To amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3029) to amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3029, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3029, the Nucleic Acid Standards for Biosecurity Act, introduced by Representative Salinas of Oregon, along with Representative McCormick of Georgia.

This bill is about protecting two things we all care about: American leadership in the life sciences and the security of the American people.

Today, an American company or university laboratory can legally order made-to-order DNA, the basic building blocks of biology, and have it delivered in a matter of days. This technology powers new medicines and vaccines, stronger crops, and advanced manufacturing. It is a real source of American strength.

However, the same technology that lets us build the biology of the future could, in the wrong hands, potentially be used to assemble the genetic material of a dangerous pathogen.

Responsible providers already guard against this. They screen incoming orders against sequences of concern and verify the identities of their customers. However, as this field continues to advance rapidly, the lack of common technical standards and best practices for screening presents an emerging biosecurity risk.

That is exactly the kind of work the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, was built to do. NIST is our Nation's measurement and standards laboratory. It does not regulate industry. It provides industry with the tools and benchmarks and the best practices needed to get this right.

H.R. 3029 directs NIST to carry out the measurement research needed to make this screening more accurate and reliable by improving screening tools, securing databases of concerning sequences, and developing ways for providers to demonstrate that their screening systems work as intended.

It also directs NIST to convene a consortium of the people who actually do this work, including industry, universities, and nonprofit organizations, to develop consensus best practices and a roadmap for the future.

This legislation does not create a new regulatory regime for American biotechnology. It strengthens our biosecurity while safeguarding the innovation that keeps us ahead of our competitors, and it passed the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on a bipartisan basis.

I thank Representatives Salinas and McCormick for their work on this bill, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 3029 is a practical, targeted bill. It directs NIST to develop the science-based standards and best practices needed to make the screening of synthetic DNA much more reliable, helping to ensure that the very technology driving American biotechnology cannot be turned against us.

That is why this bill earned bipartisan support in the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and why it deserves the support of the full House today.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3029, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, American biotech companies are leading a scientific revolution that is transforming our economy. In recent years, we have seen breakthroughs that have delivered promising new treatments for Alzheimer's, new biological alternatives to pesticides, and plastic- eating bacteria, just to name a few.

These innovations are making Americans healthier, driving a more sustainable economy, and supporting good jobs. However, while America leads the world in these emerging technologies, our competitors are close behind. If we want to ensure American industry stays on top, then American consumers must have confidence in the safety and reliability of our advancements.

One of the key ways American companies produce these breakthroughs is by producing synthetic nucleic acids, like DNA and RNA, for use in biotech research. These are an important tool though that allows scientists to study gene function, develop novel vaccines, improve diagnostic tests, and pursue countless other life-changing discoveries. Companies like Twist Bioscience in my district are pushing the envelope to accelerate and scale-up production, which, in turn, will facilitate faster discoveries.

As this field advances, particularly with the development of AI systems to design nucleic acid sequences, we need to double down on efforts to ensure the

technology is used safely and responsibly.

H.R. 3029, the Nucleic Acid Standards for Biosecurity Act, directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to carry out measurement research and lead consensus-driven standards development to ensure these tools can be harnessed in a trustworthy manner.

Businesses, small and large, in Oregon and across the country, will benefit from this partnership with NIST. These standards will drive sustainable growth while helping to keep this industry and the good jobs it supports right here in America. Through a commonsense partnership between government and industry, we will unlock responsible and trustworthy growth that benefits industry, workers, and consumers across the economy.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to extend my great gratitude to Chairman Babin and Mr. McCormick for their bipartisan work. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3029, and I yield back the balance of my time.