II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1606

To control the use of biological agents that have the potential to pose a

severe threat to public health and safety, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 12, 1996

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. DEWINE, Mr.

KOHL, and Mr. BIDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To control the use of biological agents that have the potential

to pose a severe threat to public health and safety,

and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Biological Agents En5 hanced Penalties and Control Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) certain biological agents have the potential

9 to pose a severe threat to public health and safety;
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1 (2) such biological agents can be used as weap2 ons by individuals or organizations for the purpose

3 of domestic or international terrorism or for other

4 criminal purposes;

5 (3) the transfer and possession of potentially

6 hazardous biological agents should be regulated to

7 protect public health and safety; and

8 (4) efforts to protect the public from exposure

9 to such agents should ensure that individuals and

10 groups with legitimate objectives continue to have

11 access to such agents for clinical and research pur12 poses.

13 SEC. 3. CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.

14 (a) BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.—Chapter 10 of title 18,

15 United States Code, is amended—

16 (1) in section 175(a), by inserting ‘‘or attempts,

17 threatens, or conspires to do the same,’’ after ‘‘to do

18 so,’’;

19 (2) in section 177(a)(2), by inserting ‘‘threat,’’

20 after ‘‘attempt,’’; and

21 (3) in section 178—

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or infec23 tious substance’’ and inserting ‘‘infectious sub24 stance, or biological product that may be engi25 neered as a result of biotechnology, or any nat-
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1 urally occurring or bioengineered component of

2 any such microorganism, virus, infectious sub3 stance, or biological product’’;

4 (B) in paragraph (2)—

5 (i) by inserting ‘‘the toxic material of

6 plants, animals, microorganisms, viruses,

7 fungi, or infectious substances, or a recom8 binant molecule’’ after ‘‘means’’;

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘production—’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘production, including—’’;

11 (iii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting

12 ‘‘or biological product that may be engi13 neered as a result of biotechnology’’ after

14 ‘‘substance’’; and

15 (iv) in subparagraph (B), by inserting

16 ‘‘or biological product’’ after ‘‘isomer’’; and

17 (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, or

18 molecule, including a recombinant molecule, or

19 biological product that may be engineered as a

20 result of biotechnology,’’ after ‘‘organism’’.

21 (b) TERRORISM.—Section 2332a(a) of title 18, Unit22 ed States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘, threatens,’’ after ‘‘at24 tempts’’; and
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘, including any biological

2 agent, toxin, or vector (as those terms are defined

3 in section 178)’’ after ‘‘destruction’’.

4 SEC. 4. REGULATORY CONTROL OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS.

5 (a) LIST OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, through

7 regulations promulgated under subsection (c), estab8 lish and maintain a list of each biological agent that

9 has the potential to pose a severe threat to public

10 health and safety.

11 (2) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to in12 clude an agent on the list under paragraph (1), the

13 Secretary shall—

14 (A) consider—

15 (i) the effect on human health of ex16 posure to the agent;

17 (ii) the degree of contagiousness of

18 the agent and the methods by which the

19 agent is transferred to humans;

20 (iii) the availability and effectiveness

21 of immunizations to prevent and treat22 ments for any illness resulting from infec23 tion by the agent; and

24 (iv) any other criteria the Secretary

25 considers appropriate; and
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1 (B) consult with scientific experts rep2 resenting appropriate professional groups.

3 (b) REGULATION OF TRANSFERS OF LISTED BIO4 LOGICAL AGENTS.—The Secretary shall, through regula5 tions promulgated under subsection (c), provide for—

6 (1) the establishment and enforcement of safety

7 procedures for the transfer of biological agents listed

8 pursuant subsection (a), including measures to en9 sure—

10 (A) proper training and appropriate skills

11 to handle such agents; and

12 (B) proper laboratory facilities to contain

13 and dispose of such agents;

14 (2) safeguards to prevent access to such agents

15 for use in domestic or international terrorism or for

16 any other criminal purpose;

17 (3) the establishment of procedures to protect

18 the public safety in the event of a transfer or poten19 tial transfer of a biological agent in violation of the

20 safety procedures established under paragraph (1) or

21 the safeguards established under paragraph (2); and

22 (4) appropriate availability of biological agents

23 for research, education, and other legitimate pur24 poses.
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1 (c) TIME LIMITS.—The Secretary shall carry out sub2 sections (a) and (b) by issuing—

3 (1) interim rules not later than 90 days after

4 the date of the enactment of this Act;

5 (2) proposed rules not later than 180 days after

6 the date of the enactment of this Act; and

7 (3) final rules not later than 360 days after the

8 date of the enactment of this Act.

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

10 (1) the term ‘‘biological agent’’ has the same

11 meaning as in section 178 of title 18, United States

12 Code; and

13 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

14 of Health and Human Services.

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