S.Amdt. 6088

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Fetterman and Mr. Budd, aims to add a new section to bill S. 4784 called the National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025. Its purpose is to create a network of "programmable cloud laboratories"—which are physical labs using robotics and artificial intelligence that can be controlled remotely to run experiments and collect data.

The amendment aims to add the following to the bill:

• Funding and Management: It authorizes $30 million per year from 2026 through 2030, with funds coming from the National Science Foundation.
• The Network: The Director of the National Science Foundation, with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, will oversee a network of up to 6 "nodes." These nodes can be higher education institutions, nonprofits, private sector entities, or groups of these entities.
• Goals: The network is intended to maintain U.S. leadership in biotechnology, AI, and laboratory automation, lower the cost of federally funded research, and help move government research into private-sector commercial use.
• Requirements for Nodes: Selected nodes must receive grants of up to $5 million per year for up to 5 years. They are required to develop plans for long-term self-sustainability to reduce their reliance on federal money.
• Collaboration and Standards: The amendment requires the development of standards for data-sharing and interoperability across the network.
• Oversight: It mandates an assessment of laboratories not selected for the network and requires annual briefings to Congress on the network's status and performance.
• Expiration: All programs and funding under this act will end on September 30, 2031.