House Hearing Focuses on Future of Biotech Research

(WASHINGTON, DC) A House Science, Space & Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing Tuesday morning focused on new and developing biotechnologies enabled by engineering biology research, and their potential applications in sustainable agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and bioenergy. Chairwoman Haley Stevens (MI-D) stated that she is concerned that the U.S. has not developed any kind of national strategy. In the meantime, other countries, including China, have established engineering biology as a national priority and are providing the necessary funding to realize their goals. Dr. Rob Carlson, Managing Director of Bioeconomy Capital, explained that biosecurity is now clearly synonymous with economic security and the focus of policy must shift from protecting specific targets from specific threats to securing the bio-economy as a system that drives economic growth and employment and, ultimately, enables humans to thrive on a global scale.