Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB854 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 854
5	5	To amend title 31, United States Code, to establish the Life Sciences
6	6	Research Security Board, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	MARCH5, 2025
9	9	Mr. P
10	10	AUL(for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which
11	11	was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
12	12	Governmental Affairs
13	13	A BILL
14	14	To amend title 31, United States Code, to establish the
15	15	Life Sciences Research Security Board, and for other
16	16	purposes.
17	17	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
18	18	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
19	19	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
20	20	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Risky Research Review 4
21	21	Act’’. 5
22	22	SEC. 2. LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH SECURITY BOARD. 6
23	23	(a) I
24	24	NGENERAL.—Subtitle V of title 31, United 7
25	25	States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-8
26	26	lowing: 9
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30	30	‘‘CHAPTER 79—LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH 1
31	31	SECURITY BOARD 2
32	32	‘‘7901. Definitions.
33	33	‘‘7902. Establishment and membership.
34	34	‘‘7903. Board personnel.
35	35	‘‘7904. Board mission and functions.
36	36	‘‘7905. Agency procedures; referral to Board.
37	37	‘‘7906. Board review.
38	38	‘‘7907. GAO Audits.
39	39	‘‘7908. Funding.
40	40	‘‘§ 7901. Definitions 3
41	41	‘‘In this chapter: 4
42	42	‘‘(1) A
43	43	GENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 5
44	44	meaning given the term in section 552(f) of title 5. 6
45	45	‘‘(2) A
46	46	PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -7
47	47	TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com-8
48	48	mittees’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu-9
49	49	rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 10
50	50	Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 11
51	51	of Representatives. 12
52	52	‘‘(3) B
53	53	OARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 13
54	54	Life Sciences Research Security Board established 14
55	55	under section 7902(a). 15
56	56	‘‘(4) D
57	57	UAL USE RESEARCH OF CONCERN .—The 16
58	58	term ‘dual use research of concern’— 17
59	59	‘‘(A) means life sciences research that, 18
60	60	based on current understanding, can be reason-19
61	61	ably anticipated to provide knowledge, informa-20
62	62	tion, products, or technologies that could— 21
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66	66	‘‘(i) be misapplied to do harm with no 1
67	67	modification or only a minor modification; 2
68	68	and 3
69	69	‘‘(ii) pose a significant threat with po-4
70	70	tential consequences to public health and 5
71	71	safety, agricultural crops and other plants, 6
72	72	animals, materiel, or national security; and 7
73	73	‘‘(B) includes— 8
74	74	‘‘(i) life sciences research that could— 9
75	75	‘‘(I) increase transmissibility of a 10
76	76	pathogen within or between host spe-11
77	77	cies; 12
78	78	‘‘(II) increase the virulence of a 13
79	79	pathogen or convey virulence to a non- 14
80	80	pathogen; 15
81	81	‘‘(III) increase the toxicity of a 16
82	82	known toxin or produce a novel toxin; 17
83	83	‘‘(IV) increase— 18
84	84	‘‘(aa) the stability of a 19
85	85	pathogen or toxin in the environ-20
86	86	ment; or 21
87	87	‘‘(bb) the ability to dissemi-22
88	88	nate a pathogen or toxin; 23
89	89	‘‘(V) alter the host range or tro-24
90	90	pism of a pathogen or toxin; 25
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94	94	‘‘(VI) decrease the ability for a 1
95	95	human or veterinary pathogen or 2
96	96	toxin to be detected using standard 3
97	97	diagnostic or analytical methods; 4
98	98	‘‘(VII) increase resistance of a 5
99	99	pathogen or toxin to clinical or veteri-6
100	100	nary prophylactic or therapeutic inter-7
101	101	ventions; 8
102	102	‘‘(VIII) alter a human or veteri-9
103	103	nary pathogen or toxin to disrupt the 10
104	104	effectiveness of pre-existing immunity, 11
105	105	via immunization or natural infection, 12
106	106	against the pathogen or toxin; 13
107	107	‘‘(IX) enhance the susceptibility 14
108	108	of a host population to a pathogen or 15
109	109	toxin; 16
110	110	‘‘(X) enhance transmissibility of 17
111	111	a pathogen in humans; 18
112	112	‘‘(XI) enhance the virulence of a 19
113	113	pathogen in humans; 20
114	114	‘‘(XII) enhance the immune eva-21
115	115	sion of a pathogen in humans, such as 22
116	116	by modifying the pathogen to disrupt 23
117	117	the effectiveness of pre-existing immu-24
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121	121	nity via immunization or natural in-1
122	122	fection; or 2
123	123	‘‘(XIII) generate, use, reconsti-3
124	124	tute, or transfer an eradicated or ex-4
125	125	tinct high-consequence pathogen; and 5
126	126	‘‘(ii) any other category of life 6
127	127	sciences research that the Board, by ma-7
128	128	jority vote of the members of the Board, 8
129	129	identifies and publishes in the Federal 9
130	130	Register. 10
131	131	‘‘(5) E
132	132	MPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ means 11
133	133	an individual described in section 2105(a) of title 5. 12
134	134	‘‘(6) F
135	135	EDERAL FUNDING .—The term ‘Federal 13
136	136	funding’ means amounts awarded by an agency pur-14
137	137	suant to an intramural or extramural grant, cooper-15
138	138	ative agreement, interagency agreement, contract, or 16
139	139	other instrument. 17
140	140	‘‘(7) G
141	141	AIN OF FUNCTION RESEARCH .—The 18
142	142	term ‘gain of function research’ means a research 19
143	143	experiment that may enhance the transmissibility or 20
144	144	virulence of a high-consequence pathogen. 21
145	145	‘‘(8) H
146	146	IGH-CONSEQUENCE PATHOGEN .—The 22
147	147	term ‘high-consequence pathogen’— 23
148	148	‘‘(A) means a wild-type or synthetic patho-24
149	149	gen that— 25
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153	153	‘‘(i)(I) is likely capable of wide and 1
154	154	uncontrollable spread in human popu-2
155	155	lations; and 3
156	156	‘‘(II) would likely cause moderate to 4
157	157	severe disease or mortality in humans; or 5
158	158	‘‘(ii) is— 6
159	159	‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (B), 7
160	160	influenza A virus; 8
161	161	‘‘(II) classified under subgenus 9
162	162	Sarbecovirus; 10
163	163	‘‘(III) classified under subgenus 11
164	164	Merbecovirus; 12
165	165	‘‘(IV) Variola orthopoxvirus; 13
166	166	‘‘(V) Mpox orthopoxvirus; 14
167	167	‘‘(VI) Nipah henipavirus; 15
168	168	‘‘(VII) Hendra henipavirus; 16
169	169	‘‘(VIII) Ebola orthoebolavirus; 17
170	170	‘‘(IX) Marburg marburgvirus; 18
171	171	‘‘(X) Lassa mammarenavirus; 19
172	172	‘‘(XI) Junin arenavirus; 20
173	173	‘‘(XII) Crimean-Congo hemor-21
174	174	rhagic fever orthonairovirus; 22
175	175	‘‘(XIII) Hantaan 23
176	176	orthohantavirus; 24
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180	180	‘‘(XIV) Sin Nombre 1
181	181	orthohantavirus; 2
182	182	‘‘(XV) Yersinia pestis; 3
183	183	‘‘(XVI) a select agent or toxin, 4
184	184	work with which poses a significant 5
185	185	risk of deliberate misuse; 6
186	186	‘‘(XVII) any other pathogen or 7
187	187	category of pathogen that a majority 8
188	188	of members of the Board— 9
189	189	‘‘(aa) identifies as a high- 10
190	190	consequence pathogen; and 11
191	191	‘‘(bb) publishes in the Fed-12
192	192	eral Register; or 13
193	193	‘‘(XVIII) any synthetic construct 14
194	194	of a pathogen or category of pathogen 15
195	195	described in this clause; and 16
196	196	‘‘(B) does not include a seasonal influenza 17
197	197	virus, unless a seasonal influenza virus has been 18
198	198	manipulated to include genetic sequences from 19
199	199	a pathogen described in subparagraph (A). 20
200	200	‘‘(9) H
201	201	IGH-RISK LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH .— 21
202	202	The term ‘high-risk life sciences research’ means life 22
203	203	sciences research that is— 23
204	204	‘‘(A) dual use research of concern involving 24
205	205	a high-consequence pathogen; or 25
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209	209	‘‘(B) gain of function research. 1
210	210	‘‘(10) L
211	211	IFE SCIENCES RESEARCH .—The term 2
212	212	‘life sciences research’— 3
213	213	‘‘(A) means the study or use of a living or-4
214	214	ganism, a virus, or a product of a living orga-5
215	215	nism or virus; and 6
216	216	‘‘(B) includes each discipline, methodology, 7
217	217	and application of biology, including bio-8
218	218	technology, genomics, proteomics, 9
219	219	bioinformatics, and pharmaceutical and bio-10
220	220	medical research and techniques. 11
221	221	‘‘(11) S
222	222	ELECT AGENT OR TOXIN .—The term 12
223	223	‘select agent or toxin’ means a select agent or toxin 13
224	224	identified under— 14
225	225	‘‘(A) section 73.3(b) of title 42, Code of 15
226	226	Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 16
227	227	enactment of the Risky Research Review Act; 17
228	228	‘‘(B) section 331.3(b) of title 7, Code of 18
229	229	Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 19
230	230	enactment of the Risky Research Review Act; 20
231	231	or 21
232	232	‘‘(C) section 121.3(b) of title 9, Code of 22
233	233	Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 23
234	234	enactment of the Risky Research Review Act. 24
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238	238	‘‘§ 7902. Establishment and membership 1
239	239	‘‘(a) E
240	240	STABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 2
241	241	independent agency within the Executive Branch a board 3
242	242	to be known as the ‘Life Sciences Research Security 4
243	243	Board’ to review proposed Federal funding for life sciences 5
244	244	research in accordance with section 7906. 6
245	245	‘‘(b) A
246	246	PPOINTMENT OFMEMBERS.— 7
247	247	‘‘(1) I
248	248	N GENERAL.—The President shall ap-8
249	249	point, without regard to political affiliation, 9 indi-9
250	250	viduals who are citizens of the United States to 10
251	251	serve as members of the Board for not more than 11
252	252	2 terms of 4 years each, including— 12
253	253	‘‘(A) the Executive Director appointed 13
254	254	under section 7903(a); 14
255	255	‘‘(B) 5 nongovernmental scientists in a life 15
256	256	sciences field; 16
257	257	‘‘(C) 2 nongovernmental national security 17
258	258	experts; and 18
259	259	‘‘(D) 1 nongovernmental biosafety expert. 19
260	260	‘‘(2) P
261	261	ERIOD FOR NOMINATIONS .—The Presi-20
262	262	dent shall make appointments, other than the Exec-21
263	263	utive Director, to the Board not later than 30 days 22
264	264	after the date of enactment of this chapter. 23
265	265	‘‘(3) C
266	266	ONSIDERATIONS OF RECOMMENDA -24
267	267	TIONS.—The President shall make appointments to 25
268	268	the Board after considering individuals rec-26
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272	272	ommended by the chair and ranking member of the 1
273	273	appropriate congressional committees. 2
274	274	‘‘(4) Q
275	275	UALIFICATIONS.—Individuals appointed 3
276	276	to the Board— 4
277	277	‘‘(A) shall— 5
278	278	‘‘(i) be impartial individuals; and 6
279	279	‘‘(ii) be distinguished individuals of 7
280	280	high national professional reputation in 8
281	281	their respective fields who are capable of 9
282	282	exercising the independent and objective 10
283	283	judgment necessary to conduct an impar-11
284	284	tial assessment of the potential risks and 12
285	285	benefits associated with Federal funding of 13
286	286	high-risk life sciences research to public 14
287	287	health and national security; and 15
288	288	‘‘(B) may not be an employee on the date 16
289	289	of the appointment or during the 3-year period 17
290	290	preceding the date of the appointment. 18
291	291	‘‘(5) L
292	292	IMITATIONS.—Not more than 4 concur-19
293	293	rent members of the Board may be an employee, a 20
294	294	subcontractor, a previous employee, or a previous 21
295	295	subcontractor of— 22
296	296	‘‘(A) the Department of Defense; 23
297	297	‘‘(B) the Department of Homeland Secu-24
298	298	rity; 25
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302	302	‘‘(C) the National Institute of Allergy and 1
303	303	Infectious Diseases of the Department of 2
304	304	Health and Human Services; 3
305	305	‘‘(D) the Office of the Director of National 4
306	306	Intelligence; or 5
307	307	‘‘(E) the Department of Energy. 6
308	308	‘‘(6) C
309	309	ONSIDERATION BY THE SENATE .— 7
310	310	‘‘(A) I
311	311	N GENERAL.—Nominations for ap-8
312	312	pointment to the Executive Director of the 9
313	313	Board shall be referred to the Committee on 10
314	314	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 11
315	315	of the Senate for consideration. 12
316	316	‘‘(B) R
317	317	ENOMINATION.—A member of the 13
318	318	Board who is recommended to serve a second 14
319	319	term shall be nominated for appointment to the 15
320	320	Board, and such nomination shall be referred 16
321	321	pursuant to subparagraph (A). 17
322	322	‘‘(7) V
323	323	ACANCY.—Not later than 30 days after 18
324	324	the date on which a vacancy on the Board occurs, 19
325	325	the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as 20
326	326	specified for the original appointment. 21
327	327	‘‘(8) R
328	328	EMOVAL.— 22
329	329	‘‘(A) I
330	330	N GENERAL.—No member of the 23
331	331	Board shall be removed from office, other than 24
332	332	by— 25
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336	336	‘‘(i) impeachment and conviction; 1
337	337	‘‘(ii) the action of the President for 2
338	338	inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in 3
339	339	office, physical disability, mental inca-4
340	340	pacity, or any other condition that sub-5
341	341	stantially impairs the performance of the 6
342	342	member’s duties; or 7
343	343	‘‘(iii) the Board in accordance with 8
344	344	subparagraph (B). 9
345	345	‘‘(B) A
346	346	CTION BY BOARD.—If the Director 10
347	347	of the Office of Government Ethics determines 11
348	348	that participation by a member of the Board in 12
349	349	high-risk life sciences research constitutes a 13
350	350	conflict of interest, the Board shall take steps 14
351	351	to mitigate or manage the conflict, which may 15
352	352	include removal. 16
353	353	‘‘(C) N
354	354	OTICE OF REMOVAL BY PRESI -17
355	355	DENT.— 18
356	356	‘‘(i) I
357	357	N GENERAL.—In the case of the 19
358	358	removal of a member of the Board by the 20
359	359	President as described in subparagraph 21
360	360	(A)(ii), not later than 10 days after the re-22
361	361	moval, the President shall submit to the 23
362	362	chair and ranking member of the appro-24
363	363	priate congressional committees a report 25
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367	367	specifying the facts found and the grounds 1
368	368	for removal. 2
369	369	‘‘(ii) P
370	370	UBLICATION OF REPORT .—The 3
371	371	President shall publish in the Federal Reg-4
372	372	ister each report submitted under clause 5
373	373	(i), except that the President may, if nec-6
374	374	essary to protect the rights of a person 7
375	375	named in the report or to prevent undue 8
376	376	interference with any pending prosecution, 9
377	377	postpone or refrain from publicly pub-10
378	378	lishing any or all of the report until the 11
379	379	completion of such pending cases or pursu-12
380	380	ant to privacy protection requirements in 13
381	381	law. 14
382	382	‘‘(c) M
383	383	ANDATORYCONFLICTS OF INTERESTRE-15
384	384	VIEW.— 16
385	385	‘‘(1) I
386	386	N GENERAL.—The Board, in consultation 17
387	387	with the Director of the Office of Government Eth-18
388	388	ics, shall— 19
389	389	‘‘(A) not later than 180 days after the date 20
390	390	of the enactment of this chapter— 21
391	391	‘‘(i) establish criteria to determine 22
392	392	whether there is a conflict of interest with 23
393	393	respect to any individual appointed to the 24
394	394	Board, taking into consideration require-25
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398	398	ments under Federal law relating to ethics 1
399	399	requirements for employees; and 2
400	400	‘‘(ii) upon an appointment of a mem-3
401	401	ber to the Board under subsection (a)(1) 4
402	402	thereafter, conduct a review of each indi-5
403	403	vidual nominated and appointed to the 6
404	404	Board to ensure the individual does not 7
405	405	have any conflict of interest under the cri-8
406	406	teria established pursuant to clause (i); 9
407	407	and 10
408	408	‘‘(B) periodically thereafter, conduct a re-11
409	409	view of each individual nominated and ap-12
410	410	pointed to the Board to ensure the individual 13
411	411	does not have any conflict of interest under the 14
412	412	criteria established pursuant to subparagraph 15
413	413	(A)(i) during the term of service of the indi-16
414	414	vidual. 17
415	415	‘‘(2) N
416	416	OTIFICATION.— 18
417	417	‘‘(A) I
418	418	N GENERAL.—Not later than 3 days 19
419	419	after the date on which the Director of the Of-20
420	420	fice of Government Ethics becomes aware that 21
421	421	a member of the Board possesses a potential 22
422	422	conflict of interest under the criteria established 23
423	423	pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i), the Director 24
424	424	of the Office of Government Ethics shall notify 25
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428	428	the chair and ranking member of the appro-1
429	429	priate congressional committees of the potential 2
430	430	conflict of interest. 3
431	431	‘‘(B) N
432	432	OTIFICATION BY MEMBER .—Not 4
433	433	later than 30 days after the date on which a 5
434	434	member of the Board becomes aware that an-6
435	435	other member of the Board possesses a poten-7
436	436	tial conflict of interest under the criteria estab-8
437	437	lished pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i), the 9
438	438	member of the Board or the Executive Director 10
439	439	of the Board shall notify the chair and ranking 11
440	440	member of the appropriate congressional com-12
441	441	mittees of the potential conflict of interest. 13
442	442	‘‘(d) S
443	443	ECURITYCLEARANCES.—All members of the 14
444	444	Board shall be granted all the necessary security clear-15
445	445	ances and accesses, including to relevant Presidential and 16
446	446	department or agency special access and compartmented 17
447	447	access programs, in an accelerated manner, subject to the 18
448	448	standard procedures for granting such clearances. All 19
449	449	nominees for appointment to the Board shall qualify for 20
450	450	the necessary security clearances and accesses prior to 21
451	451	being considered for confirmation by the Committee on 22
452	452	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-23
453	453	ate. 24
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457	457	‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION INHIGH-RISKLIFESCIENCES 1
458	458	R
459	459	ESEARCH.— 2
460	460	‘‘(1) D
461	461	ISCLOSURE REQUIRED .—A member of 3
462	462	the Board shall disclose whether the member has 4
463	463	participated in or is currently participating in high- 5
464	464	risk life sciences research. 6
465	465	‘‘(2) C
466	466	ONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 7
467	467	‘‘(A) I
468	468	N GENERAL.—The participation in 8
469	469	high-risk life sciences research by a member of 9
470	470	the Board— 10
471	471	‘‘(i) shall be considered a potential 11
472	472	conflict of interest; and 12
473	473	‘‘(ii) shall be subject to scrutiny by 13
474	474	the Director of the Office of Government 14
475	475	Ethics. 15
476	476	‘‘(B) D
477	477	ETERMINATION.—If the Director of 16
478	478	the Office of Government Ethics determines 17
479	479	that participation by a member of the Board in 18
480	480	high-risk life sciences research constitutes a 19
481	481	conflict of interest, the Board shall take steps 20
482	482	to mitigate or manage the conflict, which may 21
483	483	include— 22
484	484	‘‘(i) the recusal of the affected mem-23
485	485	ber from relevant discussions and deter-24
486	486	minations; and 25
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489	489	•S 854 IS
490	490	‘‘(ii) removal of the affected member 1
491	491	from the Board. 2
492	492	‘‘(f) C
493	493	OMPENSATION OFMEMBERS.— 3
494	494	‘‘(1) I
495	495	N GENERAL.—Subject to such rules as 4
496	496	may be adopted by the Board, without regard to the 5
497	497	provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap-6
498	498	ter 53 of title 5 relating to classification and Gen-7
499	499	eral Schedule pay rates, a member of the Board, 8
500	500	other than the Executive Director, shall be com-9
501	501	pensated at a rate— 10
502	502	‘‘(A) proposed by the Executive Director 11
503	503	and approved by the Board; 12
504	504	‘‘(B) not to exceed the rate of basic pay 13
505	505	for level II of the Executive Schedule; and 14
506	506	‘‘(C) that is commensurate with— 15
507	507	‘‘(i) the time a member of the Board 16
508	508	spends engaged in the performance of du-17
509	509	ties on the Board; and 18
510	510	‘‘(ii) necessary traveling expenses. 19
511	511	‘‘(2) O
512	512	UTSIDE EMPLOYMENT .—Subject to terms 20
513	513	and approval determined by the Director of the Of-21
514	514	fice of Government Ethics, a member of the Board 22
515	515	may maintain outside employment and affiliations 23
516	516	while serving on the Board. 24
517	517	‘‘(g) O
518	518	VERSIGHT.— 25
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521	521	•S 854 IS
522	522	‘‘(1) SENATE.—The Committee on Homeland 1
523	523	Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 2
524	524	shall— 3
525	525	‘‘(A) have continuing legislative oversight 4
526	526	jurisdiction in the Senate with respect to the of-5
527	527	ficial conduct of the Board and agency compli-6
528	528	ance with requirements issued by the Board; 7
529	529	and 8
530	530	‘‘(B) have access to any records provided 9
531	531	to or created by the Board. 10
532	532	‘‘(2) H
533	533	OUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES .—The Com-11
534	534	mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 12
535	535	Representatives shall— 13
536	536	‘‘(A) have continuing legislative oversight 14
537	537	jurisdiction in the House of Representatives 15
538	538	with respect to the official conduct of the Board 16
539	539	and agency compliance with requirements 17
540	540	issued by the Board; and 18
541	541	‘‘(B) have access to any records provided 19
542	542	to or created by the Board. 20
543	543	‘‘(3) D
544	544	UTY TO COOPERATE .—The Board shall 21
545	545	have the duty to cooperate with the exercise of over-22
546	546	sight jurisdiction described in this subsection. 23
547	547	‘‘(4) S
548	548	ECURITY CLEARANCES .—The chair and 24
549	549	ranking member of the appropriate congressional 25
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552	552	•S 854 IS
553	553	committees, and designated committee staff, shall be 1
554	554	granted all security clearances and accesses held by 2
555	555	the Board, including to relevant Presidential and de-3
556	556	partment or agency special access and compart-4
557	557	mented access programs. 5
558	558	‘‘(h) O
559	559	FFICESPACE.— 6
560	560	‘‘(1) I
561	561	N GENERAL.—In selecting office space for 7
562	562	the Board, the Board shall exhaust options for un-8
563	563	used office spaces owned by the Federal Government 9
564	564	as of the date of enactment of this chapter. 10
565	565	‘‘(2) S
566	566	ECURE OFFICE SPACE.— 11
567	567	‘‘(A) R
568	568	EQUESTS.—In order to review or 12
569	569	discuss classified information, the Board shall 13
570	570	request an accommodation from relevant agen-14
571	571	cies to access sensitive compartmented informa-15
572	572	tion facilities on an as-needed basis. 16
573	573	‘‘(B) F
574	574	ULFILMENT.—The head of an agen-17
575	575	cy from which the Board requests an accommo-18
576	576	dation under subparagraph (A) shall accommo-19
577	577	date the request in a timely manner. 20
578	578	‘‘§ 7903. Board personnel 21
579	579	‘‘(a) E
580	580	XECUTIVEDIRECTOR.— 22
581	581	‘‘(1) A
582	582	PPOINTMENT.—Not later than 45 days 23
583	583	after the date of enactment of this chapter, the 24
584	584	President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 25
585	585	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S854.IS S854
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587	587	•S 854 IS
588	588	consent of the Senate, 1 individual who is a citizen 1
589	589	of the United States, without regard to political af-2
590	590	filiation, to the position of Executive Director of the 3
591	591	Board for a term of 4 years. 4
592	592	‘‘(2) Q
593	593	UALIFICATIONS.—The individual ap-5
594	594	pointed as Executive Director under paragraph (1) 6
595	595	shall be a private individual of integrity and impar-7
596	596	tiality who— 8
597	597	‘‘(A) is a distinguished scientist in a life 9
598	598	sciences field; and 10
599	599	‘‘(B) is not, and has not been for the 3- 11
600	600	year period preceding the date of the appoint-12
601	601	ment— 13
602	602	‘‘(i) an employee; or 14
603	603	‘‘(ii) a participant in high-risk life 15
604	604	sciences research supported by Federal 16
605	605	funding. 17
606	606	‘‘(3) S
607	607	ECURITY CLEARANCES .— 18
608	608	‘‘(A) I
609	609	N GENERAL.—A candidate for Exec-19
610	610	utive Director of the Board shall be granted all 20
611	611	security clearances and accesses held by the 21
612	612	Board, including to relevant Presidential and 22
613	613	department or agency special access and com-23
614	614	partmented access programs in an accelerated 24
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617	617	•S 854 IS
618	618	manner, subject to the standard procedures for 1
619	619	granting such clearances. 2
620	620	‘‘(B) Q
621	621	UALIFICATION PRIOR TO APPOINT -3
622	622	MENT.—The President shall ensure that a can-4
623	623	didate for Executive Director of the Board 5
624	624	qualifies for the security clearances and ac-6
625	625	cesses described in subparagraph (A) prior to 7
626	626	appointment. 8
627	627	‘‘(4) F
628	628	UNCTIONS.—The Executive Director of 9
629	629	the Board shall— 10
630	630	‘‘(A) serve as principal liaison to Congress 11
631	631	and agencies; 12
632	632	‘‘(B) serve as chair of the Board; 13
633	633	‘‘(C) be responsible for the administration 14
634	634	and coordination of the responsibilities of the 15
635	635	Board; and 16
636	636	‘‘(D) be responsible for the administration 17
637	637	of all official activities conducted by the Board. 18
638	638	‘‘(5) R
639	639	EMOVAL.—Notwithstanding section 19
640	640	7902(b)(8), the Executive Director shall not be re-20
641	641	moved for reasons other than for cause on the 21
642	642	grounds of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance 22
643	643	in office, physical disability, mental incapacity, or 23
644	644	any other condition that substantially impairs the 24
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647	647	•S 854 IS
648	648	performance of the responsibilities of the Executive 1
649	649	Director or the staff of the Board. 2
650	650	‘‘(6) T
651	651	ERMS.—An Executive Director of the 3
652	652	Board shall not serve more than 2 terms. 4
653	653	‘‘(b) S
654	654	TAFF.— 5
655	655	‘‘(1) I
656	656	N GENERAL.—Without regard to the pro-6
657	657	visions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5 gov-7
658	658	erning appointments in the competitive service, the 8
659	659	Board may appoint not more than 25 additional per-9
660	660	sonnel to enable the Board and the Executive Direc-10
661	661	tor to perform the duties of the Board. 11
662	662	‘‘(2) Q
663	663	UALIFICATIONS.—Each individual ap-12
664	664	pointed to the staff of the Board— 13
665	665	‘‘(A) shall be a citizen of the United States 14
666	666	of integrity and impartiality; 15
667	667	‘‘(B) shall have expertise in the life 16
668	668	sciences field or the national security field; and 17
669	669	‘‘(C) may not be a participant in any fed-18
670	670	erally funded research activity on the date of 19
671	671	the appointment or during the course of service 20
672	672	of the individual on the Board. 21
673	673	‘‘(3) S
674	674	ECURITY CLEARANCES .— 22
675	675	‘‘(A) I
676	676	N GENERAL.—A candidate for ap-23
677	677	pointment to the staff of the Board shall be 24
678	678	granted all security clearances and accesses 25
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681	681	•S 854 IS
682	682	held by the Board, including to relevant Presi-1
683	683	dential and department or agency special access 2
684	684	and compartmented access programs, in an ac-3
685	685	celerated manner, subject to the standard pro-4
686	686	cedures for granting such clearances. 5
687	687	‘‘(B) C
688	688	ONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT .— 6
689	689	‘‘(i) I
690	690	N GENERAL.—The Board may 7
691	691	offer conditional employment to a can-8
692	692	didate for a staff position of the Board 9
693	693	pending the completion of security clear-10
694	694	ance background investigations. During 11
695	695	the pendency of such investigations, the 12
696	696	Board shall ensure that any such employee 13
697	697	does not have access to, or responsibility 14
698	698	involving, classified or otherwise restricted 15
699	699	materials. 16
700	700	‘‘(ii) U
701	701	NQUALIFIED STAFF .—If the 17
702	702	Board determines that an individual hired 18
703	703	on a conditional basis under clause (i) is 19
704	704	not eligible or otherwise does not qualify 20
705	705	for all security clearances necessary to 21
706	706	carry out the responsibilities of the posi-22
707	707	tion for which conditional employment has 23
708	708	been offered, the Board shall immediately 24
709	709	terminate the individual’s employment. 25
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712	712	•S 854 IS
713	713	‘‘(4) SUPPORT FROM AGENCIES .— 1
714	714	‘‘(A) I
715	715	N GENERAL.—The head of each 2
716	716	agency shall designate not less than 1 full-time 3
717	717	employee of the agency as the representative of 4
718	718	the agency to— 5
719	719	‘‘(i) provide technical assistance to the 6
720	720	Board; and 7
721	721	‘‘(ii) support the review process of the 8
722	722	Board with respect to the agency under 9
723	723	section 7906 in a non-voting staff capacity. 10
724	724	‘‘(B) P
725	725	ROHIBITION.—A representative of 11
726	726	an agency designated under subparagraph (A) 12
727	727	and any employee of an agency may not directly 13
728	728	or indirectly influence in any capacity a deter-14
729	729	mination by the Board under section 7906 with 15
730	730	respect to life sciences research funded by the 16
731	731	agency. 17
732	732	‘‘(c) C
733	733	OMPENSATION.—Subject to such rules as may 18
734	734	be adopted by the Board, without regard to the provisions 19
735	735	of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive serv-20
736	736	ice and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 21
737	737	subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classi-22
738	738	fication and General Schedule pay rates, the Executive Di-23
739	739	rector of the Board shall— 24
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742	742	•S 854 IS
743	743	‘‘(1) be compensated at a rate not to exceed the 1
744	744	rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Sched-2
745	745	ule; 3
746	746	‘‘(2) serve the entire tenure as Executive Direc-4
747	747	tor as 1 full-time employee; and 5
748	748	‘‘(3) appoint and fix the compensation of such 6
749	749	other personnel as may be necessary to carry out 7
750	750	this chapter. 8
751	751	‘‘§ 7904. Board mission and functions 9
752	752	‘‘(a) M
753	753	ISSION.—The mission of the Board shall be 10
754	754	to issue an independent determination as to whether an 11
755	755	agency may award Federal funding for proposed high-risk 12
756	756	life sciences research, which shall be binding upon the 13
757	757	agency. 14
758	758	‘‘(b) P
759	759	OWERS.—The Board shall have the authority 15
760	760	to act in a manner to carry out the mission described in 16
761	761	subsection (a), including authority to— 17
762	762	‘‘(1) prescribe regulations to carry out the re-18
763	763	sponsibilities of the Board; 19
764	764	‘‘(2) establish a process for the review of Fed-20
765	765	eral funding for high-risk life sciences research prior 21
766	766	to the award of the Federal funding, which shall be 22
767	767	binding upon an agency, including information des-23
768	768	ignated as classified or otherwise protected from dis-24
769	769	closure; 25
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772	772	•S 854 IS
773	773	‘‘(3) direct an agency to make available to the 1
774	774	Board additional information and records, including 2
775	775	information designated as classified or otherwise 3
776	776	protected from disclosure, that the Board determines 4
777	777	are required to fulfill the functions and responsibil-5
778	778	ities Board under this chapter; 6
779	779	‘‘(4) review any classified research conducted or 7
780	780	funded by any agency to determine whether the re-8
781	781	search would be considered high-risk life sciences re-9
782	782	search; and 10
783	783	‘‘(5) through the promulgation of regulations, 11
784	784	establish processes, policies, and procedures of the 12
785	785	Board for rendering decisions under this chapter. 13
786	786	‘‘(c) I
787	787	NITIALREQUIREMENTS.—The Board shall— 14
788	788	‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of 15
789	789	appointment of the initial members of the Board 16
790	790	under section 7902, publish procedures in the Fed-17
791	791	eral Register establishing the process for the review 18
792	792	by the Board under section 7906; 19
793	793	‘‘(2) prior to the establishment of the proce-20
794	794	dures under paragraph (1), consult with the appro-21
795	795	priate congressional committees and heads of agen-22
796	796	cies for purposes of developing such procedures; and 23
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799	799	•S 854 IS
800	800	‘‘(3) not later than 270 days after the date of 1
801	801	the enactment of this chapter, begin carrying out the 2
802	802	duties described in section 7906. 3
803	803	‘‘(d) R
804	804	ESPONSIVENESS TO CONGRESS.—Notwith-4
805	805	standing any other provision of law, not later than 30 days 5
806	806	after the date on which the Board receives a request for 6
807	807	information from a Member of Congress, the Board shall 7
808	808	respond to the request. 8
809	809	‘‘(e) C
810	810	ONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.—Not less fre-9
811	811	quently than quarterly, the Board shall brief the appro-10
812	812	priate congressional committees on the work of the Board. 11
813	813	‘‘(f) S
814	814	ELECTAGENT ORTOXINUPDATES.— 12
815	815	‘‘(1) I
816	816	N GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days 13
817	817	after the date on which the Board receives a notifi-14
818	818	cation that a select agent or toxin has been added 15
819	819	to a list of agent or toxins under a regulation de-16
820	820	scribed in paragraph (2), the Board shall— 17
821	821	‘‘(A) review the select agent or toxin; 18
822	822	‘‘(B) by majority vote of members of the 19
823	823	Board, determine whether the select agent or 20
824	824	toxin should be added into the definition of ‘se-21
825	825	lect agent or toxin’ under section 7901; and 22
826	826	‘‘(C) publish any addition determined 23
827	827	under subparagraph (B) in the Federal Reg-24
828	828	ister. 25
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831	831	•S 854 IS
832	832	‘‘(2) REGULATIONS DESCRIBED .—A regulation 1
833	833	described in this paragraph is— 2
834	834	‘‘(A) section 73.3(b) of title 42, Code of 3
835	835	Federal Regulations, or any successor regula-4
836	836	tion; 5
837	837	‘‘(B) section 331.3(b) of title 7, Code of 6
838	838	Federal Regulations, or any successor regula-7
839	839	tion; and 8
840	840	‘‘(C) section 121.3(b) of title 9, Code of 9
841	841	Federal Regulations, or any successor regula-10
842	842	tion. 11
843	843	‘‘(g) F
844	844	INALDETERMINATION AUTHORITY.—In any 12
845	845	dispute with an agency or entity relating to the classifica-13
846	846	tion of life sciences research under this chapter, the Board 14
847	847	shall retain final and ultimate authority in— 15
848	848	‘‘(1) determining whether the life sciences re-16
849	849	search is high-risk life sciences research, dual use re-17
850	850	search of concern involving a high-consequence 18
851	851	pathogen or gain of function research; 19
852	852	‘‘(2) interpreting definitions in section 7901; 20
853	853	and 21
854	854	‘‘(3) determining whether a proposed Federal 22
855	855	award for life sciences research is subject to the re-23
856	856	view process of the Board under section 7906(a)(1). 24
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859	859	•S 854 IS
860	860	‘‘§ 7905. Agency procedures; referral to Board 1
861	861	‘‘(a) I
862	862	NGENERAL.— 2
863	863	‘‘(1) P
864	864	ROHIBITION.—The head of an agency 3
865	865	may not award Federal funding for— 4
866	866	‘‘(A) high-risk life sciences research with-5
867	867	out approval by the Board under section 6
868	868	7906(a)(1)(B); or 7
869	869	‘‘(B) life sciences research if the Board, in 8
870	870	accordance with section 7906(a)(2)(A)(ii), sub-9
871	871	mits notification to the agency under section 10
872	872	7906(a)(2)(B)(i) that Board is reviewing the 11
873	873	Federal funding for life sciences research under 12
874	874	section 7906(a) until the date on which the 13
875	875	Board makes a final determination with respect 14
876	876	to the proposed Federal funding. 15
877	877	‘‘(2) E
878	878	FFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 16
879	879	take effect on the date that is 180 days after the 17
880	880	date of enactment of this chapter. 18
881	881	‘‘(b) H
882	882	IGH-RISKATTESTATION; SELECTAGENT OR 19
883	883	T
884	884	OXINDISCLOSURE; CERTIFICATION.— 20
885	885	‘‘(1) I
886	886	N GENERAL.—An entity seeking Federal 21
887	887	funding from an agency for life sciences research 22
888	888	shall, under the penalty of perjury— 23
889	889	‘‘(A) attest whether— 24
890	890	‘‘(i) the life sciences research will con-25
891	891	stitute high-risk life sciences research; and 26
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894	894	•S 854 IS
895	895	‘‘(ii) the entity is performing active 1
896	896	research with a select agent or toxin; and 2
897	897	‘‘(B) if the entity makes a positive attesta-3
898	898	tion under subparagraph (A), disclose the 4
899	899	source of funding for all active research. 5
900	900	‘‘(2) A
901	901	CTIVE RESEARCH WITH SELECT AGENTS 6
902	902	OR TOXINS.— 7
903	903	‘‘(A) I
904	904	N GENERAL.—The head of an agen-8
905	905	cy that receives a disclosure from an entity 9
906	906	under paragraph (1)(B) shall submit to the 10
907	907	Board the disclosure. 11
908	908	‘‘(B) B
909	909	OARD INQUIRIES.—The Board may 12
910	910	contact an entity that submits a disclosure 13
911	911	under paragraph (1)(B) to request additional 14
912	912	information relating to the disclosure. 15
913	913	‘‘(3) A
914	914	GENCY CERTIFICATION.— 16
915	915	‘‘(A) P
916	916	OSITIVE ATTESTATIONS.—The head 17
917	917	of an agency making an award of Federal fund-18
918	918	ing to an entity that makes a positive attesta-19
919	919	tion under paragraph (1)(A)(i) shall— 20
920	920	‘‘(i) submit to the Board the high-risk 21
921	921	life sciences proposal; and 22
922	922	‘‘(ii) using the process established by 23
923	923	the head of the agency under paragraph 24
924	924	(4), certify the validity of the attestation. 25
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927	927	•S 854 IS
928	928	‘‘(B) NEGATIVE ATTESTATIONS .—The 1
929	929	head of an agency making an award of Federal 2
930	930	funding to an entity that makes a negative at-3
931	931	testation under paragraph (1)(A)(i) shall— 4
932	932	‘‘(i) review the attestation; and 5
933	933	‘‘(ii) using the process established by 6
934	934	the head of the agency under paragraph 7
935	935	(4), certify the validity of the attestation. 8
936	936	‘‘(4) P
937	937	ROCESS FOR REVIEW.—The head of each 9
938	938	agency that awards Federal funding for life sciences 10
939	939	research, in consultation with the Board, shall estab-11
940	940	lish and implement a process for identifying pro-12
941	941	posals from entities seeking Federal funding for life 13
942	942	sciences research from the agency that will con-14
943	943	stitute high-risk life sciences research. 15
944	944	‘‘(5) M
945	945	AINTENANCE OF RECORDS .—The head of 16
946	946	each agency shall— 17
947	947	‘‘(A) maintain records of the certification 18
948	948	process described in paragraph (3) for each ap-19
949	949	plication for Federal funding in accordance with 20
950	950	chapter 31 of title 44; and 21
951	951	‘‘(B) make the records maintained under 22
952	952	subparagraph (A) available for audit and review 23
953	953	upon request by the Board. 24
954	954	‘‘(c) N
955	955	OTIFICATION.— 25
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958	958	•S 854 IS
959	959	‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days be-1
960	960	fore the date on which the head of an agency plans 2
961	961	to award Federal funding to an entity for life 3
962	962	sciences research, the head of the agency shall sub-4
963	963	mit to the Board a notification of the proposed Fed-5
964	964	eral funding. 6
965	965	‘‘(2) C
966	966	ONTENTS.—The notification of Federal 7
967	967	funding for life sciences research required under 8
968	968	paragraph (1) shall include the attestation and cer-9
969	969	tification required under subsection (b). 10
970	970	‘‘(3) B
971	971	OARD REQUESTS.— 11
972	972	‘‘(A) I
973	973	N GENERAL.—The Board may re-12
974	974	quest additional information from the head of 13
975	975	an agency relating to a notification submitted 14
976	976	under paragraph (1). 15
977	977	‘‘(B) P
978	978	ROVISION OF INFORMATION .—The 16
979	979	head of an agency from which the Board re-17
980	980	quest additional information under subpara-18
981	981	graph (A) shall provide the information in a 19
982	982	timely manner. 20
983	983	‘‘(d) A
984	984	GENCYPROCEDURES.—Not later than 180 21
985	985	days after the date on which the Board publishes the proc-22
986	986	ess of the Board in the Federal Register pursuant to sec-23
987	987	tion 7904(c), the head of each agency shall publish on the 24
988	988	website of the agency prepayment and preaward proce-25
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991	991	•S 854 IS
992	992	dures of the agency with respect to Federal funding for 1
993	993	life sciences research to— 2
994	994	‘‘(1) guarantee that— 3
995	995	‘‘(A) all high-risk life science research pro-4
996	996	posals are referred to the Board before the 5
997	997	award of Federal funding by the agency; 6
998	998	‘‘(B) no Federal funding for high-risk life 7
999	999	sciences research is awarded by the agency 8
1000	1000	without approval by the Board; and 9
1001	1001	‘‘(C) not later than 30 days before the 10
1002	1002	date on which the head of the agency plans to 11
1003	1003	award the Federal funding, the agency notifies 12
1004	1004	the Board of the proposal for Federal funding; 13
1005	1005	and 14
1006	1006	‘‘(2) otherwise ensure compliance with this 15
1007	1007	chapter. 16
1008	1008	‘‘(e) P
1009	1009	ROVISION OFADDITIONALINFORMATION.— 17
1010	1010	Upon request by the Board, the head of an agency shall 18
1011	1011	provide any information relating to Federal funding 19
1012	1012	awards for life sciences research determined necessary by 20
1013	1013	the Board to provide oversight of the agency. 21
1014	1014	‘‘(f) C
1015	1015	HANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES DURINGRE-22
1016	1016	SEARCH.—If, during the course of life sciences research 23
1017	1017	in progress performed by an entity supported by Federal 24
1018	1018	funding from an agency, circumstances arise such that the 25
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1021	1021	•S 854 IS
1022	1022	life sciences research in progress may constitute high-risk 1
1023	1023	life sciences research in contravention to the attestation 2
1024	1024	of the entity under subsection (b)(1)(A)(i)— 3
1025	1025	‘‘(1) the entity shall— 4
1026	1026	‘‘(A) not later than 24 hours after the 5
1027	1027	identification of the change in circumstance, 6
1028	1028	pause the life sciences research in progress; and 7
1029	1029	‘‘(B) not later than 5 days after the date 8
1030	1030	of the identification of the change in cir-9
1031	1031	cumstance, submit to the head of the agency a 10
1032	1032	written notification through an electronic or 11
1033	1033	nonelectronic communication method that— 12
1034	1034	‘‘(i) notifies the head of the agency of 13
1035	1035	the possibility that the life sciences re-14
1036	1036	search in progress may constitute high-risk 15
1037	1037	life sciences research; and 16
1038	1038	‘‘(ii) includes a detailed description of 17
1039	1039	each change in circumstance that may 18
1040	1040	transform the life sciences research in 19
1041	1041	progress into high-risk life sciences re-20
1042	1042	search; and 21
1043	1043	‘‘(2) the head of the agency shall— 22
1044	1044	‘‘(A) using the process of the agency estab-23
1045	1045	lished under subsection (b)(4), determine 24
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1048	1048	•S 854 IS
1049	1049	whether the life sciences research in progress 1
1050	1050	constitutes high-risk life sciences research; 2
1051	1051	‘‘(B) if the head of the agency makes a 3
1052	1052	negative determination under subparagraph 4
1053	1053	(A), inform the entity that the entity may re-5
1054	1054	sume the life sciences research in progress; and 6
1055	1055	‘‘(C) if the head of the agency makes a 7
1056	1056	positive determination under subparagraph (A), 8
1057	1057	immediately submit to the Board a notification 9
1058	1058	of the Federal funding of high-risk life sciences 10
1059	1059	research in progress for review under section 11
1060	1060	7906(a)(1). 12
1061	1061	‘‘(g) E
1062	1062	NFORCEMENT.— 13
1063	1063	‘‘(1) A
1064	1064	PPLICANT REQUIREMENTS .—If an entity 14
1065	1065	seeking or receiving Federal funding from an agency 15
1066	1066	knowingly fails to make a true attestation under 16
1067	1067	subsection (b)(1) or promptly notify the agency of a 17
1068	1068	change in circumstance in accordance with sub-18
1069	1069	section (f)(1), the head of the agency shall refer the 19
1070	1070	entity to the appropriate entity for suspension and 20
1071	1071	debarment proceedings relating to the receipt of 21
1072	1072	Federal funding. 22
1073	1073	‘‘(2) R
1074	1074	EFERRAL TO INSPECTOR GENERAL .—The 23
1075	1075	Board shall refer any employee of an agency respon-24
1076	1076	sible for overseeing and reviewing research proposals 25
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1079	1079	•S 854 IS
1080	1080	relating to Federal funding that knowingly fails to 1
1081	1081	comply with subsection (b)(3) to the inspector gen-2
1082	1082	eral of the agency. 3
1083	1083	‘‘(3) E
1084	1084	MPLOYEE DISCIPLINE.— 4
1085	1085	‘‘(A) I
1086	1086	N GENERAL.—The head of an agen-5
1087	1087	cy employing an employee who knowingly vio-6
1088	1088	lates any provision of subsection (b)(3) (or, in 7
1089	1089	the case of the head of an agency who violates 8
1090	1090	any provision of subsection (b)(3), the Presi-9
1091	1091	dent) shall impose on that employee— 10
1092	1092	‘‘(i) disciplinary action in accordance 11
1093	1093	with chapter 75 of title 5 or an equivalent 12
1094	1094	procedure of the agency; and 13
1095	1095	‘‘(ii) permanent revocation of any ap-14
1096	1096	plicable security clearance held by the em-15
1097	1097	ployee. 16
1098	1098	‘‘(B) C
1099	1099	ONTRACTOR PENALTY .—In the case 17
1100	1100	of contractor working under a contract with an 18
1101	1101	agency who knowingly violates subsection 19
1102	1102	(b)(1), the head of the agency shall refer the 20
1103	1103	contractor to the appropriate entity for suspen-21
1104	1104	sion and debarment proceedings relating to the 22
1105	1105	receipt of Federal funding. 23
1106	1106	‘‘(C) E
1107	1107	MPLOYEE DISCIPLINE REPORTS .— 24
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1110	1110	•S 854 IS
1111	1111	‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1
1112	1112	360 days after the date of enactment of 2
1113	1113	this Act, and not less frequently than once 3
1114	1114	every 90 days thereafter, the head of each 4
1115	1115	agency shall submit to the Board and the 5
1116	1116	appropriate congressional committees a re-6
1117	1117	port that discloses, for the period covered 7
1118	1118	by the report, each violation by an em-8
1119	1119	ployee of the agency of subsection (b)(3). 9
1120	1120	‘‘(ii) C
1121	1121	ONTENTS.—Each report sub-10
1122	1122	mitted under clause (i) shall include, with 11
1123	1123	respect to a violation described in that 12
1124	1124	clause— 13
1125	1125	‘‘(I) the name and professional 14
1126	1126	title of each employee engaged in the 15
1127	1127	violation; 16
1128	1128	‘‘(II) a detailed explanation of 17
1129	1129	the nature of the violation; and 18
1130	1130	‘‘(III) the date of the violation. 19
1131	1131	‘‘(iii) P
1132	1132	UBLICATION.—Not later than 20
1133	1133	5 days after the date on which the Board 21
1134	1134	receives a report under clause (i), the 22
1135	1135	Board shall publish on a publicly accessible 23
1136	1136	and searchable website the amount of vio-24
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1139	1139	•S 854 IS
1140	1140	lations that have been committed under 1
1141	1141	clause (i). 2
1142	1142	‘‘(h) S
1143	1143	UBAWARD AND SUBCONTRACTOR DISCLO-3
1144	1144	SURE.— 4
1145	1145	‘‘(1) I
1146	1146	N GENERAL.—During the course of high- 5
1147	1147	risk life sciences research in progress performed by 6
1148	1148	an entity supported by Federal funding from an 7
1149	1149	agency, the entity shall— 8
1150	1150	‘‘(A) continuously disclose to the head of 9
1151	1151	the agency any subcontracts or subawards made 10
1152	1152	or planned to be made with the Federal fund-11
1153	1153	ing; and 12
1154	1154	‘‘(B) obtain consent from the head of the 13
1155	1155	agency before awarding a subcontract or award 14
1156	1156	described in subparagraph (A). 15
1157	1157	‘‘(2) A
1158	1158	GENCY SUBMISSION.—Not later than 30 16
1159	1159	days after the date on which the head of an agency 17
1160	1160	receives a disclosure under paragraph (1), the head 18
1161	1161	of the agency shall submit to the Board the disclo-19
1162	1162	sure. 20
1163	1163	‘‘(3) B
1164	1164	OARD INQUIRIES.— 21
1165	1165	‘‘(A) I
1166	1166	N GENERAL.—The Board may con-22
1167	1167	tact an entity that submits a disclosure under 23
1168	1168	paragraph (1) to request additional information 24
1169	1169	relating to the disclosure. 25
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1172	1172	•S 854 IS
1173	1173	‘‘(B) ACCESS TO REPORTS .—During the 1
1174	1174	course of high-risk life sciences research in 2
1175	1175	progress performed by an entity supported by 3
1176	1176	Federal funding from an agency, upon request, 4
1177	1177	the Board shall have access to every annual re-5
1178	1178	port of— 6
1179	1179	‘‘(i) the agency; 7
1180	1180	‘‘(ii) the entity performing the high- 8
1181	1181	risk life sciences research; and 9
1182	1182	‘‘(iii) any subcontractor or sub-10
1183	1183	awardee of an entity described in clause 11
1184	1184	(ii). 12
1185	1185	‘‘§ 7906. Board review 13
1186	1186	‘‘(a) I
1187	1187	NGENERAL.— 14
1188	1188	‘‘(1) H
1189	1189	IGH-RISK LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH .— 15
1190	1190	Not later than 120 days after the date on which the 16
1191	1191	Board receives a notification from an agency under 17
1192	1192	section 7905(c) relating to proposed Federal funding 18
1193	1193	for life sciences research that constitutes high-risk 19
1194	1194	life sciences research or the Board receives a notifi-20
1195	1195	cation from an agency under section 7905(f)(2)(C) 21
1196	1196	relating to Federal funding of research in progress 22
1197	1197	that constitutes high-risk life sciences research, the 23
1198	1198	Board shall— 24
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1201	1201	•S 854 IS
1202	1202	‘‘(A) review the proposed Federal funding 1
1203	1203	or high-risk life sciences research in progress; 2
1204	1204	‘‘(B) by a majority vote, determine wheth-3
1205	1205	er the agency may award the proposed Federal 4
1206	1206	funding or continue to award the Federal fund-5
1207	1207	ing for the high-risk life sciences research in 6
1208	1208	progress; and 7
1209	1209	‘‘(C) by a majority vote, determine with re-8
1210	1210	spect to the high-risk life sciences research 9
1211	1211	funded by the proposed Federal funding or 10
1212	1212	Federal funding for high-risk life sciences re-11
1213	1213	search in progress— 12
1214	1214	‘‘(i) the minimum required biosafety 13
1215	1215	containment level, engineering controls, 14
1216	1216	and operational controls; 15
1217	1217	‘‘(ii) the minimum required biosecu-16
1218	1218	rity engineering controls and operational 17
1219	1219	controls; and 18
1220	1220	‘‘(iii) the minimum required personnel 19
1221	1221	assurance controls. 20
1222	1222	‘‘(2) P
1223	1223	ROPOSED LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH .— 21
1224	1224	‘‘(A) I
1225	1225	N GENERAL.—With respect to pro-22
1226	1226	posed Federal funding by an agency for life 23
1227	1227	sciences research, the Board may— 24
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1230	1230	•S 854 IS
1231	1231	‘‘(i) review the proposed Federal fund-1
1232	1232	ing; and 2
1233	1233	‘‘(ii) determine whether the Board 3
1234	1234	should review the proposed Federal fund-4
1235	1235	ing in accordance with paragraph (1). 5
1236	1236	‘‘(B) N
1237	1237	OTIFICATION.—If the Board makes 6
1238	1238	a positive determination under subparagraph 7
1239	1239	(A)(ii) with respect to proposed Federal funding 8
1240	1240	by an agency— 9
1241	1241	‘‘(i) the Board shall notify the head of 10
1242	1242	the agency; and 11
1243	1243	‘‘(ii) the head of the agency may not 12
1244	1244	award the proposed Federal funding until 13
1245	1245	the date on which the Board makes a final 14
1246	1246	determination with respect to the proposed 15
1247	1247	Federal funding under paragraph (1). 16
1248	1248	‘‘(3) P
1249	1249	AST FUNDING.—With respect to life 17
1250	1250	sciences research performed with Federal funding 18
1251	1251	awarded by an agency before the date of enactment 19
1252	1252	of this chapter, the Board may review and audit the 20
1253	1253	research in order to assess the compliance of the 21
1254	1254	agency with the provisions of this chapter. 22
1255	1255	‘‘(4) O
1256	1256	NGOING FUNDING FOR LIFE SCIENCES 23
1257	1257	RESEARCH.—With respect to Federal funding for 24
1258	1258	life sciences research in progress awarded by an 25
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1261	1261	•S 854 IS
1262	1262	agency before the date of enactment of this Act that 1
1263	1263	the Board determines may constitute high-risk life 2
1264	1264	sciences research, the Board may— 3
1265	1265	‘‘(A) direct the agency to temporarily sus-4
1266	1266	pend the Federal funding; 5
1267	1267	‘‘(B) require the agency to provide com-6
1268	1268	plete information on the Federal funding in 7
1269	1269	order for the Board to complete a review of the 8
1270	1270	life sciences research under paragraph (1); and 9
1271	1271	‘‘(C) by a majority vote of members of the 10
1272	1272	Board, determine whether the agency may con-11
1273	1273	tinue the Federal funding. 12
1274	1274	‘‘(b) C
1275	1275	ONSIDERATIONS.— 13
1276	1276	‘‘(1) I
1277	1277	N GENERAL.—In making a determination 14
1278	1278	under subsection (a)(1)(B), the Board shall con-15
1279	1279	sider, with respect to the high-risk life sciences re-16
1280	1280	search that will be conducted with the proposed Fed-17
1281	1281	eral funding or high-risk life sciences research in 18
1282	1282	progress— 19
1283	1283	‘‘(A) whether the research poses a threat 20
1284	1284	to public health; 21
1285	1285	‘‘(B) whether the research poses a threat 22
1286	1286	to public safety; 23
1287	1287	‘‘(C) whether the research has a high prob-24
1288	1288	ability of producing benefits for public health; 25
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1291	1291	•S 854 IS
1292	1292	‘‘(D) whether the research poses a threat 1
1293	1293	to large populations of animals and plants; 2
1294	1294	‘‘(E) whether the research poses a threat 3
1295	1295	to national security; 4
1296	1296	‘‘(F) whether the research is proposed to 5
1297	1297	be conducted in whole or at least in part in a 6
1298	1298	foreign country; 7
1299	1299	‘‘(G) the reasonably anticipated material 8
1300	1300	risks of the research; 9
1301	1301	‘‘(H) the reasonably anticipated informa-10
1302	1302	tion risks of the research; 11
1303	1303	‘‘(I) the reasonably anticipated benefits of 12
1304	1304	the research; 13
1305	1305	‘‘(J) whether the reasonably anticipated 14
1306	1306	benefits of the research outweigh the reasonably 15
1307	1307	anticipated risks; and 16
1308	1308	‘‘(K) whether the benefits of the research 17
1309	1309	could be obtained through procedures posing 18
1310	1310	lower risks. 19
1311	1311	‘‘(2) W
1312	1312	EIGHT OF FACTORS .—The presence or 20
1313	1313	absence of any factor under paragraph (1) shall not 21
1314	1314	be decisive with respect to the determination of the 22
1315	1315	Board under subsection (a)(1)(B). 23
1316	1316	‘‘(c) N
1317	1317	OTICEFOLLOWINGREVIEW ANDDETERMINA-24
1318	1318	TION.— 25
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1321	1321	•S 854 IS
1322	1322	‘‘(1) AGENCY NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 5 1
1323	1323	days after the date on which the Board makes a de-2
1324	1324	termination under subsection (a)(1)(B) with respect 3
1325	1325	to Federal funding by an agency, the Executive Di-4
1326	1326	rector of the Board shall notify the head of the 5
1327	1327	agency of the determination. 6
1328	1328	‘‘(2) B
1329	1329	OARD CONSULTATION .— 7
1330	1330	‘‘(A) I
1331	1331	N GENERAL.—Not later than 10 8
1332	1332	days after receiving a notification from the 9
1333	1333	Board under paragraph (1), the head of an 10
1334	1334	agency may request a meeting with the Board 11
1335	1335	to discuss the determination of the Board. 12
1336	1336	‘‘(B) B
1337	1337	OARD RESPONSE.—The Board shall 13
1338	1338	schedule a meeting requested by the head of an 14
1339	1339	agency under subparagraph (A) in a timely 15
1340	1340	manner. 16
1341	1341	‘‘(3) N
1342	1342	OTIFICATION TO APPROPRIATE CONGRES -17
1343	1343	SIONAL COMMITTEES.—If the Board determines that 18
1344	1344	the head of an agency may not proceed with an 19
1345	1345	award of proposed Federal funding under this sec-20
1346	1346	tion, the Executive Director of the Board shall no-21
1347	1347	tify the appropriate congressional committees when 22
1348	1348	the Board notifies the head of the agency. 23
1349	1349	‘‘(d) R
1350	1350	EQUEST FOREXPEDITEDREVIEW.— 24
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1353	1353	•S 854 IS
1354	1354	‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 1
1355	1355	‘emergency research’ means high-risk life sciences 2
1356	1356	research submitted to the Board that relates to a 3
1357	1357	public health emergency or addresses a specific na-4
1358	1358	tional security concern. 5
1359	1359	‘‘(2) R
1360	1360	EQUEST; NOTIFICATION.—The head of 6
1361	1361	an agency seeking expedited review from the Board 7
1362	1362	to award Federal funding for emergency research 8
1363	1363	shall— 9
1364	1364	‘‘(A) include a request for expedited review 10
1365	1365	in the notification required under section 11
1366	1366	7905(c); and 12
1367	1367	‘‘(B) on the date of the notification de-13
1368	1368	scribed in subparagraph (A), submit to the 14
1369	1369	Board and the appropriate congressional com-15
1370	1370	mittees a notification that explains why the spe-16
1371	1371	cific public health emergency or national secu-17
1372	1372	rity concern necessitates expedited review under 18
1373	1373	this subsection. 19
1374	1374	‘‘(3) I
1375	1375	NTERNAL PROCESS.—The Board shall es-20
1376	1376	tablish an internal process under which the Board 21
1377	1377	will give proposed emergency research expedited re-22
1378	1378	view under this section. 23
1379	1379	‘‘(4) T
1380	1380	EMPORARY EMERGENCY RESEARCH .—If 24
1381	1381	the Board does not notify the head of an agency 25
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1384	1384	•S 854 IS
1385	1385	with a determination under subsection (a)(1)(B) 1
1386	1386	with respect to proposed emergency research by the 2
1387	1387	15 days after the date on which the head of the 3
1388	1388	agency submits a request under paragraph (2)(A), 4
1389	1389	the head of the agency may award Federal funding 5
1390	1390	for the emergency research on a temporary basis. 6
1391	1391	‘‘(e) S
1392	1392	CIENTIFICEXPERTPANELS.— 7
1393	1393	‘‘(1) I
1394	1394	N GENERAL.—The Board may establish a 8
1395	1395	scientific panel of nongovernmental experts to advise 9
1396	1396	the Board in the review by the Board of life sciences 10
1397	1397	research pursuant to this chapter. 11
1398	1398	‘‘(2) P
1399	1399	OLICIES AND PROCEDURES .—The Board 12
1400	1400	shall establish and publish in the Federal Register 13
1401	1401	procedures and policies relating to conflicts of inter-14
1402	1402	est, recusal, expertise, and related matters before 15
1403	1403	the establishment of the panel described in para-16
1404	1404	graph (1). 17
1405	1405	‘‘(3) P
1406	1406	ROHIBITION.—An individual serving on 18
1407	1407	the panel established under paragraph (1) may not 19
1408	1408	advise the Board on any matter with respect to 20
1409	1409	which the individuals has an identified or perceived 21
1410	1410	conflict of interest. 22
1411	1411	‘‘(4) R
1412	1412	EPORT.— 23
1413	1413	‘‘(A) I
1414	1414	N GENERAL.—Not later than 30 24
1415	1415	days after the date on which the Board estab-25
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1418	1418	•S 854 IS
1419	1419	lishes a panel established under paragraph (1), 1
1420	1420	the Board shall submit to the appropriate con-2
1421	1421	gressional committees a report that includes the 3
1422	1422	names, qualifications, and any identified or per-4
1423	1423	ceived conflicts of interest of individuals who 5
1424	1424	serve on the panel. 6
1425	1425	‘‘(B) P
1426	1426	ANEL CHANGES.—Upon a change of 7
1427	1427	personnel on the panel established under para-8
1428	1428	graph (1), the Board shall immediately submit 9
1429	1429	to the appropriate congressional committees an 10
1430	1430	update to the report required under subpara-11
1431	1431	graph (A). 12
1432	1432	‘‘(f) R
1433	1433	EPORT.— 13
1434	1434	‘‘(1) I
1435	1435	N GENERAL.—Not later than 360 days 14
1436	1436	after the date on which the Board establishes the 15
1437	1437	panel described in subsection (e)(1), and annually 16
1438	1438	thereafter, the Board shall submit to the appropriate 17
1439	1439	congressional committees a report, which shall in-18
1440	1440	clude a classified annex, summarizing, with respect 19
1441	1441	to each determination by the Board under this sec-20
1442	1442	tion relating to high-risk life sciences research— 21
1443	1443	‘‘(A) the findings of the Board; 22
1444	1444	‘‘(B) the determination of the Board; 23
1445	1445	‘‘(C) the name and location of the entity 24
1446	1446	proposing the life sciences research; 25
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1449	1449	•S 854 IS
1450	1450	‘‘(D) the name and location of any recipi-1
1451	1451	ent of a subaward or subcontractor of an entity 2
1452	1452	proposing life sciences research and the nature 3
1453	1453	of the participation of such a recipient or sub-4
1454	1454	contractor; and 5
1455	1455	‘‘(E) an account of significant challenges 6
1456	1456	or problems, including procedural or substantive 7
1457	1457	challenges or problems, that arise during the 8
1458	1458	course of the work of the Board, including the 9
1459	1459	views of any member of the Board who wishes 10
1460	1460	to have those views included in the report. 11
1461	1461	‘‘(2) P
1462	1462	UBLIC REPORT.—On the date on which 12
1463	1463	the Board submits a report required under para-13
1464	1464	graph (1), the Board shall make the report, other 14
1465	1465	than the classified annex included in the report, 15
1466	1466	available on a website. 16
1467	1467	‘‘(g) E
1468	1468	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall take ef-17
1469	1469	fect on the date that is 270 days after the date of enact-18
1470	1470	ment of this chapter. 19
1471	1471	‘‘§ 7907. GAO Audits 20
1472	1472	‘‘The Comptroller General of the United States shall 21
1473	1473	periodically audit the Board. 22
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1476	1476	•S 854 IS
1477	1477	‘‘§ 7908. Funding 1
1478	1478	‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Board 2
1479	1479	to carry out this chapter $30,000,000 for each of fiscal 3
1480	1480	years 2026 through 2035.’’. 4
1481	1481	(b) C
1482	1482	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 5
1483	1483	for subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is amended 6
1484	1484	by adding at the end the following: 7
1485	1485	‘‘79. Life Sciences Research Security Board .......................................... 7901’’.
1486	1486	(c) FINANCIALDISCLOSUREREPORTS OFBOARD 8
1487	1487	M
1488	1488	EMBERS.—Section 13103(f) of title 5, United States 9
1489	1489	Code, is amended— 10
1490	1490	(1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 11
1491	1491	end; 12
1492	1492	(2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at 13
1493	1493	the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14
1494	1494	(3) by adding at the end the following: 15
1495	1495	‘‘(13) a member of the Life Sciences Research 16
1496	1496	Security Board established under section 7902 of 17
1497	1497	title 31.’’. 18
1498	1498	Æ
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