Federal

Unmasking the Origins of COVID–19 Act

Source: Congress.gov · 352 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to allow the government to offer rewards for information. The bill specifically adds rewards for people who share credible information about COVID-19's origins, people involved in covering up those origins, and nonpublic information about gain of function research (making viruses more dangerous or transmissible) at Chinese laboratories.

Who It Affects

The bill directly affects the State Department and people who might provide information about COVID-19's origins or related research activities. It could affect Chinese laboratories and the governments of China and the Chinese Communist Party as subjects of the investigation.

Key Provisions

• The bill authorizes the government to offer rewards for identifying the origins of COVID-19 (Sec. 2) • The bill authorizes rewards for identifying any person or entity involved in covering up the origins of COVID-19 (Sec. 2) • The bill authorizes rewards for identifying nonpublic information about gain of function research conducted at or connected to Chinese laboratories, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology, that has been covered up by the Government of the People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party (Sec. 2)

What Changes

The State Department gains the ability to offer financial rewards to people who provide credible information about these three categories of COVID-19 related topics. This adds a new paragraph to an existing law about what the government can offer rewards for.

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 301 To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards regarding the identification of credible information regarding the origins of COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 11, 2023 Mr. ROSE (for himself, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. BACON, and Mrs. HARSHBARGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards regarding the identification of credible information regarding the origins of COVID– 19, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unmasking the Origins 4 of COVID–19 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 Jan 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H301.IH H301 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 301 IH SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR REWARD. 1 Subsection (b) of section 36 of the State Department 2 Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is amend- 3 ed— 4 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 5 the semicolon at the end; 6 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at 7 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 8 (3) by adding at the end the following new 9 paragraph: 10 ‘‘(14) the identification of— 11 ‘‘(A) the origins of COVID–19; 12 ‘‘(B) any person or entity involved in the 13 coverup of the origins of COVID–19; or 14 ‘‘(C) nonpublic information related to gain 15 of function research conducted at or in connec- 16 tion with Chinese laboratories, including the 17 Wuhan Institute of Virology, with respect to 18 coronaviruses, that has been covered up by the 19 Government of the People’s Republic of China 20 or the Chinese Communist Party.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 Jan 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H301.IH H301 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.