[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5270 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5270

   To prohibit the National Institutes of Health from conducting or 
 supporting certain gain-of-function research, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2021

  Mr. Carter of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Cuellar, and Mr. Gallagher) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

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                                 A BILL


 
   To prohibit the National Institutes of Health from conducting or 
 supporting certain gain-of-function research, 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 ``Pausing Enhanced Pandemic Pathogen 
Research Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. NO CONDUCT OR SUPPORT BY NIH OF GAIN-OF-FUNCTION RESEARCH.

    Part A of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 404O. GAIN-OF-FUNCTION RESEARCH.

    ``(a) Prohibition.--During the period ending on September 30, 2026, 
the National Institutes of Health shall not conduct or support, 
directly or indirectly, including through subgrants, any gain-of-
function research that may be reasonably anticipated to confer 
attributes to any influenza virus or coronavirus (including any 
coronavirus that is associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome) 
such that the virus would have enhanced pathogenicity or 
transmissibility in mammals via the respiratory route.
    ``(b) Limitation.--This section does not apply to characterization 
or testing of any naturally occurring influenza virus or coronavirus, 
unless the characterization or testing is anticipated to increase 
pathogenicity or transmissibility.''.
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