S. 485: Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-02-26 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-02-26 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009

Plain summary

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.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s485.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s485 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111