,innovation ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ahija772 7#e7 protocols for research security1 cybersecurity1 and responsible access2 and 7#f7 demonstration of user interest and research needs4 7f7 ,designation ,in designating nodes1 the ,director shall provide preference for applications demonstrating meaningful third-party cost share and pre-existing infrastructure4 7g7 ,responsibilities ,each node selected by the ,director shall-- 7#a7 support the purposes described in subsection 7a77#i72 7#b7 facilitate collaboration among ,network members to expand and integrate automated science capabilities and best practices2 7#c7 actively participate with the ,director of ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology in developing network-wide interoperability1 data-sharing1 cybersecurity1 and artificial intelligence-assisted experimentation standards2 7#d7 support secure sharing of experimental data1 models1 and results across institutions of higher education participating in the ,network1 if applicable2 7#e7 provide a secure digital infrastructure to enable remote experimentation1 artificial intelligence-assisted analysis1 and reproducible science2 7#f7 engage in public-private partnerships to streamline the transfer of technology developed using ,network infrastructure2 7#g7 develop and maintain a financial sustainability plan to reduce long-term reliance on ,federal funds1 including through user fees1 licensing1 consortia membership1 or other revenue-generating models2 7#h7 establish performance metrics1 including scientific output1 cost-effectiveness1 academic engagement1 private-sector engagement1 user satisfaction1 and reproducibility of results2 and 7#i7 where practicable1 leverage commercially available hardware and software solutions to minimize cost and accelerate deployment of automated science capabilities4 #d4 ,interagency collaboration ,not later than #ahj days after all nodes of the ,network are designated1 the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology1 in cooperation with the ,director and participating eligible entities 7including institutions of higher education71 shall-- 7#a7 develop and promulgate standards to ensure interoperability across ,network nodes1 including laboratory instrumentation1 data infrastructure1 communication protocols1 and experiment execution systems2 7#b7 establish protocols for secure1 seamless1 and standardized data-sharing among all members of the ,network aligned with node-level cybersecurity and research security protocols2 7#c7 define minimum technical requirements and operating procedures to support remote experimentation1 experiment reproducibility1 and artificial intelligence-assisted workflows2 and 7#d7 periodically update such standards in consultation with private-sector partners and nodes of the ,network to reflect advancements in hardware1 software1 and automation technology4 #e4 ,assessment of non-designated laboratories 7a7 ,assessment requirement ,not later than #ahj days after the ,director designates the final node of the ,network under section #c1 the ,director1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,energy and the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology1 shall conduct and submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress1 a comprehensive assessment of non-designated laboratories4 7b7 ,scope ,the assessment shall identify1 to the extent practicable-- 7#a7 ,federal laboratories1 institutions of higher education1 nonprofit organizations1 and private-sector laboratories that possess or are developing programmable1 automated1 or remotely accessible research infrastructure2 7#b7 the instrumentation1 automation1 and data capabilities of such laboratories2 7#c7 cybersecurity and research security measures relevant to interoperability2 7#d7 existing or potential pathways for such laboratories to coordinate with ,network nodes in areas such as data-sharing1 standards adoption1 or pilot interoperability projects2 and 7#e7 legal1 contractual1 or intellectual property considerations that may affect participation4 7c7 ,confidentiality and security ,proprietary information shall be protected from public disclosure consistent with applicable law4 ,the ,director shall publish a nonproprietary public summary of the assessment and may submit a proprietary annex to the congressional committees of jurisdiction4 #f4 ,reporting and oversight 7a7 ,annual ,briefings ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the ,director shall brief the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology of the ,house of ,representatives on the status of the ,network4 7b7 ,contents ,each briefing required under subsection 7a7 shall include an assessment of-- 7#a7 the alignment of supported research with national scientific and economic priorities2 7#b7 the progress each node of the ,network has made toward achieving self-sustainability as described in section #c7;d77#b72 and 7#c7 the performance metrics established in section #c7;g77#h74 #g4 ,sunset ,the ,national ,programmable ,cloud ,laboratories ,network1 including all authorities1 programs1 and funding provided under this ,act1 shall terminate on ,september #cj1 #bjca4