COVID Act of 2023

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 588 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 588

 To impose sanctions and other measures in response to the failure of 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China to allow an 
 investigation into the origins of COVID-19 at suspect laboratories in 
                                 Wuhan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2023

 Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Lankford, Mr. 
Cramer, Mr. Wicker, Ms. Lummis, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Hoeven, 
 Mr. Daines, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, 
and Mr. Scott of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To impose sanctions and other measures in response to the failure of 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China to allow an 
 investigation into the origins of COVID-19 at suspect laboratories in 
                                 Wuhan.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coronavirus Origin Validation, 
Investigation, and Determination Act of 2023'' or the ``COVID Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO FAILURE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 
              PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TO ALLOW AN INVESTIGATION OF 
              SUSPECT LABORATORIES IN WUHAN.

    (a) In General.--If, by not later than the date that is 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President is unable to 
certify that the Government of the People's Republic of China has 
allowed a transparent international forensic investigation of suspect 
laboratories in Wuhan to commence, including of the Wuhan Institute of 
Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (in this section referred 
to as ``CAS''), the President shall--
            (1) impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with 
        respect to--
                    (A) individuals who hold positions of leadership in 
                the state-run CAS, including its affiliated institutes 
                and laboratories, local branches, and universities; and
                    (B) individuals who--
                            (i) are officials of the Chinese Communist 
                        Party, the People's Liberation Army, or the 
                        State Council of the People's Republic of 
                        China, including its subordinate agencies, such 
                        as the Ministry of Science and Technology, the 
                        National Health Commission, the Chinese Center 
                        for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
                        Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of 
                        Emergency Management, and the Ministry of 
                        Public Security; and
                            (ii) were involved in concealing the 
                        initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the People's 
                        Republic of China from the international 
                        community, restricting the release of 
                        information related to the outbreak, 
                        understating the severity of the outbreak, or 
                        obstructing an international investigation into 
                        the origin of the outbreak;
            (2) prohibit Federal funding for any joint research or 
        other collaborative projects between United States-based 
        researchers and CAS researchers across all academic fields, 
        including those employed by the affiliated institutes and 
        laboratories of CAS, its local branches or universities, or the 
        science and technology enterprises based in the People's 
        Republic of China that were created by CAS or founded with CAS 
        investment; and
            (3) prohibit United States-based researchers and 
        institutions that receive Federal funding from engaging in 
        collaborative projects involving gain-of-function research of 
        concern on viruses with individuals or institutions based in 
        the People's Republic of China.
    (b) Termination.--The requirements of subsection (a) shall 
terminate on the date on which the Government of the People's Republic 
of China allows the transparent international forensic investigation 
described in that subsection to be conducted and concluded without--
            (1) imposition of restrictions on the scope or subject 
        matter of the investigation; or
            (2) limitations on the access of investigators to physical 
        sites, persons of interest, information on laboratory biosafety 
        incidents, or relevant molecular, genetic, epidemiological, 
        serological, and virological data.
    (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions to be imposed under 
subsection (a)(1) are the following:
            (1) Asset blocking.--
                    (A) In general.--The President shall exercise all 
                of the powers granted to the President under the 
                International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
                1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and 
                prohibit all transactions in property and interests in 
                property described in subparagraph (B) if such property 
                and interests in property are in the United States, 
                come within the United States, or are or come within 
                the possession or control of a United States person.
                    (B) Property and interests in property described.--
                The property and interests in property described in 
                this subparagraph are property or interests in property 
                of--
                            (i) an individual described in subsection 
                        (a)(1); or
                            (ii) any family member or associate acting 
                        for or on behalf of an individual described in 
                        subsection (a)(1) and to whom that individual 
                        transfers such property or interests in 
                        property after the date on which the President 
                        designates the individual for the imposition of 
                        sanctions under that subsection.
            (2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien 
                described in subsection (a)(1) is--
                            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
                            (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
                        documentation to enter the United States; and
                            (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
                        or paroled into the United States or to receive 
                        any other benefit under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
                    (B) Current visas revoked.--
                            (i) In general.--An alien described in 
                        subsection (a)(1) is subject to revocation of 
                        any visa or other entry documentation 
                        regardless of when the visa or other entry 
                        documentation is or was issued.
                            (ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under 
                        clause (i) shall--
                                    (I) take effect immediately; and
                                    (II) automatically cancel any other 
                                valid visa or entry documentation that 
                                is in the alien's possession.
    (d) Implementation; Penalties.--
            (1) Implementation.--The President may exercise the 
        authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 
        205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
        U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to the extent necessary to carry out this 
        section.
            (2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
        violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of 
        subsection (c)(1) or any regulation, license, or order issued 
        to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the penalties 
        set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 
        International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to 
        the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act 
        described in subsection (a) of that section.
    (e) Exceptions.--
            (1) Exception for intelligence activities.--Sanctions under 
        this section shall not apply to any activity subject to the 
        reporting requirements under title V of the National Security 
        Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized 
        intelligence activities of the United States.
            (2) Exception to comply with international obligations and 
        for law enforcement activities.--Sanctions under subsection 
        (c)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if admitting or 
        paroling the alien into the United States is necessary--
                    (A) to permit the United States to comply with the 
                Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 
                Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
                entered into force November 21, 1947, between the 
                United Nations and the United States, or other 
                applicable international obligations; or
                    (B) to carry out or assist law enforcement activity 
                in the United States.
            (3) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
                    (A) In general.--The authorities and requirements 
                to impose sanctions authorized under this section shall 
                not include the authority or a requirement to impose 
                sanctions on the importation of goods.
                    (B) Good defined.--In this paragraph, the term 
                ``good'' means any article, natural or manmade 
                substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, 
                including inspection and test equipment, and excluding 
                technical data.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Admission; admitted; alien.--The terms ``admission'', 
        ``admitted'', and ``alien'' have the meanings given those terms 
        in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101).
            (2) Gain-of-function research of concern.--The term ``gain-
        of-function research of concern'' means, with respect to the 
        study of viruses--
                    (A) the use of genetic engineering or nucleic acid 
                synthesis methods reasonably anticipated to increase a 
                pathogen's transmissibility, or pathogenicity to 
                humans, or to alter a pathogen's host tropism to 
                include humans;
                    (B) the use of serial passage methods in a 
                laboratory culture or in laboratory animals reasonably 
                anticipated to increase a pathogen's transmissibility, 
                or pathogenicity to humans, or to alter a pathogen's 
                host tropism to include humans; or
                    (C) any research conducted in a laboratory setting 
                less than Biosafety Level Three that involves pathogens 
                or potential pathogens known to be, or that can be 
                reasonably anticipated to be, infectious to humans 
                through the inhalation route of exposure, and known to 
                cause, or that can be reasonably anticipated to cause, 
                serious to fatal disease.
            (3) Transparent international forensic investigation.--The 
        term ``transparent international forensic investigation'', with 
        respect to investigating the origin of SARS-CoV-2, means an 
        inquiry that is objective, data-driven, inclusive of broad 
        expertise, subject to independent oversight, and properly 
        managed to exclude individuals with conflicts of interest and 
        under which the following takes place:
                    (A) Relevant research funding agencies, funding 
                contractors, laboratories, and hospitals open their 
                records to examination by the investigative team and 
                grant the investigative team unfettered access to any 
                and all facilities, personnel, and other sites of 
                interest, and to any and all forms of epidemiological 
                or virological data of interest, including serological 
                records pertaining to the earliest confirmed or 
                suspected cases of COVID-19, or cases of similar 
                illnesses that may have been misdiagnosed, which 
                appeared in and around Wuhan in the fall and winter of 
                2019. Investigators document the veracity and source of 
                the data upon which their analysis is based in a manner 
                that allows independent experts to reproduce their 
                analysis and validate any conclusions they may draw.
                    (B) The international team is allowed to perform a 
                full forensic investigation of the Wuhan Institute of 
                Virology, the Wuhan Center for Disease Prevention and 
                Control, and the Wuhan Institute of Biological 
                Products, and all other laboratories in Wuhan that the 
                team might identify as warranting examination. The team 
                is allowed to review the biosafety level under which 
                bat coronavirus research was conducted, and to 
                interview any and all personnel currently or previously 
                employed at those laboratories, or related experts who 
                may have information pertinent to the investigation. 
                All laboratory logs and notebooks kept by Shi Zhengli 
                and other researchers at the Wuhan Institute of 
                Virology who have conducted gain-of-function 
                experiments between 2007 and the date of the enactment 
                of this Act, as well as their published and unpublished 
                work in Chinese and English, are presented in a full 
                and unaltered condition for examination by the team. 
                The team is given unlimited access to the full range of 
                virus cultures, isolates, genetic sequences, databases, 
                and patient specimens stored at these facilities as 
                well as all chimeric synthetic viruses grown in vitro 
                by cell culture passaging or engineered by genomic 
                editing between 2007 and the date of the enactment of 
                this Act. Such access must include the opportunity to 
                examine the Wuhan Institute of Virology's database of 
                approximately 22,000 samples and virus sequences, 
                including 15,000 taken from bats, which was previously 
                available to the public but taken offline in September 
                2019. The team is further allowed to examine in full 
                all training procedures in effect at the laboratory 
                prior to the pandemic, including those pertaining to 
                record-keeping and safety procedures and strategies to 
                prevent the accidental escape of potential pathogens.
                    (C) The investigative team analyzes in detail all 
                research related to the 293 bat coronaviruses 
                reportedly identified by Shi Zhengli and her team at 
                the Wuhan Institute of Virology between 2012 and 2015, 
                particularly RaTG13, RaBtCoV/4991, and all other 
                viruses from the abandoned copper mine in Mojiang Hani 
                Autonomous County in Yunnan province, where Wuhan 
                Institute of Virology researchers are known to have 
                collected bat virus specimens, including specimens of 
                RaTG13, during the decade preceding the date of the 
                enactment of this Act, including all virus isolates and 
                cultures. The Wuhan Institute of Virology discloses the 
                content of all classified and unpublished studies that 
                the Institute reportedly conducted with the People's 
                Liberation Army if such studies involved gain-of-
                function research. The team is able to test all 
                laboratory personnel for antibodies and other 
                serological indicators of past infection of COVID-19. 
                The team is given access to all other records kept by 
                the Wuhan Institute of Virology, including security 
                logs, surveillance video footage, audio recordings, and 
                electronic logs of employees entering and leaving the 
                facility. The investigative team is permitted to take 
                samples and conduct testing of the physical facilities 
                where gain-of-function research has been conducted, 
                including, if necessary, sewer samples. Unfettered 
                access is also granted to the copper mine in Mojiang 
                Hani Autonomous County in Yunnan province referred to 
                in the first sentence of this subparagraph.
                    (D) The international team is comprised of members 
                chosen by the governments of the United States, Canada, 
                the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany, 
                Australia, Japan, and India. The team includes 
                molecular biologists, virologists, epidemiologists, and 
                experts in biosafety and biosecurity. Individuals who 
                have previously ruled out the possibility of either 
                zoonotic transmission or a laboratory leak are 
                disqualified from participation. The Government of the 
                People's Republic of China may appoint Chinese experts 
                to accompany and advise the team as it conducts its 
                work in the People's Republic of China, but the 
                Government of the People's Republic of China has no 
                authority to dictate the selection of team members and 
                cannot obstruct the participation of any individual 
                selected by the individual's government for the team. 
                The central, provincial, and municipal authorities of 
                the People's Republic of China facilitate the work of 
                the investigative team and refrain from imposing any 
                restrictions on the scope, scale, and duration of the 
                investigation.
            (4) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) an individual who is a United States citizen or 
                an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
                the United States;
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
                or
                    (C) any person in the United States.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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