October 17, 2025
Ms. Houlahan (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To establish biotechnology workforce training programs for Department of Defense personnel, and for other purposes.
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.