WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), along with U.S. Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.-05) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17), Commissioners on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), introduced the America’s Living Library Act to advance U.S. biotechnology leadership. The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to begin a project to collect, catalog, and sequence genomic information of animals, plants, fungi, and microbes in U.S. National Parks.
The United States is locked in a global tech competition with China and other adversaries, and access to high-quality datasets has become an important part of winning the race. Specifically, non-human biological data from animals, plants, fungi, and microbes is a strategic resource that can be used to unlock breakthrough innovations in medicine, agriculture, and defense. While this biological data can be found in public lands across our country — including in National Parks that span millions of acres and cover varied climates and topographies — America has failed to leverage this data for innovation and national security.
“America’s public lands contain rich biological data with enormous potential to bolster our medicine, agriculture, supply chain, and national security. Yet despite the wide variety of climates and biodiversity in our 63 National Parks, the United States has failed to capitalize on this abundance of biological data as a strategic national resource,” said Senator Padilla. “That’s why our bipartisan, bicameral bill would kickstart a comprehensive project to survey organisms on our public lands and collect key genomic samples to better understand the full range of America’s biological landscape and to the harness the full power of American innovation.”
“We cannot afford to stand by while China and other adversaries compile massive biological datasets intended to undermine our national and economic security. Our bill will leverage our natural resources as national strategic assets, a necessary step in ensuring the U.S. remains the global tech leader,” said Senator Young.
“Biological data from America’s vast public lands is a strategic national asset that must not only be secured, but made accessible to American innovators,” said Representative Bice. “The convergence of AI and biotech is transforming what we can do with biology, and it requires high-quality data. This act will safeguard our competitive edge unleashing growth across the biotechnology sector with the help of the plants, animals, and fungi that make up our incredible national landscape.”
“I’m proud to sponsor America’s Living Library Act of 2026 alongside Sens. Padilla and Young and Rep. Bice to help further our nation’s understanding of biology and our natural resources across America’s 85 million acres of national parks and enable future biotech breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture, and industrial production,” said Representative Khanna.
History has already shown the potential of biological data. In the 1960s, Indiana University microbiologist Thomas D. Brock studied microbes in Yellowstone’s hot springs, and that line of research later helped make Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) a reliable way to quickly copy DNA, a foundational technique that powers modern medical testing, forensics, and biological research.
The bipartisan, bicameral legislation stems from a recommendation within the NSCEB’s major report and action plan that encourages the collection of new data from U.S. public lands that researchers can use to drive innovation.
More specifically, the America’s Living Library Act would:
- Establish a sampling, collection, and sequencing process that follows National Park Service and Department of the Interior standards;
- Create opportunities for education and outreach related to science, biological data, and nature at the selected National Parks;
- Create a public database to store genomic information gained through this effort, to include high-quality, standardized, AI-ready datasets;
- Create collection and storage capacity for biological samples in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture and Smithsonian Institution;
- Engage with a broad set of stakeholders to ensure public views and ideas are incorporated into program implementation; and
- Establish or designate an existing office with the U.S. Geological Survey to carry out the America’s Living Library project.
Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) cosponsored the legislation.
The America’s Living Library Act is supported by Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Inari, Ginkgo Bioworks, Applied Research Institute (ARI), American Alliance for Biomanufacturing (AAB), SCSP Action Program, American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA), and American Society for Microbiology (ASM).
A summary of the legislation is available here.
Full text of the bill is available here.
As a Commissioner of the bipartisan NSCEB, Padilla introduced the bipartisan National Biotechnology Initiative Act of 2025 last year to outline a whole-of-government approach to advancing biotechnology for U.S. national security, economic productivity, and competitiveness. Last year, Padilla also introduced a bipartisan package of six bills focused on protecting America’s food security and agriculture supply chains by strengthening and streamlining biotechnology applications in domestic food manufacturing and farming.
The NSCEB was established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 and charged with examining the critical intersection of emerging biotechnology and national security. To learn more about the NSCEB, click here.