National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act of 2025
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 451.
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.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate" stage on July 13, 2026. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 13, 2026: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 451.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced it on December 11, 2025, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 11, 2025, 274 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 60 days ago, on July 13, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers