I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1288 

To amend the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 to impose sanctions against governments of foreign 

states that engage in an act or acts of gross negligence with respect 

to state owned, operated, or directed chemical or biological programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. FEENSTRA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control 

and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 to impose sanctions against governments of foreign states that engage 

in an act or acts of gross negligence with respect to 

state owned, operated, or directed chemical or biological 

programs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Countries Ac3 countable for Negligent Chemical and Biological Programs 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

6 It shall be the policy of the United States to impose 

7 sanctions against governments of foreign states, and take 

8 other measures if the governments of such foreign states 

9 that engage in an act or acts of gross negligence with re10 spect to State-owned, operated, or directed chemical or bi11 ological programs. 

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL 

13 WEAPONS CONTROL AND WARFARE ELIMI14 NATION ACT OF 1991. 

15 (a) PURPOSES AND DEFINITIONS.—Section 502 of 

16 the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and War17 fare Elimination Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5601) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in the section heading, by adding at the end 

20 before the period the following: ‘‘AND DEFINI21 TIONS’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘The purposes’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes’’; 

24 (3) in paragraph (1)— 

25 (A) by striking ‘‘or use’’ and insert ‘‘use’’; 

26 and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, or engage in an act or 

2 acts of gross negligence with respect to a chem3 ical or biological program owned, controlled, or 

4 directed by, or subject to the jurisdiction of the 

5 government of a foreign state’’ after ‘‘nation6 als’’; and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

9 ‘‘(1) GROSS NEGLIGENCE.—The term ‘gross 

10 negligence’, with respect to an act or acts of a gov11 ernment of a foreign state, includes the government 

12 knew, or should have known, the act or acts would 

13 result in injury or damages to another foreign state 

14 or other such foreign states. 

15 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN STATE.—The term ‘foreign 

16 state’— 

17 ‘‘(A)(i) has the meaning given that term in 

18 subsection (a) of section 1603 of title 28, 

19 United States Code; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) includes an ‘agency or instrumentality 

21 of a foreign state’ as that term is defined in 

22 subsection (b) of such section; and 

23 ‘‘(B) includes an entity that is— 

24 ‘‘(i)(I) directly or indirectly owned, 

25 controlled, or beneficially owned by, or in 


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1 an official or unofficial capacity acting as 

2 an agent of or on behalf of, the govern3 ment of a foreign state; or 

4 ‘‘(II) received significant material 

5 support from the government of a foreign 

6 state; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) engaged in providing commercial 

8 services, shipping, manufacturing, pro9 ducing, or exporting.’’. 

10 (b) DETERMINATIONS REGARDING USE OF CHEM11 ICAL OR BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.—Section 506 of the 

12 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare 

13 Elimination Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5604) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

16 paragraph (4); 

17 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL DETERMINATION BY THE

20 PRESIDENT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) WHEN DETERMINATION REQUIRED; 

22 NATURE OF DETERMINATION.—Whenever cred23 ible information becomes available to the execu24 tive branch indicating a substantial possibility 

25 that, on or after January 1, 2020, the governVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1288.IH H1288

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1 ment of a foreign country has engaged in an 

2 act or acts of gross negligence with respect to 

3 a chemical or biological program owned, con4 trolled, or directed by, or subject to the jurisdic5 tion of the government of a foreign state, the 

6 President shall, within 60 days after the receipt 

7 of such information by the executive branch, de8 termine whether that government, on or after 

9 such date, has engaged in an act or acts of 

10 gross negligence with respect to a chemical or 

11 biological program owned, controlled, or di12 rected by, or subject to the jurisdiction of the 

13 government of a foreign state. Section 507 ap14 plies if the President determines that that gov15 ernment has so engaged in such act or acts of 

16 gross negligence. 

17 ‘‘(B) MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In 

18 making the determination under subparagraph 

19 (A), the President shall consider the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) All physical and circumstantial 

21 evidence available bearing on the possibility 

22 that the government in question engaged 

23 in an act or acts of gross negligence with 

24 respect to a chemical or biological program 

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1 ject to the jurisdiction of the government 

2 of a foreign state. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Whether evidence exists that 

4 such program or programs have civilian 

5 and military purposes or applications. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Whether the government in 

7 question attempted to conceal or otherwise 

8 withhold information from other govern9 ments or international organizations re10 garding an act or acts of gross negligence. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Whether, and to what extent, 

12 the government in question is compliant 

13 with its obligations under the Biological 

14 and Toxin Weapons Convention or Conven15 tion on the Prohibition of the Develop16 ment, Production, Stockpiling and Use of 

17 Chemical Weapons and on their Destruc18 tion, as applicable. 

19 ‘‘(v) Whether, and to what extent, the 

20 government in question is providing or oth21 erwise voluntarily disclosing substantive in22 formation to relevant international organi23 zations.’’; and 

24 (C) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated)— 


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1 (i) in the first sentence, by inserting 

2 ‘‘or (3)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

3 (ii) in the second sentence, by insert4 ing ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ after ‘‘deter5 mination’’; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: ‘‘If the determination under para8 graph (3) is that a foreign government had 

9 engaged in an act or acts of gross neg10 ligence with respect to a chemical or bio11 logical program owned, controlled, or di12 rected by, or subject to the jurisdiction of 

13 the government of a foreign state, the re14 port shall specify the sanctions to be im15 posed pursuant to section 507A.’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘whether a particular 

19 foreign government’’ and inserting the fol20 lowing: ‘‘whether— 

21 ‘‘(A) a particular foreign government’’; 

22 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

23 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(B) a particular foreign government, on 

2 or after January 1, 2020, has engaged in an 

3 act of acts of gross negligence with respect to 

4 a chemical or biological program owned, con5 trolled, or directed by, or subject to the jurisdic6 tion of the government of a foreign state.’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) in the first sentence— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘whether the spec10 ified government’’ and inserting the 

11 following: ‘‘whether— 

12 ‘‘(A) the specified government’’; 

13 (II) by striking the period at the 

14 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

15 (III) by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(B) the specified government, on or after 

18 January 1, 2020, has engaged in an act or acts 

19 of gross negligence with respect to a chemical 

20 or biological program owned, controlled, or di21 rected by, or subject to the jurisdiction of the 

22 government of a foreign state.’’; and 

23 (ii) in the second sentence— 


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1 (I) by inserting ‘‘or (3)(B), as 

2 applicable’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)(2)’’; 

3 and 

4 (II) by moving the margin of the 

5 second sentence so it has the same 

6 level of indentation as margin of the 

7 matter preceding subparagraph (A) of 

8 the first sentence. 

9 (c) SANCTIONS AGAINST FOREIGN STATES WITH RE10 SPECT TO CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL PROGRAMS.—The 

11 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare 

12 Elimination Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is 

13 amended by inserting after section 507 the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 507A. SANCTIONS AGAINST FOREIGN STATES WITH 

15 RESPECT TO CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL 

16 PROGRAMS. 

17 ‘‘(a) INITIAL SANCTIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the President makes a 

19 determination pursuant to section 506(a)(3) with re20 spect to the government of a foreign state, the Presi21 dent shall, within 30 days of making such deter22 mination, impose the sanctions described in para23 graph (2) with respect to the foreign state. 

24 ‘‘(2) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions 

25 described in this paragraph are the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The United States Government shall 

2 suspend all scientific cooperative programs and 

3 efforts with the government of the foreign state. 

4 ‘‘(B) The President shall prohibit the ex5 port to the foreign state of any goods, services 

6 or technology under Category 1 and Category 2 

7 of the Commerce Control List. 

8 ‘‘(C) The United States Government may 

9 not procure, or enter into any contract for the 

10 procurement of, any goods or services from any 

11 person operating in the chemical or biological 

12 sectors of the foreign state. 

13 ‘‘(b) INTERMEDIATE APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 120 

15 days after making a determination pursuant to sec16 tion 506(a)(3) with respect to a government of a for17 eign state, the President shall submit to the appro18 priate congressional committees a determination as 

19 to whether— 

20 ‘‘(A) such government has adequately ad21 dressed an act or acts of gross negligence with 

22 respect to a chemical or biological program 

23 owned, controlled, or directed by, or subject to 

24 the jurisdiction of the government of a foreign 

25 state; 


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1 ‘‘(B) such government has developed or is 

2 developing necessary measures to prevent any 

3 future act or acts of gross negligence; 

4 ‘‘(C) such government is providing or oth5 erwise voluntarily disclosing substantive infor6 mation to the United States and relevant inter7 national organizations; and 

8 ‘‘(D) such government is compliant with 

9 its obligations under the Biological and Toxin 

10 Weapons Convention or the Convention on the 

11 Prohibition of the Development, Production, 

12 Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and 

13 on their Destruction, as applicable. 

14 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—If the 

15 President is unable to certify that a government of 

16 a foreign state has taken the actions described in 

17 subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph 

18 (1), the President shall impose 2 or more of the 

19 sanctions described in paragraph (3) with respect to 

20 the government of the foreign state. 

21 ‘‘(3) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions 

22 described in this paragraph are the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The United States Government shall 

24 terminate assistance to the government of the 

25 foreign state under the Foreign Assistance Act 


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1 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), except for ur2 gent humanitarian assistance and food or other 

3 agricultural commodities or products. 

4 ‘‘(B) No sales of any defense articles, de5 fense services, or design and construction serv6 ices under the Arms Export Control Act (22 

7 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) may be made to the gov8 ernment of the foreign state. 

9 ‘‘(C) No licenses for export of any item on 

10 the United States Munitions List that include 

11 the government of the foreign state as a party 

12 to the license may be granted. 

13 ‘‘(D) No exports of any goods or tech14 nologies controlled for national security reasons 

15 under the Export Administration Regulations 

16 may be made to the government of the foreign 

17 state, except that such prohibition shall not 

18 apply to any transaction subject to the report19 ing requirements of title V of the National Se20 curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 413 et seq.; re21 lating to congressional oversight of intelligence 

22 activities). 

23 ‘‘(E) The President may order the United 

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1 mission or authority to export any goods or 

2 technology to the government of the foreign 

3 state under— 

4 ‘‘(i) the Export Control Reform Act of 

5 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.); 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Arms Export Control Act (22 

7 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(iii) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

9 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or 

10 ‘‘(iv) any other statute that requires 

11 the prior review and approval of the 

12 United States Government as a condition 

13 for the export or reexport of goods or serv14 ices. 

15 ‘‘(c) FINAL APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 210 

17 days after making a determination pursuant to sec18 tion 506(a)(3) with respect to a government of a for19 eign state, the President shall submit to the appro20 priate congressional committees a determination as 

21 to whether the government of the foreign state has 

22 taken the actions described in subparagraphs (A), 

23 (B), (C), and (D) of subsection (b)(1). 

24 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—If the 

25 President is unable to certify that a government of 


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1 a foreign state has taken the actions described in 

2 subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of subsection 

3 (b)(1), the President shall impose the sanctions de4 scribed in paragraph (3) with respect to the govern5 ment of the foreign state. 

6 ‘‘(3) SANCTIONS.—The sanctions described in 

7 this paragraph are the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The President shall, pursuant to such 

9 regulations as the President may prescribe, pro10 hibit any transactions in foreign exchange that 

11 are subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

12 States and in which the government of the for13 eign state has any interest. 

14 ‘‘(B) The President shall, pursuant to such 

15 regulations as the President may prescribe, pro16 hibit any transfers of credit or payments be17 tween one or more financial institutions or by, 

18 through, or to any financial institution, to the 

19 extent that such transfers or payments are sub20 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States and 

21 involve any interest of the government of the 

22 foreign state. 

23 ‘‘(d) REMOVAL OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 

24 remove the sanctions imposed with respect to the govern25 ment of a foreign state pursuant to this section if the 


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1 President determines and so certifies to the Congress, 

2 after the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

3 on which sanctions were initially imposed on that govern4 ment of a foreign state pursuant to subsection (a), that— 

5 ‘‘(1) such government has adequately addressed 

6 an act or acts of gross negligence with respect to a 

7 chemical or biological program owned, controlled, or 

8 directed by, or subject to the jurisdiction of the gov9 ernment of a foreign state; 

10 ‘‘(2) such government has developed or is devel11 oping necessary measures to prevent any future act 

12 or acts of gross negligence; 

13 ‘‘(3) such government is providing or otherwise 

14 voluntarily disclosing substantive information to the 

15 United States and relevant international organiza16 tions; 

17 ‘‘(4) such government is compliant with its obli18 gations under the Biological and Toxin Weapons 

19 Convention or Convention on the Prohibition of the 

20 Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of 

21 Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, as ap22 plicable; and 

23 ‘‘(5) such government is making restitution to 

24 those affected by an act or acts of gross negligence 

25 with respect to a chemical or biological program 


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1 owned, controlled, or directed by, or subject to the 

2 jurisdiction of the government of a foreign state, in3 cluding United States persons. 

4 ‘‘(e) WAIVER.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, for pe6 riods not to exceed 180 days, waive the imposition 

7 of sanctions under this section if the President cer8 tifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

9 that such waiver is vital to the national security in10 terests of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(2) SUNSET.—The President may not exercise 

12 the authority described in paragraph (1) beginning 

13 on the date that is 4 years after the date of enact14 ment of this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

16 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘appropriate congres17 sional committees’ means— 

18 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

19 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 

20 Representatives; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

22 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af23 fairs of the Senate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION REGARDING THE PEOPLE’S RE2 PUBLIC OF CHINA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall de5 termine whether reasonable grounds exist for concluding 

6 that the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

7 meets the criteria for engaging in an act or acts of gross 

8 negligence with respect to a chemical or biological program 

9 owned, controlled, or directed by, or subject to the juris10 diction of that government under section 506(a)(3) of the 

11 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare 

12 Elimination Act of 1991, as amended by section 3 of this 

13 Act. 

14 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

16 making a determination under subsection (a), the 

17 President shall submit to the appropriate congres18 sional committees a report that includes the reasons 

19 for the determination. 

20 (2) FORM.—A report required by paragraph (1) 

21 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may in22 clude a classified annex. 

23 SEC. 5. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, not later 

25 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 


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1 prescribe regulations as necessary for the implementation 

2 of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

3 (b) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 10 

4 days before the prescription of regulations under sub5 section (a), the President shall notify the appropriate con6 gressional committees regarding the proposed regulations 

7 and the provisions of this Act and the amendments made 

8 by this Act that the regulations are implementing. 

9 SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE10 FINED. 

11 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means— 

13 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

14 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 

15 Representatives; and 

16 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

17 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af18 fairs of the Senate. 

Æ 


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