Stopping Genetic Monitoring by China Act

Bill: 118-s-2551
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2023-07-26
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-07-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-07-26
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Stopping Genetic Monitoring by China Act</b></p> <p>This bill imposes export controls on genetic testing and sequencing technologies and bars exports of such technologies to specific countries. The bill also imposes sanctions on foreign persons (individuals and entities) involved with certain activities, including human rights violations. </p> <p>Specifically, the End-User Review Committee must place on the Commerce Control List (CCL) technologies identified as genetic instruments by the Department of Defense, the Department of State, or the Department of Energy. The committee must also deny licenses required to export or transfer such technology to countries specified in this bill (e.g, Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia) unless the license applicant demonstrates that the technology will not be used for human rights abuses or by an entity engaged in human rights abuses. (Items covered by the CCL are subject to export controls and typically may not be exported without a license.)</p> <p>The bill also requires the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on certain foreign persons, including (1) persons that are responsible for or complicit in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, (2) persons that conduct genetic testing and analysis and are located in a country targeted by the export controls in this bill, (3) any university in China involved in genetic monitoring and human rights abuses, (4) any private company in China with an owner or senior management official who is a delegate to the National People's Conference, and (5) corporate officers of entities sanctioned under this bill.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2551 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 26, 2023 Mr. Rubio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To impose export controls and sanctions to address the security threat posed by the genetic mapping efforts of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and other countries, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stopping Genetic Monitoring by China Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (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) Commerce control list The term Commerce Control List means the list maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce and set forth in Supplement No. 1 to part 774 of the Export Administration Regulations. (3) Covered country The term covered country means any of the following: (A) The Islamic Republic of Iran. (B) Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. (C) The People’s Republic of China. (D) The Russian Federation. (E) The Republic of Cuba. (F) The Maduro Regime of Venezuela. (G) The Syrian Arab Republic. (H) Any other country the government of which is determined by the Secretary of State to be a foreign adversary (as defined in section 8(c) of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 ( 47 U.S.C. 1607(c) )). (4) Entity list The term Entity List means the list maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security and set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations. (5) Export; Export Administration Regulations; in-country transfer; reexport The terms export , Export Administration Regulations , in-country transfer , and reexport have the meanings given those terms in section 1742 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 ( 50 U.S.C. 4801 ). 3. Control of exports of genetic collection and analysis technology to certain countries (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the heads of the agencies that are represented on the End-User Review Committee shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services— (1) add technology described in subsection (b) to the Commerce Control List; and (2) deny any license required for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer to or in a covered country of any such technology, unless the person seeking the license submits to the Committee such documentation as the Secretary of State may reasonably require to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that, if the license is approved, the technology will not be used for human rights abuses or by an entity that has engaged in human rights abuses. (b) Technology described Technology described in this subsection is technology identified by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the Secretary of Energy as genetic instruments, including— (1) Next Generation and Sanger Generation genetic sequencers; (2) genetic sequencing kits and reagents; (3) genetic testing and sampling kits (including forensic DNA testing kits); (4) related laboratory instruments; (5) any instrument-specific software— (A) relating to genetic testing, genetic mapping, genetic sequencing, genetic analysis and editing, or any technology described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4); and (B) included, on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, under the definition of crime control and detection instruments under section 742.7 of the Export Administration Regulations; or (6) any other related genetic technology that could enable human rights abuses, as identified by the head of any agency represented on the End-User Review Committee, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (c) End-User Review Committee defined In this section, the term End-User Review Committee means— (1) the End-User Review Committee established under section 744.16(d) of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations; or (2) any successor committee. 4. Imposition of sanctions with respect to provision of genetic monitoring technology to covered countries (a) In general Not later than the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and as appropriate thereafter, the President shall— (1) impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to each foreign person that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines— (A) is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, gross violations of internationally recognized human rights; (B) has provided, is providing, or poses a significant risk of providing, to an entity in a covered country genetic sampling and analysis technology that could directly or indirectly enable gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, as determined by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (C) conducts genetic sampling and analysis and is located in, has headquarters in, or is organized under the laws of, a covered country, including— (i) any entity placed on the Entity List for human rights abuses directly or indirectly related to genetic monitoring efforts, including— (I) the Institute of Forensic Science; (II) CloudWalk Technology; (III) FiberHome Technologies Group; (IV) Forensic Genomics International; (V) the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences; (VI) the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and (VII) BGI Group; (ii) national key labs and other state-affiliated research institutes providing genetic sampling and analysis technology for public security purposes; (iii) any college or university in the People’s Republic of China that is determined by the Secretary of Defense to be involved in genetic monitoring and human rights abuses, including— (I) any college or university in the People’s Republic of China that conducts genetic research or hosts dedicated security and monitoring initiatives or laboratories, including such a college or university designated under the double first-class university plan ; and (II) any college or university in the People’s Republic of China that conducts research or hosts dedicated initiatives or laboratories for any security entity of the People’s Republic of China, including the People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Armed Police, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of State Security; (iv) any enterprise for which the majority shareholder or ultimate parent entity is the Government of the People’s Republic of China at any level of that government; (v) any privately owned company in the People’s Republic of China that has— (I) a history of subcontracting for the People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Armed Police, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, or any affiliate of any such entity; or (II) an owner, director, or senior management official who has served as a delegate to the National People’s Congress, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, or a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party; and (vi) any subsidiary, successor, or alias of an entity described in any of clauses (i) through (v); or (D) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, an entity described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and (2) impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each alien the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, determines is a corporate officer of an entity described in paragraph (1). (b) Property blocking The sanctions described in this subsection are the exercise of all of the powers granted to the President by 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 of a foreign person if such property or 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. (c) Inadmissibility of certain sanctioned persons (1) Visas, admission, or parole An alien described in subsection (a)(2) shall be— (A) inadmissible to the United States; (B) ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to enter the United States; and (C) 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. ). (2) Current visas revoked (A) In general The visa or other entry documentation of any alien described in paragraph (1) is subject to revocation regardless of the date on which the visa or other entry documentation is or was issued. (B) Immediate effect A revocation under subparagraph (A) shall— (i) take effect immediately; and (ii) cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation that is in the possession of the alien. (d) Implementation; penalties (1) Implementation The President shall exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section. (2) Regulatory authority Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this section. (3) Penalties A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of subsection (b) 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) Compliance with United Nations Headquarters Agreement Subsection (c) shall not apply with respect to the admission of an alien to the United States if such admission 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. (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.