[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4667 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 667
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4667
[Report No. 118-264]
To amend title 31, United States Code, to establish the Life Sciences
Research Security Board, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 10, 2024
Mr. Paul (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
December 5, 2024
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 31, United States Code, to establish the Life Sciences
Research Security Board, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Risky Research Review
Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH SECURITY BOARD.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--Subtitle V of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``CHAPTER 79--LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH SECURITY BOARD</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7901. Definitions</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``In this chapter:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning
given the term in section 552(f) of title 5.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The
term `appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
Representatives.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Board.--The term `Board' means the Life
Sciences Research Security Board established under section
7902(a).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Dual use.--The term `dual use', with respect
to research, means research that, based on current
understanding as of the date of research, can be reasonably
anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or
technologies that could directly or with only minor
modification be misapplied to pose a significant threat with
broad potential consequences to public health and safety,
agricultural crops or other plants, animals, materiel, or
national security.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Employee.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--The term `employee'--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) means an employee of an
agency; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) includes an individual,
other than an employee of an agency, working
under a contract with an agency.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Rule of construction.--With respect
to an individual described in subparagraph (A)(ii),
solely for the purposes of this chapter, the agency
that has entered into the contract under which the
employee is working shall be construed to be the agency
employing the employee.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(6) Federal funding.--The term `Federal
funding'--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) means amounts awarded by an agency
pursuant to a grant, cooperative agreement, interagency
agreement, contract, or other instrument; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) an in-kind contribution by
an agency used for life sciences research
purposes; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) research conducted by an
agency to which funds were appropriated for
conducting research.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(7) Gain of function research.--The term `gain
of function research' means research that has the potential to
enhance the transmissibility or virulence of a potential
pandemic pathogen.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(8) High-risk life sciences research.--The term
`high-risk life sciences research'--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) means life sciences research that--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) has a potential dual use
nature; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) could pose a threat to
public health, safety, or national security;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) gain of function
research;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) research involving a
potential pandemic pathogen, including genetic
modification of a potential pandemic pathogen
and the synthetic creation of a potential
pandemic pathogen; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) an activity involving the
collection or surveillance of a potential
pandemic pathogen.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(9) Life sciences research.--The term `life
sciences research' means research in agricultural
biotechnology, biogenerics, bioinformatics, biomedical
engineering, biopharmaceuticals, academic medical centers,
biotechnology, chemical synthesis, chemistry technology,
medical diagnostics, genomics, medical image analysis, marine
biology, medical devices, medical nanotechnology, natural
product pharmaceuticals proteomics, regenerative medicine, RNA
interference, stem cell research, medical and neurological
clinical trials, health robotics, and veterinary
science.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(10) Potential pandemic pathogen.--The term
`potential pandemic pathogen'--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) means a virus, natural or synthetic,
bacteria, fungus, prion, or eukaryotic parasite, or any
strain or variant of a virus, bacterium, fungus, prion,
or eukaryotic parasite--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) is reasonably
anticipated to be moderately or highly
transmissible and likely capable of
wide and uncontrollable spread in human
populations; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) is described in
clause (ii) or (iii); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) reasonably anticipated to
be of low, moderate, or high virulence and
likely to cause significant morbidity or
mortality in humans; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) reasonably anticipated to
pose a severe threat to public health, the
capacity of public health systems to function,
or national security if allowed to spread
within the general population; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) subject to subparagraph (C),
influenza viruses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) sarbecoviruses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) merbecoviruses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) henipaviruses, including
Nipah virus;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(v) filoviruses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vi) arenaviruses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vii) orthopoxviruses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(viii) Yersinia
pestis;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ix) any synthetic construct of
such viruses; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(x) a select agent or toxin,
work with which poses a significant risk of
deliberate misuse; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) does not include seasonal influenza
viruses, unless such viruses have been manipulated to
include genetic sequences from a potential pandemic
pathogen.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(11) Select agent or toxin.--The term `select
agent or toxin' means an agent or toxin identified under--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) section 73.3(b) of title 42, Code of
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of
enactment of the Risky Research Review Act;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) section 331.3(b) of title 7, Code of
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of
enactment of the Risky Research Review Act;
or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) section 121.3(b) of title 9, Code of
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of
enactment of the Risky Research Review Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7902. Establishment and membership</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(a) Establishment.--There is established as an
independent agency within the Executive Branch a board to be known as
the `Life Sciences Research Security Board' to review proposed Federal
funding for life sciences research in accordance with section
7906.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(b) Appointment of Members.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--The President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, without regard
to political affiliation, 9 individuals who are citizens of the
United States to serve as members of the Board for not more
than 2 terms of 4 years each, including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) the Executive Director appointed
under section 7903(a);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) 5 nongovernmental scientists in a
life sciences field; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) 2 nongovernmental national security
experts.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Period for nominations.--The President shall
make nominations to the Board not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this chapter. If the Senate votes not to
confirm a nomination to the Board, the President shall make an
additional nomination not later than 10 days after such vote by
the Senate.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Considerations of recommendations.--The
President shall make nominations to the Board after considering
individuals recommended by the Chair and Ranking Member of the
appropriate congressional committees.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Qualifications.--Individuals nominated to
the Board--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) be impartial individuals;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) be distinguished
individuals of high national professional
reputation in their respective fields who are
capable of exercising the independent and
objective judgment necessary to conduct an
impartial assessment of the potential risks and
benefits associated with Federal funding of
life sciences research to public health and
national security; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) may not be an employee of the
Federal Government on the date of the appointment or
during the 3-year period preceding the date of the
appointment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Limitations.--Not more than 4 concurrent
members of the Board may be employed by, a subcontractor of, a
previous employee of, or a previous subcontractor of--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) the Department of Defense;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) the Department of Homeland
Security;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases of the Department of Health and
Human Services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) the Department of Energy.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(6) Consideration by the senate.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--Nominations for
appointment to the Board shall be referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate for consideration.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Renomination.--A member of the Board
who is recommended to serve a second term shall be
nominated for appointment to the Board, and such
nomination shall be referred pursuant to subparagraph
(A).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(7) Vacancy.--Not later than 30 days after the
date on which a vacancy on the Board occurs, the vacancy shall
be filled in the same manner as specified for the original
appointment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(8) Removal.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--No member of the Board
shall be removed from office, other than by--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) impeachment and
conviction;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the action of the President
for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance
in office, physical disability, mental
incapacity, or any other condition that
substantially impairs the performance of the
member's duties; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) the Board in accordance
with subparagraph (B).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Action by board.--If the Director of
the Office of Government Ethics determines that
participation by a member of the Board in high-risk
life sciences research constitutes a conflict of
interest, the Board shall take steps to mitigate or
manage the conflict, which may include
removal.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Notice of removal by president.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) In general.--In the case of
the removal of a member of the Board by the
President as described in subparagraph (A)(ii),
not later than 10 days after the removal, the
President shall submit to the Chair and Ranking
Members of the appropriate congressional
committees a report specifying the facts found
and the grounds for removal.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Publication of report.--The
President shall publish in the Federal Register
each report submitted under clause (i), except
that the President may, if necessary to protect
the rights of a person named in the report or
to prevent undue interference with any pending
prosecution, postpone or refrain from publicly
publishing any or all of the report until the
completion of such pending cases or pursuant to
privacy protection requirements in
law.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(c) Mandatory Conflicts of Interest Review.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of
Government Ethics shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this chapter, and upon an
appointment of a member to the Board under subsection
(a)(1) thereafter, conduct a review of each individual
nominated and appointed to the Board to ensure such
individual does not have any conflict of interest;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) periodically thereafter, conduct a
review of each individual nominated and appointed to
the Board to ensure the individual does not have any
conflict of interest during the term of service of the
individual.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Notification.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--Not later than 3 days
after the date on which the Director of the Office of
Government Ethics becomes aware that a member of th