42 U.S.C. § 19135 — Agency activities

(a) National Science Foundation — As part of the Initiative^*, NSF must:

(1) support engineering-biology and biomanufacturing research through individual grants, collaborative grants, and interdisciplinary research centers;
(2) support research on the environmental, legal, ethical, and social effects of engineering biology;
(3) support research instrumentation, equipment, and cyberinfrastructure for engineering-biology fields, including research, development, optimization, and validation of new technologies for dynamically studying molecular processes in place;
(4) support curriculum development and research experiences for secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students in engineering biology and biomanufacturing, including graduate fellowships and traineeships in engineering biology; and
(5) competitively award grants that let institutions support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who do some engineering-biology research in an industry setting.

(b) Department of Commerce:

(1) National Institute of Standards and Technology — As part of the Initiative, the NIST Director^* must:

(A) advance standard reference materials and measurements, including to promote interoperability among new component technologies and processes for engineering-biology and biomanufacturing discovery, innovation, and production;
(B) establish the data tools, techniques, and processes needed to advance engineering biology and biomanufacturing;
(C) provide industry, higher-education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies access to user facilities with advanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and other resources for research and testing; and
(D) provide technical expertise to inform possible guidelines or safeguards for new engineering-biology products, processes, and systems.

(2) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — As part of the Initiative, the NOAA Administrator^* must:

(A) conduct and support omics and related bioinformatic-science research and develop tools and products to improve ecosystem stewardship, monitoring, management, assessments, and forecasts, consistent with NOAA's mission; and
(B) work with other agencies to understand possible environmental threats and safeguards related to engineering biology.

(c) Department of Energy — As part of the Initiative, the Secretary^* of Energy must:

(1) conduct and support engineering-biology research, development, demonstration, and commercial-application activities, including synthetic biology, advanced biofuel and bioproduct development, biobased materials, and environmental remediation;
(2) support developing, optimizing, and validating new scalable tools and technologies for dynamically studying molecular processes in place;
(3) provide industry, higher-education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies access to user facilities with advanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and other resources, including secure access to high-performance computing when appropriate, for research and testing; and
(4) strengthen collaboration between the Office of Science and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office to help transfer basic research results to industry and speed commercial applications.

(d) Department of Defense — As part of the Initiative, the Secretary of Defense must:

(1) conduct and support research and development in engineering biology and related data and information sciences;
(2) support curriculum development and research experiences in those fields throughout the military education system, including service academies, professional military education, and military graduate education; and
(3) assess risks of possible national-security and economic-security threats related to engineering biology.

(e) National Aeronautics and Space Administration — As part of the Initiative, NASA must:

(1) conduct and support engineering-biology research, including synthetic-biology research, related to Earth and space sciences, aeronautics, space technology, and space exploration and experimentation, consistent with National Academies decadal-survey priorities; and
(2) competitively award grants that let institutions support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who do some engineering-biology research in an industry setting.

(f) Department of Agriculture — As part of the Initiative, the Secretary of Agriculture must support engineering-biology research and development through the Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture programs and grants, and the Office of the Chief Scientist.

(g) Environmental Protection Agency — As part of the Initiative, EPA must support research on how engineering-biology products, processes, and systems will affect or can protect the environment.

(h) Department of Health and Human Services — As part of the Initiative, and as appropriate and consistent with HHS activities in effect on the day before August 9, 2022, the HHS Secretary must:

(1) support research and development to improve understanding and use of engineering biology for human health;
(2) support relevant interdisciplinary research and coordination; and
(3) support activities needed to facilitate oversight of relevant emerging biotechnologies.