Rep. Wenstrup introduces bill to stop U.S. taxpayer funding of gain-of-function research by adversaries

Washington, D.C. – This week, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) together with Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ),  introduced the Foreign Adversary Gain-of-Function Research Prevention Act of 2023. This bill would ban direct and indirect federal funding for Gain-of-Function (GOF) research activities conducted by foreign adversaries of the United States, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Any entity found to be in violation of this ban would face a prohibition on any award or subaward from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for three years.
               
"There is no legitimate medical or scientific reason the U.S. should fund dangerous Gain-of-Function research in countries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. We do not need our adversaries learning how to make animal viruses more transmissible, uncontrollable, and virulent in humans, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer," said Rep. Wenstrup. "This bill carefully defines 'potential pandemic pathogens' so that important biosafety and medical work would be permissible, while prohibiting the types of dangerous research that occurred in Wuhan and unleashed a global pandemic."

“The NIH gave grant funding to EcoHealth Alliance, which used these funds for gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses in Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 likely originated," said Rep. Lesko. "I am pleased to be introducing this legislation alongside House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Chair Brad Wenstrup to ensure that taxpayer dollars never directly or indirectly fund this type of risky research conducted in hostile foreign nations and to prevent a similar situation from ever happening again.”

Background: This bill names China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as foreign adversaries prohibited from receiving Federal funding for Gain-of-Function research activities. Other countries may be added to the prohibition list by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence.

Any entity found to be in violation of the Federal funding ban in this legislation would face a 3-year prohibition on receiving any award or subaward from HHS followed by a 3-year probationary status.