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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3468 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3468
To establish a national programmable cloud laboratories network to
enhance research efficiency, innovation, and collaboration, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 11, 2025
Mr. Fetterman (for himself and Mr. Budd) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a national programmable cloud laboratories network to
enhance research efficiency, innovation, and collaboration, 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 Programmable Cloud
Laboratories Network Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in section 5002
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9401).
(2) Director.--Unless otherwise provided, the term
``Director'' means the Director of the National Science
Foundation.
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(4) Network.--The term ``Network'' means the National
Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network.
(5) Node.--The term ``node'' means a programmable cloud
laboratory designated as part of the Network.
(6) Non-designated laboratory.--The term ``non-designated
laboratory'' means any Federal, academic, nonprofit, or private
industry programmable cloud laboratory not selected as a node
under section 3.
(7) Programmable cloud laboratory.--The term ``programmable
cloud laboratory'' means a physical laboratory that is equipped
with research instrumentation and advanced manufacturing
capabilities, including robotics and artificial intelligence,
that can be securely and remotely programmed and controlled in
order to conduct experiments and collect associated data.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL PROGRAMMABLE CLOUD LABORATORIES NETWORK.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of the Network established under this
Act are--
(1) to maintain leadership by the United States in advanced
experimentation, laboratory automation, and artificial
intelligence for scientific research, advanced manufacturing,
long-term economic competitiveness, and national security;
(2) to reduce the cost of federally funded research through
automation and reproducibility;
(3) to accelerate national competitiveness by transferring
government-funded research to private-sector commercial
applications;
(4) to improve collaboration among federally funded
national laboratories, institutions of higher education, and
private industry;
(5) to ensure that investment in programmable cloud
laboratories results in measurable cost savings, efficiencies,
and long-term fiscal sustainability;
(6) to incentivize private-sector cost-sharing in research
infrastructure and equipment;
(7) to support workforce development aligned with the
technical needs of industry in the United States;
(8) to advance the development of a domestic industrial
base for scientific automation tools, artificial intelligence
systems for experimentation, and robotics platforms for use in
laboratory settings; and
(9) to further programmable cloud laboratory research in
areas such as materials science, biotechnology, chemistry, and
other scientific or engineering disciplines where automation
and cloud-enabled experimentation can deliver transformative
results, including advanced materials synthesis and
characterization, scalable biotechnology experimentation, and
high-throughput chemical catalyst development.
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the
Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
shall designate and oversee a National Programmable Cloud
Laboratories Network of not more than 6 nodes to support
secure, standards-based, and cost-effective remote
experimentation and automated research.
(2) Assessment sequencing.--The assessment required under
section 5 shall be conducted only after the final designation
of nodes under paragraph (1).
(3) Nodes.--The Network shall consist of nodes that--
(A) enable programmable workflows and automated
science;
(B) provide access to advanced scientific and
manufacturing instruments, including artificial
intelligence-enabled tools;
(C) collaborate to establish and adopt common
standards, protocols, and best practices; and
(D) support interoperability across and between
nodes.
(c) Application and Selection.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall issue a public
solicitation for eligible entities to apply for node
designation.
(2) Eligible entities.--Eligible entities that may apply
for designation as a node include--
(A) institutions of higher education;
(B) nonprofit research organizations;
(C) private-sector research entities; and
(D) consortia or collaborations of the entities
described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
(d) Applications for Designation.--An eligible entity that desires
to apply for designation as a node in the Network shall submit an
application to the Director at such time and in such manner as the
Director may require. The application shall include--
(1) a technical and programmatic plan for laboratory
operations, automation capabilities, and data integration;
(2) a plan to achieve long-term self-sustainability,
including metrics, interim milestones, and a timeline for
reducing reliance on Federal funding; and
(3) evidence of non-Federal cost share, private capital, or
other third-party contributions demonstrating self-
sustainability potential.
(e) Evaluation of Applicants.--The Director shall ensure that the
process for selecting eligible entities for designation in the Network
shall be competitive, merit-reviewed, and transparent, evaluating--
(1) pre-existing laboratory infrastructure and suitability
for automated science;
(2) capacity to support distributed, cloud-enabled
programmable workflows for multiple users;
(3) likelihood of achieving long-term sustainability
without continued Federal funding;
(4) demonstrated ability to collaborate with other nodes,
academic partners, industry partners, or other Federal research
agencies (as defined in section 10002 of the Research and
Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C.
18901));
(5) protocols for research security, cybersecurity, and
responsible access; and
(6) demonstration of user interest and research needs.
(f) Designation.--In designating nodes, the Director shall provide
preference for applications demonstrating meaningful third-party cost
share and pre-existing infrastructure.
(g) Responsibilities.--Each node selected by the Director shall--
(1) support the purposes described in subsection (a)(9);
(2) facilitate collaboration among Network members to
expand and integrate automated science capabilities and best
practices;
(3) actively participate with the Director of National
Institute of Standards and Technology in developing network-
wide interoperability, data-sharing, cybersecurity, and
artificial intelligence-assisted experimentation standards;
(4) support secure sharing of experimental data, models,
and results across institutions of higher education
participating in the Network, if applicable;
(5) provide a secure digital infrastructure to enable
remote experimentation, artificial intelligence-assisted
analysis, and reproducible science;
(6) engage in public-private partnerships to streamline the
transfer of technology developed using Network infrastructure;
(7) develop and maintain a financial sustainability plan to
reduce long-term reliance on Federal funds, including through
user fees, licensing, consortia membership, or other revenue-
generating models;
(8) establish performance metrics, including scientific
output, cost-effectiveness, academic engagement, private-sector
engagement, user satisfaction, and reproducibility of results;
and
(9) where practicable, leverage commercially available
hardware and software solutions to minimize cost and accelerate
deployment of automated science capabilities.
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.
Not later than 180 days after all nodes of the Network are
designated, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, in cooperation with the Director and participating eligible
entities (including institutions of higher education), shall--
(1) develop and promulgate standards to ensure
interoperability across Network nodes, including laboratory
instrumentation, data infrastructure, communication protocols,
and experiment execution systems;
(2) establish protocols for secure, seamless, and
standardized data-sharing among all members of the Network
aligned with node-level cybersecurity and research security
protocols;
(3) define minimum technical requirements and operating
procedures to support remote experimentation, experiment
reproducibility, and artificial intelligence-assisted
workflows; and
(4) periodically update such standards in consultation with
private-sector partners and nodes of the Network to reflect
advancements in hardware, software, and automation technology.
SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF NON-DESIGNATED LABORATORIES.
(a) Assessment Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the
Director designates the final node of the Network under section 3, the
Director, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Director
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall conduct
and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, a comprehensive
assessment of non-designated laboratories.
(b) Scope.--The assessment shall identify, to the extent
practicable--
(1) Federal laboratories, institutions of higher education,
nonprofit organizations, and private-sector laboratories that
possess or are developing programmable, automated, or remotely
accessible research infrastructure;
(2) the instrumentation, automation, and data capabilities
of such laboratories;
(3) cybersecurity and research security measures relevant
to interoperability;
(4) existing or potential pathways for such laboratories to
coordinate with Network nodes in areas such as data-sharing,
standards adoption, or pilot interoperability projects; and
(5) legal, contractual, or intellectual property
considerations that may affect participation.
(c) Confidentiality and Security.--Proprietary information shall be
protected from public disclosure consistent with applicable law. The
Director shall publish a nonproprietary public summary of the
assessment and may submit a proprietary annex to the congressional
committees of jurisdiction.
SEC. 6. REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT.
(a) Annual Briefings.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director shall
brief the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House
of Representatives on the status of the Network.
(b) Contents.--Each briefing required under subsection (a) shall
include an assessment of--
(1) the alignment of supported research with national
scientific and economic priorities;
(2) the progress each node of the Network has made toward
achieving self-sustainability as described in section 3(d)(2);
and
(3) the performance metrics established in section 3(g)(8).
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
The National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network, including all
authorities, programs, and funding provided under this Act, shall
terminate on September 30, 2031.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
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