S.Amdt. 5909

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Sheehy and Mrs. Shaheen, aims to add a section to title XII of bill S. 4784. Its purpose is to increase diplomatic efforts regarding international biodefense, biosecurity, and biotechnology.

Key Objectives

• NATO Cooperation: The Secretary of State is tasked with improving biodefense within NATO. This includes advocating for policy development in biosurveillance and biotechnology, updating the NATO Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defence Policy, and improving the ability of allied forces to detect and respond to weaponized biological attacks.

• Allies and Partners: The amendment directs the Secretary of State to cooperate with other U.S. allies and partners, including major non-NATO allies. This involves collaborating on the Biological Weapons Convention, promoting safety standards in research, and coordinating export control policies for biotechnology items that could be used to create bioweapons.

• Strategic Planning: The Secretary of State must develop two specific strategies:

  • NATO Biodefense Strategy: This will assess current cooperation, identify gaps in planning, and provide recommendations to fix those gaps.
  • International Biotechnology, Biosecurity, and Biodefense Cooperation Strategy: This will propose agreements to expand cooperation and evaluate the effectiveness of export controls.

• Accountability and Reporting: To keep officials accountable, the amendment requires:

  • A report containing these strategies to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs within 270 days.
  • A briefing for these committees within 90 days regarding the report and global developments in biosecurity that affect U.S. national security.