[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4087 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4087
To prohibit the use of Federal funds to conduct or support certain
gain-of-function research by a foreign adversary.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2023
Mr. Wenstrup (for himself and Mrs. Lesko) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
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A BILL
To prohibit the use of Federal funds to conduct or support certain
gain-of-function research by a foreign adversary.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Adversary Gain-of-Function
Research Prevention Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CERTAIN GAIN-OF-FUNCTION
RESEARCH BY A FOREIGN ADVERSARY.
(a) In General.--No Federal funds may be made available, whether
directly or indirectly, or used by an entity, to conduct or support any
gain-of-function research involving a potential pandemic pathogen by a
foreign adversary, including--
(1) China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea; and
(2) any other country the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of
National Intelligence, or any other appropriate Federal
official, determines to be a foreign adversary for the purposes
of this section.
(b) Funding Freeze for Violations.--If the Secretary of State
determines that an entity has violated subsection (a), such entity--
(1) for the 3-year period beginning on the date of such
determination, may not receive any award or subaward of a
grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or contract from the
Department of Health and Human Services; and
(2) for the 3-year period beginning on the day after the
last day of the period described in paragraph (1), may not
receive any award of a grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or
contract from the Department of Health and Human Services
unless the entity agrees, as a condition of receiving such
award to--
(A) give notice to the Congress before using such
award to make any subaward; and
(B) include in any such notice the intended
recipient and purpose of the subaward.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Gain-of-function research.--The term ``gain-of-function
research'' means any research that may be reasonably
anticipated to confer an attribute to a pathogen such that the
pathogen would have enhanced pathogenicity or transmissibility
in mammals, including the creation of a chimera.
(2) Potential pandemic pathogen.--The term ``potential
pandemic pathogen'' means a pathogen that, as a result of any
gain-of-function research--
(A) is likely more transmissible or likely capable
of wide and uncontrollable spread in human populations;
(B) is likely more virulent or likely to cause
modest or greater morbidity or mortality in humans; or
(C) is likely to pose a severe threat to public
health, the capacity of the public health systems to
function, or national security.
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