BEDROCK Act

Summary#

The BEDROCK Act directs the Secretary of Commerce to lead work that makes U.S. biomanufacturing more competitive. Within 1 year, the Department must name a senior official to run the program. The Department must identify federal processes, barriers to commercialization, supply-chain vulnerabilities, and opportunities to strengthen domestic production. It must assess availability of critical biomanufacturing inputs and capacity (for example: amino acids, industrial enzymes, microbial strains, cell lines, cell banks, bioreactors, and single-use components). The Department must keep a public web resource with guidance, reports, and agency points of contact. The Secretary will hold voluntary consultations with private and public stakeholders, identify voluntary industry practices, and consult with other federal agencies such as FDA and EPA. The Department must produce an assessment within 1 year and every 2 years after that, including a prioritized action plan. The Secretary must publish a report within 1 year and every 2 years, and may submit a nonpublic annex to Congress. The FDA and EPA must each name points of contact within 180 days. Voluntarily submitted trade secrets, confidential business information, and sensitive supply-chain vulnerability information must not be publicly disclosed. The program’s main requirements expire 5 years after the law is enacted.

What it means for you#

• Manufacturers, suppliers, and companies working with biomanufactured products may get a public web resource and points of contact to help find federal guidance and commercialization steps.
• Private sector entities can participate in voluntary consultations and provide nonpublic information that the Department will protect if it meets the law’s definitions.
• Small and medium-sized businesses are explicitly included among stakeholders to consult and consider in published voluntary practices.
• The Department will publish assessments and a prioritized action plan every 2 years, which stakeholders can use to see identified supply-chain risks and suggested federal coordination.
• FDA and EPA will each have an official to help companies identify relevant regulatory information.

Expenses#

No publicly available information about costs or appropriations is included in the bill text.

Proponents' View#

The bill’s text states its purpose is to promote commercial competitiveness in biomanufacturing, identify supply-chain and commercialization vulnerabilities, improve transparency about federal processes that apply to biomanufactured products, and support actions to strengthen domestic production and supply-chain resilience.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.