S. 3468 · 119th Congress

National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025

Introduced on Dec 11, 2025 by John Fetterman (D-PA). One cosponsor. Latest action (Jul 13, 2026): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 451.

Stage
Reported by committee
Introduced
Dec 11, 2025
Cosponsors
1
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. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

A bill to establish a national programmable cloud laboratories network to enhance research efficiency, innovation, and collaboration, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Advanced technology and technological innovations
  • Computer security and identity theft
  • Computers and information technology
  • Data collection, sharing, protection
  • Employment and training programs
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • Internet, web applications, social media
  • Public-private cooperation
  • Research and development
  • Telephone and wireless communication

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to Senate, Jul 13, 2026). Public domain.

National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025

This bill provides statutory authority for a national programmable cloud laboratories program established by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Programmable cloud laboratories allow researchers to remotely design and run experiments in an automated, artificial-intelligence-enabled laboratory.

Under the bill, NSF, in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), must designate up to six entities to operate cloud laboratories, called nodes, to comprise a national network. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education, private or nonprofit research entities, and groups thereof. In designating nodes, NSF must ensure, to the extent practicable, that at least one node can support biotechnology research. (On July 16, 2025, NSF issued a program solicitation seeking applicants to serve as nodes.)

Designated nodes must provide access to advanced scientific and manufacturing instruments and a secure digital infrastructure. Where practicable, nodes must leverage commercially available hardware and software to minimize cost and accelerate deployment of automated capabilities.

NIST, in cooperation with NSF and designated nodes, must establish and periodically update network-wide interoperability standards, data-sharing protocols, and minimum technical requirements and operating procedures.

Further, after all nodes are designated, NSF must identify other laboratories that have or are developing programmable, automated, or remotely accessible research infrastructure and assess the potential for coordination between nodes and these laboratories.

The bill provides for annual grants to each designated node for up to five years. The program and any associated funding terminate on September 30, 2031.

Sponsor and cosponsors

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

John FettermanD-PASponsor

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. Dec 11, 2025Introduced in Senate
  2. Dec 11, 2025 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  3. Feb 12, 2026 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
  4. Jul 13, 2026Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with amendments. With written report No. 119-129.
  5. Jul 13, 2026 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with amendments. With written report No. 119-129.
  6. Jul 13, 2026 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 451.

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. Carnegie Mellon University1 report
    $90K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY$85M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%

Reports filed in 2026.

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 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 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 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 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.