On September 9, 2026, With Honor Action, alongside a coalition of 16 biotechnology and biomanufacturing organizations and leaders  — sent letters to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology urging both committees to hold markups on bipartisan bills advancing recommendations from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB). With the Commission set to sunset at the end of the year, the letters call on Congress to signal that it intends to build on the Commission’s work rather than let the momentum lapse.

The Senate letter, addressed to Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), urges markups on four bills: the Biomanufacturing Excellence Act, the AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act, the Biosecurity Modernization and Innovation Act, and the Human Dignity and Emerging Technologies Act.

The House letter, addressed to Chairman Brian Babin (R-TX) and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), urges markups on seven bills: the National Biotechnology Initiative Act, the Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act, the Biomanufacturing Excellence Act, the Web of Biological Data Act, the Cloud LAB Act, the Biotechnology Workforce Alignment Act, and the Biotechnology for All High School Students Act.

The Honorable Ted Cruz, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate

The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate

Dear Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Cantwell:

We write as a coalition of organizations united in support of American leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing, urging the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to hold markups of several bipartisan biotechnology bills during the remaining time of the 119th Congress. Each of these bills advances recommendations from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) and falls within your committee’s jurisdiction.

As you know, the NSCEB was established to help Congress and the executive branch understand the national and economic security stakes of the rapidly evolving biotechnology innovation ecosystem, and to recommend a whole-of-government strategy to ensure the United States leads the bioeconomy of the future. Over the course of its work, the Commission built a substantial bipartisan, bicameral record and a slate of actionable recommendations spanning biomanufacturing capacity, data infrastructure, workforce development, and education. This includes 40 of the 49 recommendations that have seen bipartisan legislative action in either chamber, including 19 recommendations included in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act alone.

The Commission is statutorily set to sunset at the end of this year, making this moment critical. While the window to translate the NSCEB’s recommendations into durable law will not be closed after the NSCEB sunsets, we need to ensure that the momentum behind implementing the Commission’s recommendations continues as we transition into the next Congress. Moving these bills through markup now would send a clear signal that Congress intends to build on the Commission’s work rather than let it lapse with the Commission itself.

We respectfully urge the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to schedule markups this fall on the following bills, each of which addresses a distinct, actionable recommendation from the NSCEB’s report:

● S. 3188, Biomanufacturing Excellence Act — Directs NIST to establish a National Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Center of Excellence to strengthen domestic biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.

● S. 4069, AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act — Directs NIST to develop standards and frameworks that make federally funded biological data usable for training AI models, ensuring the data underpinning the next generation of biotechnology breakthroughs is high-quality and interoperable.

● S. 3741, Biosecurity Modernization and Innovation Act — Requires the Department of Commerce to strengthen nucleic acid synthesis security screening and directs a governance review to consolidate fragmented federal biosecurity oversight, closing gaps that bad actors could otherwise exploit.

● S. 5130, Human Dignity and Emerging Technologies Act — Establishes a nonpartisan U.S. Commission on Human Dignity to advise Congress on the ethical and policy implications of emerging technologies, including AI and biotechnology, ensuring innovation policy is paired with careful ethical deliberation.

These bills all address the core pillars of the NSCEB’s action plan: scaling domestic biomanufacturing capacity and supply chain resilience, modernizing the data and computing infrastructure that underpins biotechnology innovation, safeguarding biosecurity, and building the skilled workforce and public understanding needed to sustain American leadership in the bioeconomy for decades to come. They enjoy broad, cross-sector support because they represent practical, bipartisan steps that strengthen U.S. competitiveness against China and other strategic competitors in a field that will shape both our economy and our national security.

We appreciate your committee’s continued attention to these issues and stand ready to provide any additional information that would be helpful as you consider scheduling these markups. Thank you for your leadership and your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

With Honor Action, American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Applied Research Institute (ARI), AZBio, BEAM Circular, BioBuilder Educational Foundation, BioNJ, Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC), Georgia Life Sciences, Heartland BioWorks Regional Tech Hub, Indiana Life Sciences Association, KC BioHub, Ohio Life Sciences Association, Perimeter, Leash Bio, Ian Banks (Foundation for American Innovation), and Josh Wentzel (Foundation for American Innovation)

You can read the full text of the letter here.

The Honorable Brian Babin, Chairman of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Chairman Babin and Ranking Member Lofgren:

We write as a coalition of organizations united in support of American leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing, urging the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to hold markups of several bipartisan biotechnology bills during the remaining time of the 119th Congress. Each of these bills advances recommendations from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) and falls within your committee’s jurisdiction.

As you know, the NSCEB was established to help Congress and the executive branch understand the national and economic security stakes of the rapidly evolving biotechnology innovation ecosystem, and to recommend a whole-of-government strategy to ensure the United States leads the bioeconomy of the future. Over the course of its work, the Commission built a substantial bipartisan, bicameral record and a slate of actionable recommendations spanning biomanufacturing capacity, data infrastructure, workforce development, and education. This includes 40 of the 49 recommendations that have seen bipartisan legislative action in either chamber, including 19 recommendations included in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act alone.

The Commission is statutorily set to sunset at the end of this year, making this moment critical. While the window to translate the NSCEB’s recommendations into durable law will not be closed after the NSCEB sunsets, we need to ensure that the momentum behind implementing the Commission’s recommendations continues as we transition into the next Congress. Moving these bills through markup now would send a clear signal that Congress intends to build on the Commission’s work rather than let it lapse with the Commission itself.

We respectfully urge the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to schedule markups this Congress on the following bills, each of which addresses a distinct, actionable recommendation from the NSCEB’s report:

● H.R. 2756, National Biotechnology Initiative Act — Establishes a National Biotechnology Coordination Office and interagency committee to align federal biotechnology activities across agencies, reducing duplication and ensuring the government pursues a coherent, whole-of-government biotechnology strategy.

● H.R. 7936, Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act — Directs the Department of Energy to establish at least two bioindustrial technology maturation facilities so companies can prove their biomanufacturing processes at scale, closing the infrastructure gap that keeps American innovations from reaching commercial production.

● H.R. 6089, Biomanufacturing Excellence Act — Directs NIST to establish a National Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Center of Excellence to advance manufacturing methods, support regulatory alignment, and train the workforce needed to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign biopharmaceutical manufacturers.

● H.R. 9307, Web of Biological Data Act — Directs the Department of Energy to establish the Web of Biological Data, a centralized, secure, AI-ready resource that gives American researchers a single point of access to high-quality biological data funded by the federal government.

● H.R. 7801, Cloud LAB Act — Directs the National Science Foundation to establish a national network of automated ‘cloud labs,’ giving researchers anywhere in the country remote access to high-quality laboratory instrumentation to generate data and train AI models.

● H.R. 8938, Biotechnology Workforce Alignment Act — Directs the National Science Foundation to align federal biotechnology research investments with workforce development, helping close persistent talent shortages in biomanufacturing, synthetic biology, and computational biology.

● H.R. 8268, Biotechnology for All High School Students Act — Establishes a National Biotechnology Education Consortium to expand hands-on biotechnology education in high schools, prioritizing schools with limited resources, so the next generation is prepared for careers in this critical field.

These bills all address the core pillars of the NSCEB’s action plan: scaling domestic biomanufacturing capacity and supply chain resilience, modernizing the data and computing infrastructure that underpins biotechnology innovation, safeguarding biosecurity, and building the skilled workforce and public understanding needed to sustain American leadership in the bioeconomy for decades to come. They enjoy broad, cross-sector support because they represent practical, bipartisan steps that strengthen U.S. competitiveness against China and other strategic competitors in a field that will shape both our economy and our national security.

We appreciate your committee’s continued attention to these issues and stand ready to provide any additional information that would be helpful as you consider scheduling these markups. Thank you for your leadership and your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

With Honor Action, American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Applied Research Institute (ARI), AZBio, BEAM Circular, BioBuilder Educational Foundation, BioNJ, Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC), Georgia Life Sciences, Heartland BioWorks Regional Tech Hub, Indiana Life Sciences Association, KC BioHub, Ohio Life Sciences Association, Perimeter, Leash Bio, Ian Banks (Foundation for American Innovation), and Josh Wentzel (Foundation for American Innovation)

You can read the full text of the letter here.

Fifty years ago, the cranes never stopped moving. The shipyards were full. Shipbuilding was steady work that built steady lives, and made the United States the world’s dominant maritime power. Today, that capacity is significantly diminished. The workforce has shrunk, the yards have slowed, and the country that once out-built the rest of the world has atrophied. A strong shipbuilding industry is more than steel and steady paychecks. It is one of the backbones of our nation’s ability to compete on the world stage, project power, and mobilize its people. 

The scale of this industrial decline is impossible to ignore. In 2024, China built 1,400 merchant ships. The United States built five. China now has 232 times as much shipbuilding capacity as the United States. The industry that enabled the U.S. to become a world superpower has long been neglected. This gap is the result of decades of underinvestment in our yards and in the supply chains that turn steel into ships.

America’s shipbuilding problem doesn’t end with production. The ships America does have are increasingly hard to crew. In 2017, the Maritime Workforce Working Group found that the U.S. was in a deficit of over 1,800 qualified mariners. All around, shortages have only compounded, with the Navy’s Military Sealift Command announcing in 2024 that it would sideline up to 17 auxiliary and support ships due to a persistent lack of crew. Ahead of a fall 2024 announcement on the Navy’s plan to put a number of Military Sealift Command logistics ships into extended maintenance periods, and re-assign certain crews to higher priority vessels, Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander of Military Sealift Command, noted, “This shortage is an industry-wide problem. . . In fact, we’re just not competitive”. Two shortages exist, with one root cause: the U.S. maritime industry lacks the industrial capacity and workforce needed to sustain a fleet capable of meeting the nation’s national security and commercial priorities. 

It was with that in mind that Congressional leaders in April and May of 2025 introduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America (SHIPS) Act of 2025 (H.R. 3151 / S.1541). Key provisions include:

• Creating a White House Maritime Security Advisor and an interagency Maritime Security Board for a whole-of-government approach to strengthen our maritime industrial base. 
• Establishing a national goal of expanding the U.S.-flagged international fleet by 250 ships in 10 years by creating the Strategic Commercial Fleet Program.
• Expanding the U.S. shipyard industrial base, for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels, by establishing a 25 percent investment tax credit for shipyard investments.
• Making historic investments in the maritime workforce by supporting a Maritime Workforce Promotion and Recruitment Campaign, and establishing an employment pipeline for the many transitioning service members who already have the exact qualifications and training this industry needs.

The bipartisan, bicameral SHIPS Act was led by With Honor Action allies Senators Mark Kelly and Todd Young, alongside Representatives Trent Kelly and John Garamendi. In the year since the bill’s introduction, little progress has been made towards final passage. In February of 2026, the White House released its Maritime Action Plan, which reinforced the urgency and broad agreement on the issue. And in April, as part of our ongoing support of the SHIPS Act, With Honor Action submitted a Statement for the Record on revitalizing the shipbuilding and maritime industrial base for a joint hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces and the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Despite these developments, neither bill has made it out of committee.  

However, select SHIPS Act policies found another way forward. In July 2026, Rep. Trent Kelly proposed a 180-page maritime amendment that folded much of the SHIPS Act’s substance into the House’s version of the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This amendment creates a $20 billion Maritime Security Trust Fund, expands maritime workforce recruitment initiatives, and outlines a federal grant program to boost domestic maritime construction. While major provisions are included, the NDAA amendment does not replace the SHIPS Act as standalone legislation. Furthermore, the Senate’s version of the FY27 NDAA does not contain any companion maritime provisions, which puts the amendment at risk once the two chambers meet to reconcile their bills in conference later this year. 

The SHIPS Act has earned significant cross-sector support, from commercial shipping operators to the shipbuilding industrial base. Alongside With Honor Action, endorsers include Keystone Shipping Company, American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association, Navy League, General Dynamics-NASSCO, American Waterway Operators, and many more. 

As a veteran-led and veteran-focused organization, With Honor has consistently advocated for the readiness and competitiveness of America’s maritime forces. With Honor Action endorses the SHIPS Act and calls on Congress to protect these gains through conference and finish the job of revitalizing the nation’s shipbuilding capacity. Ensuring the United States can build, crew, and sustain its fleet is an ongoing effort.

Tell Congress to Pass the SHIPS Act