Sponsors (11)
Introduced March 5, 2026 by Todd Young · Last progress March 5, 2026
The bill builds domestic genomic sequencing, preservation, and data-standard capacity to boost U.S. research, biosecurity, and controlled industry use, but increases federal costs and imposes U.S.-only controls that may reduce international collaboration and raise cultural and conflict-of-interest concerns.
Researchers and conservation scientists will gain access to comprehensive genomic and metadata from National Park System units, improving biodiversity research and conservation planning.
Federal scientists and staff (USGS, Smithsonian, USDA) will benefit from new funded jobs and capacity for sequencing, curation, and long-term sample storage.
U.S. research institutions and biosecurity officials will have improved long-term preservation of biological samples in domestic repositories and reduced export of materials, helping keep samples available for domestic research and oversight.
International researchers, collaborators, and foreign partners will face limits on data sharing and access because of U.S.-only storage and export restrictions, potentially hindering global scientific cooperation.
Indigenous peoples and local communities risk exposure of sensitive locality and cultural resource information from public genomic and metadata releases despite some location-withholding provisions.
U.S. taxpayers will incur tens of millions of dollars in additional annual federal spending to run sequencing, storage, and program management activities.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a DOI/USGS pilot to collect, catalog, and whole‑genome sequence species from National Park System units under applicable permitting and interagency coordination.
Creates a pilot program at the Department of the Interior, run by the U.S. Geological Survey, to collect, catalog, and whole‑genome sequence animals, plants, fungi, and microbes from units of the National Park System. The program requires interagency coordination, defines key terms (including procedures for identifying “high‑priority species” and a referenced definition of “foreign entity of concern”), and requires that all sampling comply with applicable permitting and consultation laws such as the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Lacey Act.