To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, to carry out a program under which the Secretary requires each covered distributor of a highly pathogenic agent to comply with certain logbook requirements, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Costa (for himself and Mr. Valadao) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a tracking system for distributors of highly pathogenic biological agents. The goal is to improve biosecurity by ensuring accountability in the distribution chain for dangerous pathogens that could pose public health risks.
Who Benefits and How
Public health agencies and biosecurity officials benefit from improved visibility into pathogen distribution chains. The general public benefits from enhanced safeguards against potential misuse or loss of dangerous biological materials.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Distributors of highly pathogenic agents must comply with new logbook requirements, increasing their administrative and compliance burden. They will need to maintain detailed records of all transactions involving covered agents.
Key Provisions
- Requires HHS to establish a tracking program for highly pathogenic agent distributors
- Mandates logbook requirements for covered distributors
- Creates accountability mechanisms for the distribution chain of dangerous pathogens
- Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to oversee the program
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to enhance public health protection by requiring distributors of highly pathogenic agents to maintain detailed logbooks, while also establishing a strategic evaluation process for high-containment laboratories.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
- "the_administrator"
- → Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A pathogenic agent classified as risk group 3 or higher, excluding biological agents regulated under specific Public Health Service and Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Acts.
An entity that transfers highly pathogenic agents, including publicly funded repositories or biobanks.
Laboratories suitable for biosafety level 3 or higher, as defined by the latest edition of 'Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories'.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology