As reported in our April 25, 2025, blog item, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) announced on April 8, 2025, the availability of its final report and action plan, "urging Congressional action to bring the full weight of American innovation to improve and maintain U.S. global leadership in biotechnology." On April 9, 2025, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), an NSCEB Commissioner, and the other three Congressional Commissioners introduced the bipartisan, bicameral National Biotechnology Initiative Act (H.R. 2756, S. 1387), which would implement key recommendations from the NSCEB's final report. According to Padilla's April 9, 2025, press release, the legislation would promote federal coordination on biotechnology by establishing:
- A National Biotechnology Coordination Office (NBCO) within the Executive Office of the President to lead and coordinate federal biotechnology efforts by streamlining biotechnology regulation. The Office would make these improvements by easing regulatory burdens for well-understood products, negotiating interagency agreements to describe clear regulatory pathways, and working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in cases of disagreement. The NBCO would publish a national biotechnology strategy every five years;
- A Principal Advisor to the President for Biotechnology, who would also serve as Director of the Coordination Office;
- An Interagency Committee to coordinate across federal departments and agencies; and
- Clear roles and responsibilities for all federal departments and agencies engaged in biotechnology.
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