Bipartisan House Bill Would Direct Secretary of Commerce to Develop Prioritized Action Plan for Biomanufacturing

On August 27, 2026, Representatives Bob Latta (R-OH) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) introduced the Biomanufacturing Excellence, Domestic Resilience, Output, and Competitive Know-how (BEDROCK) Act. According to Latta’s August 27, 2026, press release, the legislation “would help turn products invented in America into products made in America — supporting American manufacturing jobs, strengthening American supply chains, and reducing American dependence on Communist China.” The press release notes that biomanufacturing uses biology to make products at industrial scale, such as new materials and medicines. The press release states that although American companies lead the world in discovering these new products, all too often, the factories, suppliers, and jobs required to produce them at scale move overseas. The press release states that “Communist China has repeatedly made biomanufacturing a national priority; they now dominate the world’s fermentation capacity.” The BEDROCK Act would:

• Designate a senior U.S. Department of Commerce official to lead efforts to strengthen U.S. biomanufacturing competitiveness;

• Assess critical supply-chain inputs, domestic production capacity, commercialization barriers, and reliance on China and “other foreign adversaries”;

• Develop a prioritized action plan and consolidate existing federal resources to address the most significant risks and barriers; and

• Map federal commercialization processes, establish U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) points of contact, and publish industry-led practices to help companies scale production.