---
kind: "section"
citation: "42 U.S.C. § 19064"
title: "42"
title_heading: "The Public Health and Welfare"
number: "19064"
heading: "Biological research collections"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/42/19064"
units:
  - "Chapter 163 — Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation"
  - "Subchapter III — National Science Foundation for the Future"
  - "Part E — Fundamental Research"
---

# §19064. Biological research collections

- (a) **In general—** The [Director](/usc/42/18921.md?p=1) shall continue to support databases, tools, methods, and other activities that secure and improve existing physical and digital biological research collections, improve the accessibility of collections and collection-related data for research and educational purposes, develop capacity for curation and collection management, and to transfer ownership of collections that are significant to the biological research community, including to [museums](/usc/42/7142d.md?p=1) and universities.
- (b) **Specimen management plan—** In consultation with other relevant [Federal research agencies](/usc/42/18901.md?p=10), and as the [Director](/usc/42/18921.md?p=1) determines is appropriate, the [Director](/usc/42/18921.md?p=1) shall require that proposals submitted to the [Foundation](/usc/42/18901.md?p=11) for funding for research that involves collecting or generating specimens include, as part of the data management plan under [section 19053 of this title](/usc/42/19053.md), a description of how the specimens and associated data will be accessioned into and maintained in an established biological collection.
- (c) **Action Center for Biological Collections—** In coordination with other relevant [Federal research agencies](/usc/42/18901.md?p=10), as appropriate, the [Director](/usc/42/18921.md?p=1) shall make awards on a competitive basis to institutions of higher education or [non-profit organizations](/usc/42/18901.md?p=21) (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to facilitate coordination and data sharing among communities of practice for research, education, workforce training, evaluation, and business model development, including by establishing an Action [Center](/usc/42/18901.md?p=17) for Biological Collections.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title III, § 10355, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1562.)