HR 8938 — Biotechnology Workforce Alignment Act of 2026

Summary

Directs the National Science Foundation Director to support biotechnology workforce development by identifying high-demand skill areas and integrating Federal biotechnology research investments with workforce development activities.
Requires the NSF Director to develop workforce frameworks, support educational and career pathways, promote internships and apprenticeships, and facilitate partnerships among universities, Federal laboratories, nonprofits, and private sector entities.
Directs the NSF Director to coordinate with private sector biotechnology entities and support industry-academic partnership models to align workforce training with evolving industry needs.
Requires the NSF Director to develop metrics to assess workforce gaps, barriers to entry, and effectiveness of coordination and partnerships.
Requires the NSF Director to submit reports to Congress every two years for six years assessing workforce gaps, effectiveness of activities, outcomes of workforce development, and U.S. competitiveness in biotechnology.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Rep. McCormick, Richard (R-GA) [#7]

4 cosponsors

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Richard Mccormick’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

Employer not reported $21,624
INFO REQUESTED $18,600
CEO $15,700
EXECUTIVE $12,900
SANKRANTI / VENSAI TECHNOLOGIES $12,505

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Richard Mccormick → · Outside spending →

Actions (2)

May 20, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. · house
May 20, 2026 Introduced in House

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Text versions (1)

Introduced in House · May 20, 2026

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 20, 2026

Mr. McCormick (for himself and Mr. Khanna) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

A BILL

To direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to carry out activities to support biotechnology workforce pathways and alignment with Federal research investments, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Biotechnology Workforce Alignment Act of 2026”.

SEC. 2. NSF SUPPORT FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE PATHWAYS AND ALIGNMENT WITH FEDERAL RESEARCH INVESTMENTS.

(a) Alignment of Biotechnology Workforce Priorities.—

(1) In general.—The Director, in coordination with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall carry out activities to support the integration of Federal biotechnology research investments with workforce development activities.

(2) Workforce priority areas.—In carrying out paragraph

(1), the Director shall identify high-demand biotechnology workforce areas, including the following:

(A) Biomanufacturing and bioprocess engineering.

(B) Synthetic biology.

(C) Bioinformatics and computational biology.

(D) Omics, such as genomics and proteomics.

(E) Regulatory science and quality assurance.

(F) Such other areas as the Director determines appropriate.

(b) Pathways, Engagement, and Partnerships.—In carrying out this section, the Director shall carry out the following:

(1) Support the development of a workforce framework, including relating to workforce categories, work roles, and competency areas, for biotechnology.

(2) Disseminate information on, and support educational and career pathways with multiple entry and exit points for, students and early-career researchers leading to credentials and degrees in biotechnology workforce areas.

(3) Promote participation in internships, apprenticeships, cooperative education programs, and other hands-on training opportunities.

(4) Support partnerships among institutions of higher education (including community colleges and minority-serving institutions), Federal laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private sector entities.

(5) Disseminate best practices for workforce development activities.

(c) Coordination With Industry.—In carrying out this section, the Director shall, to the extent practicable, carry out the following:

(1) Coordinate with private sector entities engaged in biotechnology research, development, or manufacturing.

(2) Support model frameworks for industry-academic partnerships.

(3) Encourage alignment between workforce training programs and evolving industry needs.

(d) Metrics and Evaluation.—The Director shall develop metrics to assess the following:

(1) Workforce gaps in biotechnology careers.

(2) Barriers to entry into biotechnology careers.

(3) The effectiveness of coordination and partnerships under this section.

(e) Integration With Existing Activities.—The Director shall, to the extent practicable, carry out this section through integration with existing National Science Foundation programs and activities.

(f) Report.—Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter for six years, the Director shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that includes the following:

(1) An assessment of workforce gaps in biotechnology careers.

(2) A description of activities carried out under this section.

(3) An evaluation of outcomes associated with workforce development activities.

(4) An assessment of the position of the United States biotechnology workforce in maintaining global leadership in biotechnology relative to key competitor and near-peer countries.

(5) Recommendations for actions to strengthen Federal coordination relating to biotechnology initiatives and workforce development activities.

(g) Definitions.—In this Act:

(1) Biotechnology.—The term “biotechnology” means the use of biological systems, organisms, or derivatives thereof to develop or manufacture products, including biomanufacturing, bioprocess engineering, synthetic biology, genomics, proteomics, and computational biology applications.

(2) Director.—The term “Director” means the Director of the National Science Foundation.

(3) Workforce development activities.—The term “workforce development activities” includes internships, apprenticeships, cooperative education, experiential learning, skills-based training, and related activities that prepare individuals for employment in biotechnology careers. <all>

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