A bipartisan group of senators is seeking increased funding for certain research areas, including synthetic biology, that they think will encourage economic growth, ScienceInsider reports.
In their bill S.3191, lawmakers led by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, are pushing for higher investment in artificial intelligence and quantum computing as well as for increased funding of research into advanced manufacturing, wireless communications, and synthetic biology. Together, the senators have dubbed these fields "industries of the future," ScienceInsider adds. In all, they are seeking $10 billion in funding per year by 2025.
It notes that the White House's chief technology officer, Michael Kratsios, seems to support the idea. "Importantly, the bill recognizes that the industries of the future are interconnected and builds upon work already underway," Kratsios said at a committee meeting last week, according to ScienceInsider.