H.R. 5270 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5270 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 17, 2021Mr. Carter of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Cuellar, and Mr. Gallagher) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prohibit the National Institutes of Health from conducting or supporting certain gain-of-function research, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Pausing Enhanced Pandemic Pathogen Research Act of 2021. 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: 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. .