Exclusive: Sen. Todd Young readies AI and biotech bill package

• Maintaining an edge in biotech is also seen as key for national security as it becomes easier and cheaper to produce biological weapons.

State of play: Young has four bills in the works that are informed by the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology's final report released in April.

• Young is chair of the NSCEB, which provides the president and the Armed Services committees with reports on how biotechnology shapes Defense Department activities.

Here's a look at the four AI-biotech bills, shared first with Axios.

1. Biological data to train AI models: Young and Sen. Alex Padilla, an NSCEB commissioner, are looking to introduce legislation after the August recess that would create access to high-quality biological data for researchers to train AI models.

• Earlier this month, they filed an NDAA amendment and are working with House counterparts to introduce companion legislation.
• The U.S. has no standards for biological data so that it's curated, labeled and ready to be fed into AI models, which has resulted in a mix of high- and low-quality data across the U.S. government and in the private sector.
• This bill would direct the Energy secretary to create a so-called "Web of Biological Data," a centralized and secure portal for researchers to access that data. Separate efforts are being made to create standards.

2. Cataloging genomes: Another bill from Young would establish a federal effort to catalog genomes on federal lands, starting with national parks.

• Opening up public lands to further sample and sequence plants, animals, bacteria, flora and fauna would lead to more breakthroughs in medicine and biotech more broadly, according to NSCEB.

3. Biosecurity: An upcoming bipartisan and bicameral bill would aim to create measures to ensure biotech R&D is safe, secure and responsible.

• The NSCEB is recommending that Congress create a new entity at the Commerce Department to do safety evaluations, fund projects for biosafety-by-design advancements and standardize best practices.

4. Cloud labs: Young and Sen. Andy Kim last week introduced the Cloud LAB Act and filed it as an NDAA amendment. They expect a House companion bill after the August recess.

• The legislation would establish a national network of cloud labs, physical labs where humans alongside robots could do biotech experiments that researchers across the country could then access remotely.
• The National Science Foundation on Tuesday announced up to $100 million for an investment in a national network.

The White House's AI action plan calls for cloud labs, setting standards and building "the world's largest and highest quality AI-ready scientific datasets, while maintaining respect for individual rights and ensuring civil liberties, privacy, and confidentiality protections."

• It also calls for the creation of an online portal so that federal agencies and the public can securely access restricted federal data through NSF's data service.

• The plan says various agencies should "explore the creation of a whole-genome sequencing program for life on federal lands."
• For biosecurity, the plan says that all institutions receiving federal funding for scientific research should be required to verify customers and create enforcement mechanisms rather than relying on voluntary attestation.

What they're saying: "The convergence of AI and biotechnology is unlocking a world of new potential. It is now possible to accomplish in days the depth of discovery that used to take years," NSCEB vice chair Michelle Rozo said.

• "To fully capture this moment, the United States must ensure that our researchers have access to the highest quality data from a wide variety of sources and that those data are being used in a responsible and secure way."
• "This is how we bring the full weight of American innovation to bear on this moment and stay ahead in the new era of global competition."

The big picture: The White House and Congress both want federal agencies to take on all sorts of new tasks, even as they look to slash their budgets and resources.

• The NSCEB's April report recommends that Congress appropriate at least $5 billion over the next five years to fund "grand research challenges" focused on biotech and biomanufacturing and at least $15 billion over the next five years for various agencies, with the goal of unleashing more private capital into biotech.
• "The PRC is aggressively investing in biotechnology and courting U.S. researchers and students," NSCEB executive director Caitlin Frazer said.
• "Investing in biotechnology is how we retain, or in some cases regain, our historic lead. If we don't, China will become the indisputable leader in the sector."