Export Controls Bill Introduced in House

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, introduced a bill that would require the executive branch to prohibit controlled exports to any country that has acted with "gross negligence with respect to a chemical or biological program," and that gross negligence could come from the government itself, a state-owned enterprise, or a company with "significant material support" from that country's govenrment.

The bill, introduced Aug. 17, does not name China, but many Republicans allege that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is a result of negligence at a virus research lab in Wuhan, China. The bill gives the U.S. government 120 days to determine whether the foreign government has adequately addressed the negligence so that it will not happen again, and whether the foreign government is voluntarily disclosing the kind of information that the U.S. and international organizations are asking for. The bill is called the Holding Countries Accountable for Negligent Chemical and Biological Programs Act.