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S. 3468 119th Congress Senate

National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025

Official title: A bill to establish a national programmable cloud laboratories network to enhance research efficiency, innovation, and collaboration, and for other purposes.

Introduced: December 11, 2025 Introduced by: John Fetterman Democratic · Pennsylvania See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 6 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 13, 2026
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with amendments. With written report No. 119-129.
Jul 13, 2026
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 451.
Feb 12, 2026
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Feb 12, 2026
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
Dec 11, 2025
Introduced in Senate
Dec 11, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
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What's happening now July 13, 2026

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 451.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025

This bill provides statutory authority for a national programmable cloud laboratories program established by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Programmable cloud laboratories allow researchers to remotely design and run experiments in an automated, artificial-intelligence-enabled laboratory.

Under the bill, NSF, in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), must designate up to six entities to operate cloud laboratories, called nodes, to comprise a national network. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education, private or nonprofit research entities, and groups thereof. In designating nodes, NSF must ensure, to the extent practicable, that at least one node can support biotechnology research. (On July 16, 2025, NSF issued a program solicitation seeking applicants to serve as nodes.)

Designated nodes must provide access to advanced scientific and manufacturing instruments and a secure digital infrastructure. Where practicable, nodes must leverage commercially available hardware and software to minimize cost and accelerate deployment of automated capabilities.

NIST, in cooperation with NSF and designated nodes, must establish and periodically update network-wide interoperability standards, data-sharing protocols, and minimum technical requirements and operating procedures.

Further, after all nodes are designated, NSF must identify other laboratories that have or are developing programmable, automated, or remotely accessible research infrastructure and assess the potential for coordination between nodes and these laboratories.

The bill provides for annual grants to each designated node for up to five years. The program and any associated funding terminate on September 30, 2031.

 Hearings & markups 2
 Bill text 2 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 2

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

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 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1
R
Budd, Ted
North Carolina · Dec 11, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3468: National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3468/
MLA
"S. 3468: National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3468/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 3468, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3468/.
Markdown link
[S. 3468: National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3468/)
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