H.R. 5770

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5770 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5770

To establish biotechnology workforce training programs for Department 
of Defense personnel, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 17, 2025

Ms. Houlahan (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To establish biotechnology workforce training programs for Department 
of Defense personnel, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``National Security Biotechnology 
Workforce Training Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BIOTECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE TRAINING.

(a) Requirement.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish and 
carry out a training program--
(1) for members of the covered Armed Forces, civilian 
employees of the Department of Defense, and contractors of such 
Department whose duties the Secretary determines include--
(A) creating or deploying novel biotechnologies;
(B) analyzing, preparing for, or responding to 
biological threats; or
(C) planning, research and development, 
engineering, or testing and evaluation of systems 
(including quality control and assurance, procurement 
and contracting, logistics, and cost estimating) 
regarding biotechnology; and
(2) on biotechnology and other relevant critical and 
emerging technologies.
(b) Consultation.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall consult with 
leadership and workforce training managers in the Department to 
develop and implement such training program and identify the 
individuals described in subsection (a) based on--
(A) the needs and priorities of the Department; and
(B) the relevance of the training to the 
individuals' positions.
(2) Material.--The material covered in the training 
programs shall be customized by Department leadership to align 
with specific needs and mission requirements.
(3) Skills.--The Secretary shall define the essential 
skills for biotechnology personnel to better understand what 
Federal personnel should undergo training and how to customize 
training for groups.
(c) Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The training program established under 
this section shall, at a minimum, include information on--
(A) the fundamental science underlying 
biotechnology, artificial intelligence and other 
relevant critical and emerging technologies;
(B) concepts relating to the technological features 
of biotechnology systems;
(C) applications of biotechnology in defense, 
health, agriculture, energy, environment, and other 
relevant areas;
(D) the ways in which artificial intelligence, 
quantum computing, and other technologies are leveraged 
to advance biotechnology;
(E) mechanisms by which the Federal Government 
supports, funds, purchases, and deploys biotechnology 
and its applications;
(F) ways in which the Federal Government can 
benefit from biotechnology;
(G) ethical, social, and legal aspects of 
biotechnology including ways of incorporating a wide 
range of stakeholder perspectives throughout research 
and innovation cycles;
(H) ways to mitigate the risks described in 
previous subparagraphs, including efforts to create and 
identify biotechnologies that are reliable, safe, and 
trustworthy; and
(I) future trends in biotechnology, including 
intersections with artificial intelligence, quantum 
computing, autonomous systems, robotics, advanced 
manufacturing, and other relevant technologies, as well 
as trends for economic and national security, and 
innovation.
(2) Participation.--Any individual described under 
subsection (b)(1) shall complete training under this section 
annually.
(3) Interactive.--The Secretary shall ensure interactive 
learning with scholars and experts from private, public and 
nonprofit sectors is included under the training programs. The 
Secretary shall provide access to courses through institutions 
of professional military education, such as the National 
Defense University.
(4) Updates.--The training programs established under this 
section shall be updated each year to review and cover advances 
in biotechnology and its convergence with other critical and 
emerging technologies.
(5) Continuing education.--The Secretary shall update the 
training programs established under this section to provide 
continuing technology education for individuals described in 
subsection (a) and include requirements for refresher training 
on the latest advances in biotechnology science, laboratory 
work, equipment and software.
(d) Performance Measurements.--The Secretary shall establish 
mechanisms to measure participation in training programs required under 
this section, and to receive and consider feedback from program 
participants to improve training.
(e) Report.--Not later than six months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report that 
includes a plan to establish and implement the training programs 
required under this section.
(f) Sunset.--This section and the training programs required to be 
carried out by this section shall terminate on the date that is five 
years after such programs are established under subsection (a).
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``artificial intelligence'' has the meaning 
given that term in section 5002 of the National Artificial 
Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (division E of Public Law 
116-283).
(2) The term ``covered Armed Force'' means the Army, Navy, 
Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force.
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