Findings; Sense of Congress

(a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Biotechnology is the designing and engineering of biological systems. Biotechnology allows scientists to grow everything from medicines to crops to materials, enabling biology by design. (2) Biotechnology holds the potential for the United States to transform its military capabilities, strengthen food security and agricultural resilience, and cure life-threatening diseases, but it holds that same potential for other countries. The countries that master biotechnology first will gain the ability to shape how those technologies are used for decades to come. (3) Biotechnology unlocks the capabilities of producing medicines via biological systems, known as biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Biopharmaceutical manufacturing will enable better and less invasive treatments that extend and improve lives. (4) By investing in biomanufacturing, the United States Government would reduce dependency on foreign supply chains. (5) For United States manufacturers, the biggest roadblock to commercialization is proving that their products and processes can scale and produce a return on investment. Biomanufacturing requires flexible and affordable infrastructure for development, to ensure that innovative products can rapidly move from the lab to commercial-scale production. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) to realize the potential of biotechnology, the United States Government should establish a biopharmaceutical manufacturing center of excellence; (2) the center should facilitate and accelerate manufacturing innovation, support good manufacturing practices, and provide for collaboration among public, private, and nonprofit institutions; and (3) the center should also facilitate training for workers to operate biotechnology tools and equipment and to bolster talent throughout the biotechnology sector.