H.R. 3029 · 119th Congress

To amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening, and for other purposes.

Introduced on Apr 28, 2025 by Andrea Salinas (D-OR-6). 3 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (Jul 21, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Apr 28, 2025
Cosponsors
3
1 from the other party
Policy area
Science, Technology, Communications
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Subjects

  • Biological and life sciences
  • Cell biology and embryology
  • Research and development

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Apr 28, 2025). Public domain.

Nucleic Acid Standards for Biosecurity Act

This bill explicitly requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support the development of best practices and technical standards for nucleic acid synthesis.

Nucleic acids, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), carry genetic information within cells. Nucleic acid synthesis is the process of designing and creating custom nucleic acids; it is used in the development of medications and agricultural products. However, this technology also poses a risk of misuse (e.g., the intentional or unintentional creation of dangerous biological agents).

The bill requires NIST to carry out measurement research to support the development and improvement of biosecurity best practices and technical standards related to nucleic acid synthesis. This effort must address specified topics including nucleic acid synthesis screening, operational security, and conformity assessment. (A 2023 executive order titled Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence directed NIST to develop and refine similar specifications and best practices for use by synthetic nucleic acid providers. NIST's work on this topic is ongoing.)

In carrying out this effort, NIST must convene stakeholders to develop and periodically update consensus priorities and best practices for synthetic nucleic acid screening mechanisms. Within a specified period, NIST must submit a summary of the stakeholder group’s findings to Congress.

NIST must also take steps to advance risk management best practices and technical standards for engineering biology and biomanufacturing, including with respect to risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Andrea SalinasD-OR-6Sponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Apr 28, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Apr 28, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Apr 28, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
  4. Apr 29, 2025 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. Apr 29, 2025 · HouseOrdered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
  6. Jul 16, 2026Reported by the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. H. Rept. 119-751.
  7. Jul 16, 2026 · HouseReported by the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. H. Rept. 119-751.
  8. Jul 16, 2026 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 654.
  9. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseMr. Babin moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  10. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4666-4667)
  11. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3029.
  12. Jul 20, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4666)
  13. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4666)
  14. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  15. Jul 21, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Twist Bioscience Corporation1 report
    $75K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORPORATION$166.3K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%

Reports filed in 2025.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.