I’ve worked on a bill that we’ve discussed on this topic called ‘Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science’ with Congressman Obernolte to do that, trying to give the NIH the ability to give long-term, large grants to interdisciplinary teams advancing transformational research.
Give the NIH the ability to provide long-term, large grants to interdisciplinary teams advancing transformational research through the Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science Act.
Occurrences
Evidence
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Congress.gov shows H.R.6572, Harder's X-Labs bill, as introduced on 2025-12-10 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; the tracker still shows the bill status as Introduced with no later legislative progress on the page.
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In a House hearing, Harder said he had worked on the Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science bill to give NIH the ability to make long-term, large grants to interdisciplinary teams advancing transformational research, and NIH Director Bhattacharya said the idea was innovative and he would be interested in working together.
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GovInfo identifies H.R. 6572 as Harder-sponsored, cosponsored by Jay Obernolte, with bill version Introduced in House and the last listed action as referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on December 10, 2025.
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The introduced text would direct the NIH Director to establish an X-Labs Initiative, create XL-series institutional awards, and structure XL01, XL02, and XL03 awards at $5 million to $50 million per fiscal year for seven fiscal years.
Assessments
Harder sponsored H.R. 6572, the Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science Act, and continued publicly pressing NIH support for the proposal. The introduced bill appears to match the promised NIH authority for long-term, large interdisciplinary research grants. However, official bill records still show the measure only introduced and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, with no enactment or other completed grant authority. That is serious same-term legislative effort, but not delivery of the promised outcome.
Harder introduced the X-Labs bill and publicly pressed the idea, but the available evidence shows only introduction and committee referral with no enactment or other completed authority for NIH to make the promised long-term, large grants. That is a serious legislative attempt, but the promised outcome has not been delivered.