This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program requiring covered distributors of highly pathogenic agents to maintain detailed electronic logbooks. The Secretary will develop and annually update a list of these agents, consulting various federal agencies and biosafety guidelines. Each logbook entry must record comprehensive information for every sale, lease, loan, or transfer, including the agent's name, purchaser's identity, intended use, housing location, and transfer specifics. Distributors must verify purchaser identification, and false statements made by purchasers are subject to criminal penalties. Logbook entries must be retained for at least three years, and their disclosure is strictly limited to authorized federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials for compliance, public health, safety, or national security, while being exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests. Additionally, the bill mandates the National Security Advisor to identify a federal entity responsible for overseeing periodic strategic evaluations of high-containment laboratories in the United States. These evaluations will assess their number, location, mission, capacity, security measures, and aggregate risks, leading to the development of national standards for their design and operation. The designated federal entity must report evaluation results and recommendations to Congress and establish a Public Health Biosafety and Biosecurity Team as a central point of contact for state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity issues. Furthermore, the bill requires a feasibility study for creating a database of existing high-containment laboratories, detailing ownership, location, licensing, and any legal violations, with a report on the study's findings to be submitted to Congress.
Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2024
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Health
Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2025
USA119th CongressHR-5747| House
| Updated: 10/14/2025
This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program requiring covered distributors of highly pathogenic agents to maintain detailed electronic logbooks. The Secretary will develop and annually update a list of these agents, consulting various federal agencies and biosafety guidelines. Each logbook entry must record comprehensive information for every sale, lease, loan, or transfer, including the agent's name, purchaser's identity, intended use, housing location, and transfer specifics. Distributors must verify purchaser identification, and false statements made by purchasers are subject to criminal penalties. Logbook entries must be retained for at least three years, and their disclosure is strictly limited to authorized federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials for compliance, public health, safety, or national security, while being exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests. Additionally, the bill mandates the National Security Advisor to identify a federal entity responsible for overseeing periodic strategic evaluations of high-containment laboratories in the United States. These evaluations will assess their number, location, mission, capacity, security measures, and aggregate risks, leading to the development of national standards for their design and operation. The designated federal entity must report evaluation results and recommendations to Congress and establish a Public Health Biosafety and Biosecurity Team as a central point of contact for state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity issues. Furthermore, the bill requires a feasibility study for creating a database of existing high-containment laboratories, detailing ownership, location, licensing, and any legal violations, with a report on the study's findings to be submitted to Congress.