I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3033
To control the transfer within the United States of infectious agents which
have the potential to pose a severe threat to the public health and
safety, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 6, 1996
Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. KASICH, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr.
FROST, and Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To control the transfer within the United States of infectious
agents which have the potential to pose a severe threat
to the public health and safety, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Infectious Agents Con-
trol Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) certain infectious agents have the potential
to pose a severe threat to the public health and safe-
ty;
(2) such agents could be used as weapons by in-
dividuals or organizations for the purpose of domes-
tic or international terrorism or for other criminal
purposes;
(3) transfer and possession of potentially haz-
ardous infectious agents must be regulated in order
to protect the public health and safety; and
(4) efforts to protect the public from exposure
to such agents must also ensure that individuals and
groups with legitimate research objectives continue
to have access to such agents when they are needed
to achieve those objectives.
SEC. 3. TIME LIMITS FOR RULES REGARDING THE CON-
TROL OF TRANSFERS OF CERTAIN INFEC-
TIOUS AGENTS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
issue—
(1) proposed rules not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) final rules not later than 360 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act,
to regulate the transfer within the United States of infec-
tious agents which have the potential to pose a severe
threat to the public health and safety.
SEC. 4. SCOPE OF RULES.
In the rules under section 3, the Secretary shall—
(1) establish and maintain a list of infectious
agents which have the potential to pose a severe
threat to the public health and safety under section
5; and
(2) regulate the transfer of such agents under
section 6.
SEC. 5. LIST OF INFECTIOUS AGENTS THAT HAVE THE PO-
TENTIAL TO POSE A SEVERE THREAT TO THE
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.
The Secretary, in determining whether to include a
particular agent on the list required under section 4(1),
shall—
(1) consider—
(A) the effect on human health of exposure
to such agent;
(B) the degree of contagiousness of such
agent and the method of transfer to humans;
(C) the availability and effectiveness of im-
munizations to prevent and treatments for ill-
(4) appropriate availability of such agents for
research, education, or other legitimate purposes.
SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) CIVIL PENALTY.—The Secretary may assess a
civil penalty of not more than $5,000 against a person
who negligently violates a rule made to carry out sections
6(1) through 6(3).
(b) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of subsections (c)
through (l) of section 1128A of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a) apply to civil money penalties under
this section in the same manner as they apply to a civil
penalty or proceeding under section 1128A(a) of such Act.
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly vio-
lates a rule made to carry out sections 6(1) through 6(3)
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or im-
prisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
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