Office of Science Biological Threat Preparedness Research Initiative

The Secretary shall establish within the Office of Science a cross-cutting research initiative, to be known as the “Biological Threat Preparedness Research Initiative”, to leverage the innovative analytical resources and tools, user facilities, and advanced computational and networking capabilities of the Department in order to support efforts that prevent, prepare for, predict, and respond to biological threats to national security, including infectious diseases. The Secretary shall carry out the initiative established under subsection (a) through a competitive, merit-reviewed process, and consider applications from National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, multi-institutional collaborations, industry partners and other appropriate entities. In carrying out the initiative established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— prioritize the objectives of— In carrying out the initiative established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall coordinate activities with— The Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall establish and operate an Emerging Infectious Diseases High Performance Computing Research Consortium (referred to in this section as the “Consortium”), to support the initiative established under subsection (a) by providing, to the extent practicable, a centralized entity for multidisciplinary, collaborative, emerging infectious disease and biosecurity research and development through high performance computing and advanced data analytics technologies and processes, in conjunction with the experimental research facilities and studies supported by the Department. The members of the Consortium may include representatives from relevant Federal agencies, the National Laboratories, the private sector, and institutions of higher education, which can each contribute relevant compute time, capabilities, or other resources. The Consortium shall— submit an annual report to the Secretary summarizing the activities of the Consortium, including— The Secretary shall ensure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary duplication of, the activities of the Consortium with the activities of other research entities of the Department, other Federal research institutions, institutions of higher education, and the private sector. Not later than 2 years after August 9, 2022, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report detailing the effectiveness of— Out of funds authorized to be appropriated for the Office of Science in a fiscal year, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the activities under this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.