Title: Defend COVID Research from Hackers Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Defend COVID Research from Hackers Act
This bill authorizes the President to impose visa-blocking, property-blocking, or economic sanctions on a foreign person that is involved in activities that are reasonably likely to result in a significant threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, public health, economic health, or financial stability.
The Department of State must submit a report detailing the extent of known or attempted cyber-enabled activities by foreign persons related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and assessing whether those activities qualify for the imposition of sanctions.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4793 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4793

   To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to certain 
activities that threaten the national security, foreign policy, public 
 health, economic health, or financial stability of the United States, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 1, 2020

 Mr. Tillis (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to certain 
activities that threaten the national security, foreign policy, public 
 health, economic health, or financial stability of the United States, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Defend COVID Research from Hackers 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
              CERTAIN ACTIVITIES THAT THREATEN THE NATIONAL SECURITY, 
              FOREIGN POLICY, PUBLIC HEALTH, ECONOMIC HEALTH, OR 
              FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--The President may impose sanctions described in 
subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person determined by the 
President--
            (1) to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, or to be 
        responsible for or complicit in, activities, including cyber-
        enabled activities, that--
                    (A)(i) are reasonably likely to result in a 
                significant threat to the national security, foreign 
                policy, public health, economic health, or financial 
                stability of the United States; or
                    (ii) originate from or are directed by foreign 
                persons that have materially contributed to such a 
                threat; and
                    (B) that have the purpose or effect of--
                            (i) harming, or otherwise significantly 
                        compromising, the provision of services by a 
                        computer or network of computers that support 
                        one or more entities in a critical 
                        infrastructure sector;
                            (ii) significantly compromising the 
                        provision of services by one or more entities 
                        in a critical infrastructure sector;
                            (iii) causing a significant disruption to 
                        the availability of a computer or network of 
                        computers; or
                            (iv) causing a significant misappropriation 
                        of funds or other economic resources, trade 
                        secrets, personal identifiers, intellectual 
                        property, or financial information for 
                        commercial or competitive advantage or private 
                        financial gain;
            (2) to have engaged in, to be responsible for or complicit 
        in, or to have knowingly and materially benefitted from, the 
        receipt or use for commercial or competitive advantage or 
        private financial gain of funds or other economic resources, 
        trade secrets, personal identifiers, intellectual property, or 
        financial information misappropriated through cyber-enabled 
        activities, if such misappropriation is reasonably likely to 
        result in, or to have materially contributed to, a significant 
        threat described in paragraph (1)(A)(i);
            (3) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
        financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or 
        services in support of any activity or person described in 
        paragraph (1) or (2);
            (4) to be owned or controlled by, to be an officer or 
        director of, or to have otherwise acted or purported to act for 
        or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person described 
        in paragraph (1) or (2); or
            (5) to have attempted to engage in any activity described 
        in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
    (b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all 
        of the powers granted to the President by the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except 
        that the requirements of section 202 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 
        1701) shall not apply) to the extent necessary to block and 
        prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property 
        of a foreign person described in subsection (a) 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.
            (2) Inadmissibility of certain individuals.--
                    (A) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or 
                parole.--An alien described in subsection (a) 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.--The visa or other entry 
                        documentation of an alien described in 
                        subsection (a) shall be revoked, regardless of 
                        when such 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.
    (c) Implementation; Penalties.--
            (1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all 
        authorities provided 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 (b)(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.
    (d) Exceptions.--
            (1) Intelligence and law enforcement activities.--The 
        following activities shall be exempt from sanctions under this 
        section:
                    (A) Activities subject to the reporting 
                requirements under title V of the National Security Act 
                of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.).
                    (B) Activities subject to any authorized 
                intelligence or law enforcement activities of the 
                United States.
            (2) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
                    (A) In general.--The authorities and requirements 
                to impose sanctions under subsection (b)(1) 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.
            (3) Exception to comply with international obligations.--
        Sanctions under subsection (b)(2) shall not apply with respect 
        to an alien if admitting or paroling the alien into the United 
        States is necessary 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 of the 
        United States.
    (e) Report on Cyber-Enabled Activities.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall 
        submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report--
                    (A) detailing the extent of known cyber-enabled 
                activities or attempted cyber-enabled activities 
                described in subsection (a) by foreign persons related 
                to the coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly referred to 
                as ``COVID-19'') pandemic; and
                    (B) assessing whether such activities qualify for 
                the imposition of sanctions under this section.
            (2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified 
        annex.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
        have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (3) Critical infrastructure sector.--The term ``critical 
        infrastructure sector'' means any of the designated critical 
        infrastructure sectors identified in Presidential Policy 
        Directive 21.
            (4) Entity.--The term ``entity'' means a partnership, 
        association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, 
        subgroup, or other organization.
            (5) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
        individual or entity that is not a United States person.
            (6) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (7) Misappropriation.--The term ``misappropriation'' means 
        any taking or obtaining by improper means, without permission 
        or consent, or under false pretenses.
            (8) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
        entity.
            (9) 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.
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