SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Answer COVID FOIAs 
Now Act’’. 
SEC. 2. COMPLETION OF FOIA REQUESTS RELATING TO 
DRUGS AND MEDICAL DEVICES TO PREVENT, 
DIAGNOSE, MITIGATE, OR TREAT COVID–19. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) COMPLETION
OF
REQUESTS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the head of each 
Federal agency shall, not later than 100 calendar 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, com-
plete all requests for records made under section 
552(a) of title 5, United States Code, that are— 
(A) made to the Federal agency; 
(B) pending as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(C) related to— 
(i) a drug or medical device to pre-
vent, diagnose, mitigate, or treat COVID– 
19; 
(ii) gain-of-function research or poten-
tial pandemic pathogen research; or 
(iii) a policy, rule, or standard requir-
ing COVID–19 vaccination of individuals. 
(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to require the disclosure of 
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information that is exempt from disclosure under 
section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
(b) LIST OF PENDING REQUESTS.—The head of a 
Federal agency shall publicly and electronically make 
available a list of all requests described in subsection 
(a)(1). 
(c) REPORTS.— 
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 7 busi-
ness days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the head of each Federal agency shall provide the 
list required by subsection (b) to— 
(A) the Committee on the Judiciary, the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the 
Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
House of Representatives; 
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary, the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions, and the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 
and 
(C) the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORT.—Not later than 100 
calendar days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the head of each Federal agency shall provide 
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a list of all requests described in subsection (a)(1) 
that remain pending, if any, to— 
(A) the committees referred to in para-
graph (1); and 
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘Federal agency’’ means an agen-
cy as that term is defined in section 551 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(2) The term ‘‘gain-of-function research’’ means 
any research that may be reasonably anticipated to 
confer an attribute to a pathogen such that the 
pathogen would have enhanced pathogenicity or 
transmissibility in mammals. 
(3) The term ‘‘potential pandemic pathogen’’ 
means a pathogen that, prior to any gain-of-function 
research— 
(A) is likely highly transmissible and likely 
capable of wide and uncontrollable spread in 
human populations; and 
(B) is likely highly virulent and likely to 
cause significant morbidity or mortality in hu-
mans. 
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SEC. 3. PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO DISPOSE OF PENDING 
FOIA REQUESTS. 
Beginning on the day that is 101 calendar days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall transfer from the appropriations account 
of the office of the head of a Federal agency (as defined 
in section 2(d)) to the Countermeasures Injury Compensa-
tion Program of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration $1,000,000 for each calendar day on which 
any request described in section 2(a)(1) remains pending 
with such Federal agency. 
SEC. 4. COMPELLING NEED FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING. 
With respect to affirming or denying a request for 
expedited 
processing 
of 
a 
record 
under 
section 
552(a)(6)(E) of title 5, United States Code, a person sub-
mitting such request to a Federal agency (as defined in 
section 2(d)) shall be deemed to have demonstrated a com-
pelling need for such record if such record is related to— 
(1) a drug or medical device to prevent, diag-
nose, mitigate, or treat COVID–19; 
(2) gain-of-function research or potential pan-
demic pathogen research (as such terms are defined 
in section 2(e)); or 
(3) a policy, rule, or standard requiring 
COVID–19 vaccination of individuals. 
Æ 
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