S. 485 (111th): Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009

Introduced:
Feb 26, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Sen. Richard Burr [R-NC]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on February 26, 2009, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Feb 26, 2009
Referred to Committee Feb 26, 2009
Cosponsors
1 cosponsors (1D) (show)
Committees

House Homeland Security

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to reauthorize the Select Agent Program by amending the Public Health Service Act and the Agriculture Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 and to improve oversight of high containment laboratories.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated Feb 26, 2009.
16 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

2/26/2009--Introduced.
Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 to reauthorize appropriations for the Select Agent Program, which lists and controls biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety.
Requires appropriate training of individuals handling or using such agents and toxins.
Includes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) among the federal agencies limited in the disclosure of information related to listed agents or toxins.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to review and make recommendations for improving the Select Agent Program.
Sets forth additional factors that the Secretary must consider in determining whether to list an agent or toxin, including whether the agent or toxin is endemic to the United States.
Requires the Secretary to issue guidance on inventorying and monitoring listed biological agents.
Directs the Attorney General to issue guidance regarding the scope of the statutory definition of "variola virus." Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop guidelines for how laboratories and laboratory personnel that do not regularly test for listed agents and toxins may be rapidly accessed and utilized during emergencies; and (2) evaluate national needs of, and oversight of, high containment biological laboratories.
Provides for the development of minimum standards for laboratory biosafety and biosecurity training for relevant personnel of high containment biological laboratories.
Requires the Secretary to establish a Biological Laboratory Incident Reporting System.

House Republican Conference Summary

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No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

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