I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8197 
To amend the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimi-
nation Act of 1991 to impose sanctions on foreign countries in response 
to acts concerning chemical or biological programs that cause injury 
to other foreign countries, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 1, 2024 
Mr. BANKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Serv-
ices, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions 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 sanc-
tions on foreign countries in response to acts concerning 
chemical or biological programs that cause injury to 
other foreign countries, 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 ‘‘Countering Beijing’s 
Weaponization of Fentanyl Act’’ or the ‘‘CBW Fentanyl 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
Section 302 of the Chemical and Biological Weapons 
Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 
5601) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and 
(4) as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively; 
(2) by striking ‘‘that use chemical’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘that— 
‘‘(A) use chemical’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘law or use’’ and inserting ‘‘law; 
‘‘(B) use’’; and 
(4) by striking ‘‘nationals, and to impose’’ and 
inserting ‘‘nationals; or 
‘‘(C) commit an act concerning a chemical 
or biological program that results in injury or 
damages to another country; 
‘‘(2) to impose’’. 
SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 306 of the Chemical and Biological Weapons 
Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 
5604) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘OR ACTS CONCERNING A CHEMICAL 
OR BIOLOGICAL PROGRAM.’’; 
(2) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(A) DETERMINATION REGARDING CHEM-
ICAL
OR
BIOLOGICAL
WEAPONS.—Whenever’’; 
and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION REGARDING CHEM-
ICAL
OR
BIOLOGICAL
PROGRAM.—Whenever 
credible information becomes available to the 
President indicating a substantial possibility 
that, on or after the date of the enactment of 
the Countering Beijing’s Weaponization of 
Fentanyl Act, an individual has committed a 
covered act, the President shall, not later than 
60 days after the receipt of such information by 
the President, determine whether such indi-
vidual committed a covered act. The President 
shall impose the sanctions described in section 
310 with respect to an individual if the Presi-
dent determines that such individual has com-
mitted a covered act.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘In making the deter-
mination under paragraph (1)’’ and insert-
ing: 
‘‘(A) CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING CHEM-
ICAL OR BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.—In making the 
determination under paragraph (1)(A)’’; 
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(A) through (E) as clauses (i) through (v), 
respectively, and by moving such redesig-
nated clauses 2 ems to the right; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING CHEM-
ICAL OR BIOLOGICAL PROGRAM.—In making a 
determination under paragraph (1)(B), the 
President shall consider the following: 
‘‘(i) Physical and circumstantial evi-
dence available relevant to the possibility 
that the individual in question committed a 
covered act. 
‘‘(ii) Whether evidence exists that the 
chemical or biological program associated 
with such covered act has a civilian or mili-
tary purpose or application. 
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‘‘(iii) Whether the foreign govern-
mental entity of which such individual was 
an official, employee, or agent attempted 
to conceal or withhold information regard-
ing a covered act from a relevant inter-
national organization or a foreign country 
other than the foreign country most closely 
associated with such entity. 
‘‘(iv) Whether, and to what extent, 
the foreign country most closely associated 
with such entity is compliant with the obli-
gations of such country under a covered 
treaty. 
‘‘(v) Whether, and to what extent, 
such entity has voluntarily disclosed sub-
stantive information regarding such cov-
ered act to relevant international organiza-
tions.’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Upon’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘If the determination’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.— 
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‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CHEMICAL 
OR
BIOLOGICAL
WEAPONS
DETERMINA-
TION.—If the determination under para-
graph (1)(A)’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHEMICAL 
OR
BIOLOGICAL
PROGRAM
DETERMINA-
TION.—If the determination under para-
graph (1)(B) is that an individual has 
committed a covered act, the report shall 
specify the sanctions to be imposed pursu-
ant to section 310 of this title.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘whether a’’ and in-
serting ‘‘whether— 
‘‘(A) a’’; and 
(ii) by striking the period after ‘‘na-
tionals’’ and inserting ‘‘; or 
‘‘(B) a particular individual, on or after 
January 1, 2023, has committed a covered 
act.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘whether the’’ and in-
serting ; ‘‘whether— 
‘‘(i) the’’; 
(iii) by striking ‘‘nationals. This re-
port’’ and inserting ‘‘nationals; or 
‘‘(ii) the specified individual, on or 
after January 1, 2023, has committed a 
covered act. 
‘‘(B) REPORT
CONTENTS.—Each report 
provided under this paragraph’’; and 
(iv) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(2)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) or (B) 
of subsection (a)(2), as applicable’’. 
SEC. 4. SANCTIONS ON USE OF CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL 
WEAPONS. 
Section 307(a) of the Chemical and Biological Weap-
ons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (22 
U.S.C. 5605) is amended by striking ‘‘306(a)(1)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘306(a)(1)(A)’’. 
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SEC. 5. REQUIRED SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN COUNTRIES IN 
RESPONSE TO CERTAIN ACTS CONCERNING 
CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL PROGRAM. 
The Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and 
Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 310. SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN COUNTRIES IN RE-
SPONSE TO ACTS CONCERNING CHEMICAL 
OR BIOLOGICAL PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) INITIAL SANCTIONS.—If the President makes a 
determination pursuant to section 306(a)(1)(B) with re-
spect to an individual, the President shall, not later than 
30 days of making such determination, impose the fol-
lowing sanctions: 
‘‘(1) The United States Government shall sus-
pend scientific cooperative programs and agreements 
with the foreign country most closely associated with 
the foreign governmental entity of which such indi-
vidual was an official, employee, or agent. 
‘‘(2) The President shall prohibit the export of 
goods, services, and technologies classified under 
Category 1 or Category 2 of the Commerce Control 
List to such foreign country. 
‘‘(3) The United States Government may not 
procure, or enter into a contract to procure, a good 
or service from a person operating in the chemical 
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or biological sectors of the economy of such foreign 
country. 
‘‘(b) INTERMEDIATE APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
120 days after making a determination pursuant to 
section 306(a)(1)(B) with respect to an individual, 
the President shall submit to the Committee on For-
eign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a re-
port that states whether— 
‘‘(A) the foreign governmental entity of 
which such individual was an official, employee, 
or agent or the foreign country most closely as-
sociated with such entity has adequately ad-
dressed the covered act that was the basis for 
such determination; 
‘‘(B) such entity or such country has devel-
oped or is developing measures to prevent a 
covered act; 
‘‘(C) such entity or such country has vol-
untarily provided substantive information re-
garding such covered act to the United States 
Government and relevant international organi-
zations; and 
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‘‘(D) such country is compliant with the 
obligations of such country under a covered 
treaty. 
‘‘(2) SANCTIONS REQUIRED.—If the report de-
scribed in paragraph (1) states that an action de-
scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
paragraph (1) has not been taken, the President 
shall impose sanctions on the foreign country most 
closely associated with the foreign governmental en-
tity of which such individual was an official, em-
ployee, or agent not fewer than 2 of the following: 
‘‘(A) Termination of assistance provided to 
such country pursuant to the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), ex-
cept for urgent humanitarian assistance, food, 
or other agricultural commodities or products. 
‘‘(B) No sale of defense articles, defense 
services, or design and construction services 
under the Export Controls Act of 2018 (50 
U.S.C. 4811 et seq.) may be made to such 
country. 
‘‘(C) No license for export of an item listed 
in the United States Munitions List (estab-
lished pursuant to section 38 of the Arms Ex-
port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778)) may be 
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granted if such license includes such country as 
a party. 
‘‘(D) No export of a good or technology 
controlled because of the national security inter-
ests of the United States under the Export Ad-
ministration Regulations may be made to such 
country, except that such prohibition shall not 
apply to a transaction subject to the reporting 
requirements of title V of the National Security 
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 413 et seq.). 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
SANCTIONS
PERMITTED.— 
The President may order the United States Govern-
ment not to issue a license nor grant a specific per-
mission or authority to export a good or technology 
to a foreign country sanctioned under paragraph (2) 
under— 
‘‘(A) the Export Controls Act of 2018 (50 
U.S.C. 4811 et seq.); 
‘‘(B) the Anti-Boycott Act of 2018 (50 
U.S.C. 4841 et seq.); 
‘‘(C) the Arms Export Control Act (22 
U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); 
‘‘(D) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or 
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‘‘(E) any other statute that requires the 
prior review and approval of the United States 
Government as a condition for the export or re-
export of goods or services. 
‘‘(c) FINAL APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) 
PRESIDENTIAL
DETERMINATION.—Not 
later than 210 days after making a determination 
pursuant to section 306(a)(1)(B) with respect to an 
individual, the President shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions of the Senate a report that states whether— 
‘‘(A) the foreign governmental entity of 
which such individual was an official, employee, 
or agent or the foreign country most closely as-
sociated with such entity has adequately ad-
dressed the covered act that was the basis for 
such determination; 
‘‘(B) such entity or such country has devel-
oped or is developing measures to prevent a 
covered act; 
‘‘(C) such entity or such country has vol-
untarily provided substantive information re-
garding such covered act to the United States 
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