COVID Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2148 To impose sanctions and other measures in response to the failure of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to allow an investigation into the origins of COVID–19 at suspect laboratories in Wuhan. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 21, 2021 Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To impose sanctions and other measures in response to the failure of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to allow an investigation into the origins of COVID–19 at suspect laboratories in Wuhan. 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 ‘‘Coronavirus Origin 4 Validation, Investigation, and Determination Act of 2021’’ 5 or the ‘‘COVID Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2148 IS SEC. 2. MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO FAILURE OF THE GOV- 1 ERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF 2 CHINA TO ALLOW AN INVESTIGATION OF SUS- 3 PECT LABORATORIES IN WUHAN. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—If, by not later than the date that 5 is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 6 the President is unable to certify that the Government of 7 the People’s Republic of China has allowed a transparent 8 international forensic investigation of suspect laboratories 9 in Wuhan to commence, including the Wuhan Institute of 10 Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (in this sec- 11 tion referred to as ‘‘CAS’’), the President shall— 12 (1) impose the sanctions described in subsection 13 (c) with respect to individuals who hold positions of 14 leadership in the state-run CAS, including its more 15 than 100 affiliated institutes and laboratories, 13 16 local branches, and 2 universities; 17 (2) prohibit Federal funding for any joint re- 18 search or other collaborative projects between United 19 States-based researchers and CAS researchers 20 across all academic fields, including those employed 21 by any of the more than 100 affiliated institutes and 22 laboratories of CAS, its 13 local branches or 2 uni- 23 versities, or the more than 430 science and tech- 24 nology enterprises based in the People’s Republic of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2148 IS China across 11 industries that were created by 1 CAS or founded with CAS investment; and 2 (3) prohibit United States-based researchers 3 and institutions that receive Federal funding from 4 engaging in collaborative projects involving gain-of- 5 function research on viruses with individuals or in- 6 stitutions based in the People’s Republic of China. 7 (b) TERMINATION.—The requirements of subsection 8 (a) shall terminate on the date on which the Government 9 of the People’s Republic of China allows the transparent 10 international forensic investigation described in that sub- 11 section to be conducted and concluded without— 12 (1) imposition of restrictions on the scope or 13 subject matter of the investigation; or 14 (2) limitations on the access of investigators to 15 physical sites, persons of interest, or relevant epide- 16 miological, serological, and virological data. 17 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions to be 18 imposed under subsection (a)(1) are the following: 19 (1) ASSET BLOCKING.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ex- 21 ercise all of the powers granted to the President 22 under the International Emergency Economic 23 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the ex- 24 tent necessary to block and prohibit all trans- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2148 IS actions in property and interests in property de- 1 scribed in subparagraph (B) if such property 2 and interests in property are in the United 3 States, come within the United States, or are or 4 come within the possession or control of a 5 United States person. 6 (B) PROPERTY AND INTERESTS IN PROP- 7 ERTY DESCRIBED.—The property and interests 8 in property described in this subparagraph are 9 property or interests in property of— 10 (i) an individual described in sub- 11 section (a)(1); or 12 (ii) any family member or associate 13 acting for or on behalf of an individual de- 14 scribed in subsection (a)(1) and to whom 15 that individual transfers such property or 16 interests in property after the date on 17 which the President designates the indi- 18 vidual for the imposition of sanctions 19 under that subsection. 20 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR 21 PAROLE.— 22 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 23 alien described in subsection (a)(1) is— 24 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2148 IS (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 1 documentation to enter the United States; 2 and 3 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 4 or paroled into the United States or to re- 5 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra- 6 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 7 seq.). 8 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 10 in subsection (a)(1) is subject to revocation 11 of any visa or other entry documentation 12 regardless of when the visa or other entry 13 documentation is or was issued. 14 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca- 15 tion under clause (i) shall— 16 (I) take effect immediately; and 17 (II) automatically cancel any 18 other valid visa or entry documenta- 19 tion that is in the alien’s possession. 20 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 21 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex- 22 ercise the authorities provided to the President 23 under sections 203 and 205 of the International 24 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2148 IS and 1704) to the extent necessary to carry out this 1 section. 2 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at- 3 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 4 violation of subsection (c)(1) or any regulation, li- 5 cense, or order issued to carry out that subsection 6 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub- 7 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter- 8 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 9 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 10 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 11 of that section. 12 (e) EXCEPTIONS.— 13 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI- 14 TIES.—Sanctions under this section shall not apply 15 to any activity subject to the reporting requirements 16 under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 17 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intel- 18 ligence activities of the United States. 19 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER- 20 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND FOR LAW ENFORCE- 21 MENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under subsection 22 (c)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if ad- 23 mitting or paroling the alien into the United States 24 is necessary— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2148 IS (A) to permit the United States to comply 1 with the Agreement regarding the Head- 2 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 3 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 4 November 21, 1947, between the United Na- 5 tions and the United States, or other applicable 6 international obligations; or 7 (B) to carry out or assist law enforcement 8 activity in the United States. 9 (3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 10 GOODS.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and re- 12 quirements to impose sanctions authorized 13 under this section shall not include the author- 14 ity or a requirement to impose sanctions on the 15 importation of goods. 16 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 17 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 18 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu- 19 factured product, including inspection and test 20 equipment, and excluding technical data. 21 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms 23 ‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2148 IS meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 1 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 2 (2) GAIN-OF-FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘gain-of- 3 function’’, with respect to the study of viruses, 4 means— 5 (A) the use of gene editing to increase the 6 transmissibility, virulence, immunogenicity, or 7 host tropism of a virus by artificially inserting 8 genomic components from one virus into the 9 backbone of another virus, which results in the 10 creation of a new chimeric virus, particularly 11 when the resultant chimeric virus is pathogenic 12 to humans; or 13 (B) serial passaging in a cell culture to in- 14 crease the transmissibility, virulence, immuno- 15 genicity, or host tropism of a virus by selec- 16 tively applying pressure to a culture to artifi- 17 cially induce its mutation or RNA recombina- 18 tion with one or more viruses. 19 (3) TRANSPARENT INTERNATIONAL FORENSIC 20 INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘transparent inter- 21 national forensic investigation’’, with respect to in- 22 vestigating the origin of SARS–CoV–2, means an in- 23 quiry that is objective, data-driven, inclusive of 24 broad expertise, subject to independent oversight, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2148 IS and properly managed to exclude individuals with 1 conflicts of interest and under which the following 2 takes place: 3 (A) Relevant research laboratories and 4 hospitals open their records to examination by 5 the investigative team and grant the investiga- 6 tive team unfettered access to any and all facili- 7 ties and other sites of interest, and to any and 8 all forms of epidemiological or virological data 9 of interest, including serological records per- 10 taining to the earliest confirmed or suspected 11 cases of COVID–19, or cases of similar illnesses 12 that may have been misdiagnosed, which ap- 13 peared in and around Wuhan in the fall and 14 winter of 2019. Investigators document the ve- 15 racity and source of the data upon which their 16 analysis is based in a manner that allows inde- 17 pendent experts to reproduce their analysis and 18 validate any conclusions they may draw. 19 (B) The international team is allowed to 20 perform a full forensic investigation of the 21 Wuhan Institute of Virology, and if necessary, 22 the Wuhan Center for Disease Prevention and 23 Control and the Wuhan Institute of Biological 24 Products, and all other laboratories in Wuhan 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2148 IS that the team might identify as warranting ex- 1 amination. The team is allowed to review the 2 biosafety level under which bat coronavirus re- 3 search was conducted, and to interview any and 4 all personnel currently or previously employed 5 at those laboratories, or related experts who 6 may have information pertinent to the inves- 7 tigation. All laboratory logs and notebooks kept 8 by Shi Zhengli and other researchers at the 9 Wuhan Institute of Virology who have con- 10 ducted gain-of-function experiments between 11 2007 and the date of the enactment of this Act, 12 as well as their published and unpublished work 13 in Chinese and English, are presented in a full 14 and unaltered condition for examination by the 15 team. The team is given unlimited access to the 16 full range of virus cultures, isolates, genetic se- 17 quences, databases, and patient specimens 18 stored at these facilities as well as all chimeric 19 synthetic viruses grown in vitro by cell culture 20 passaging or engineered by genomic editing be- 21 tween 2007 and the date of the enactment of 22 this Act. Such access must include the oppor- 23 tunity to examine the Wuhan Institute of 24 Virology’s database of approximately 22,000 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2148 IS samples and virus sequences, including 15,000 1 taken from bats, which was previously available 2 to the public but taken offline in September 3 2019. The team is further allowed to examine 4 in full all training procedures in effect at the 5 laboratory prior to the pandemic, including 6 those pertaining to recordkeeping and safety 7 procedures and strategies to prevent the acci- 8 dental escape of potential pathogens. 9 (C) The investigative team analyzes in de- 10 tail all research related to the 293 bat 11 coronaviruses reportedly isolated by Shi Zhengli 12 and her team at the Wuhan Institute of Virol- 13 ogy between 2012 and 2015, particularly 14 RaTG13 and RaBtCoV/4991, including all 15 virus isolates and cultures. The Wuhan Insti- 16 tute of Virology discloses the content of all clas- 17 sified and unpublished studies that the Institute 18 reportedly conducted with the People’s Libera- 19 tion Army if such studies involved gain-of-func- 20 tion research. The team is able to test all lab- 21 oratory personnel for antibodies and other sero- 22 logical indicators of past infection of COVID– 23 19. The team is given access to all other 24 records kept by the Wuhan Institute of Virol- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2148.IS S2148 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2148 IS ogy, including security logs, surveillance video 1 footage, audio recordings, and electronic logs of 2 employees entering and leaving the facility. The 3 investigative team is permitted to take samples 4 and conduct testing of the physical facilities 5 where gain-of-function research has been con- 6 ducted, including, if necessary, sewer samples. 7 Unfettered access is also granted to the aban- 8 doned copper mine in Mojiang Hani Autono- 9 mous County in Yunnan province, where 10 Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]