SEC. 5. INITIATIVE COORDINATION.
(a) Interagency Committee.—The President, acting through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall designate an interagency committee to coordinate engineering biology, which shall be co-chaired by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and include representatives from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and any other agency that the President considers appropriate (in this section referred to as the “interagency committee”). The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall select an additional co-chairperson from among the members of the Interagency Committee. The Interagency Committee shall oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the Initiative. The Interagency Committee shall—
(1) provide for interagency coordination of Federal engineering biology research, development, and other activities undertaken pursuant to the Initiative;
(2) establish and periodically update goals and priorities for the Initiative;
(3) develop, not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and update every 3 years, a strategic plan that—
(A) guides the activities of the Initiative for purposes of meeting the goals and priorities established under (and updated pursuant to) paragraph (2); and
(B) describes—
(i) the Initiative’s support for long-term funding for interdisciplinary engineering biology research and development;
(ii) the Initiative’s support for education and public outreach activities;
(iii) the Initiative’s support for research and other activities on ethical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and other appropriate societal issues related to engineering biology;
(iv) how the Initiative will move results out of the laboratory and into application for the benefit of society and United States competitiveness; and
(v) how the Initiative will measure and track the contributions of engineering biology to United States economic growth and other societal indicators;
(4) develop a national genomic sequencing strategy to ensure engineering biology research fully leverages plant, animal, and microbe biodiversity to enhance long-term innovation and competitiveness in engineering biology in the United States;
(5) propose an annually coordinated interagency budget for the Initiative that is intended to ensure—
(A) the maintenance of a robust engineering biology research and development portfolio; and
(B) that the balance of funding across the Initiative is sufficient to meet the goals and priorities established for the Program;
(6) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, such as the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program as described in section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), in support of the activities described in section 4(b)(3); and
(7) in carrying out this section, take into consideration the recommendations of the advisory committee established under section 6, the results of the workshop convened under section 7, existing reports on related topics, and the views of academic, State, industry, and other appropriate groups.
(b) Annual Report.—Beginning with fiscal year 2020, not later than 90 days after submission of the President’s annual budget request and each fiscal year thereafter, the interagency committee shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that includes—
(1) a summarized agency budget in support of the Initiative for the fiscal year to which such budget request applies, and for the then current fiscal year, including a breakout of spending for each agency participating in the Program and for the development and acquisition of any research facilities and instrumentation; and
(2) an assessment of how Federal agencies are implementing the plan described in subsection (a)(3), and a description of the amount and number of awards made under the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (as described in section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638)) in support of the Initiative.
(c) Initiative Staffing.—The President shall ensure adequate staffing for the Initiative, including full-time staff within the Office of Science and Technology Policy, who shall—
(1) provide technical and administrative support to the interagency committee and the advisory committee established under section 6;
(2) serve as the point of contact on Federal engineering biology activities for government organizations, academia, industry, professional societies, State governments, interested citizen groups, and others to exchange technical and programmatic information;
(3) oversee interagency coordination of the Initiative, including by encouraging and supporting joint agency solicitation and selection of applications for funding of activities under the Initiative;
(4) conduct public outreach, including dissemination of findings and recommendations of the advisory committee established under section 6, as appropriate; and
(5) promote access to, and early application of, the technologies, innovations, and expertise derived from Initiative activities to agency missions and systems across the Federal Government, and to United States industry, including startup companies.