PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 29, 2010
International Biosecurity Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish the International Biosecurity Initiative which shall: (1) pursue efforts to establish international standards for pathogen and laboratory safety; (2) pursue efforts to ensure a strong global legal regime for biosecurity; (3) pursue strategies to strengthen the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction; (4) engage in cooperative efforts to improve national, regional, and multinational surveillance and response capabilities with respect to infectious disease outbreaks; (5) support international mechanisms that enhance biosecurity policy coordination; (6) facilitate the alignment of foreign assistance for biosecurity with the public health needs of recipient countries; (7) engage in multilateral and bilateral discussions of biodefense programs and control of sensitive biotechnologies to ensure that they are limited to peaceful purposes; and (8) develop an assessment of the potential security threats and societal and ethical impacts posed by emerging and future biotechnology developments.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) convene an International Biosecurity Task Force of experts to serve as a nongovernmental consultative body for the International Biosecurity Initiative; (2) establish the Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism Fellowship Program to provide eligible students and recent graduates educational fellowships for obtaining a deeper understanding of federal efforts to counter terrorist activities and to promote nonproliferation; (3) submit to Congress an assessment of the limits and capabilities of technologies that could be used for investigating biological incidents and allegations of illegal biological weapons activities; (4) submit to Congress an assessment of the global legal regime for biosecurity; and (5) report to Congress following any incident in which a foreign country fails to share information about the outbreak of a previously unknown infectious disease or about an outbreak for which the country is otherwise required to share information.
People & committees
Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-27] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.6297 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.6297 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.6297 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.6297 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.