Introduced in Senate — S. 4491

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 4491

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 12, 2026

Mr. Sheehy (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To enhance diplomatic engagement on international biotechnology and biosecurity matters.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Biodefense Diplomacy Enhancement Act.

Sec. 2. Enhancement of diplomatic engagement on international biodefense, biosecurity, and biotechnology matters

(a) In general

The Secretary of State shall advance United States foreign policy goals to improve cooperation in the field of international biodefense, biosecurity, and biotechnology matters with United States allies and partners, including by carrying out the activities described in this section.

(b) Policy development

The Secretary of State, acting through the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security if the Secretary so delegates, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Political Affairs and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), shall pursue enhanced biodefense cooperation within NATO, including by—

(1)

advocating for the prioritization of policy development within NATO relating to biodefense, including in the areas of biotechnology, biosurveillance, and countermeasures in the field of biological threats;

(2)

identifying and evaluating opportunities to strengthen NATO planning, policies, and activities relating to biodefense and biotechnology;

(3)

pursuing potential revisions or amendments to the NATO Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defence Policy to further enhance biodefense efforts in NATO;

(4)

coordinating with NATO member states to prioritize and implement measures described in the NATO Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defence Policy;

(5)

strengthening NATO interoperability and allied forces capabilities in resilience, detection, attribution, emergency response, and recovery in the event of a weaponized biological attack;

(6)

evaluating opportunities for expanded NATO capabilities to research, develop, and deploy biotechnology for international security purposes; and

(7)

promoting adherence by NATO member states to the highest standards of safety and security in biological research.

(c) Cooperation with United States allies and partners

The Secretary of State, acting through the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security if the Secretary so delegates, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, shall pursue international biotechnology, biosecurity, and biodefense cooperation with United States allies and partners, including—

(1)

exploring potential areas of cooperation with countries that are major non-NATO allies in biotechnology, biosecurity, and biodefense matters;

(2)

coordinating with allied and partner countries, including NATO countries, on formulation of export control policies in the field of biotechnology, including items that may be identified as dual-use items that would pose a substantial risk to national security if used for military end-uses, such as items that could enable the development of bioweapons;

(3)

promoting adherence by United States allies and partners to the highest standards of safety and security in biological research; and

(4)

collaborating on efforts to enforce the Biological Weapons Convention.

(d) Strategies

(1) NATO biodefense strategy

The Secretary of State, acting through the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security if the Secretary so delegates, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, shall develop a strategy, to be known as the NATO Biodefense Strategy, which shall include—

(A)

an assessment of current cooperation between the United States and NATO member states in biotechnology, biosurveillance, biological threat countermeasures, and other biodefense capabilities;

(B)

an identification of strategic planning and deployment gaps in NATO relating to biotechnology and biodefense;

(C)

recommendations to address gaps identified under subparagraph (B), including through coordination with NATO member states, capability development, and coordination mechanisms; and

(D)

an assessment of current Department of State cooperation with other United States Government agencies in biodefense, biotechnology, biosecurity, biosurveillance, and biological threat countermeasures.

(2) International biotechnology, biosecurity, and biodefense cooperation strategy

The Secretary of State, acting through the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security if the Secretary so delegates, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, shall develop a strategy, to be known as the International Biotechnology, Biosecurity, and Biodefense Cooperation Strategy, which shall include—

(A)

proposals for commitments or agreements under which the United States and United States allies and partners, including countries that are major non-NATO allies, may expand cooperation on international security matters relating to biotechnology, biosecurity, and biodefense;

(B)

an assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of coordinating export control efforts, in addition to existing export control regimes such as the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group, related to biotechnology items that may pose national security risks if used for military end-uses; and

(C)

an overview of nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related (NADR) programs and funds for the purposes of enhancing capabilities and capacities to address international biosecurity threats and recommendations for the use of Department of State programs and funds, including NADR programs and funds, to expand cooperation outlined in subparagraph (A) and increase the effectiveness of export control efforts identified in subparagraph (B).

(3) Limitation

The strategies developed under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be limited to addressing threats posed by biological agents and toxins as such terms are defined in section 178 of title 18, United States Code.

(e) Report

(1) In general

Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, acting through the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security if the Secretary so delegates, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the strategies required by subsection (d).

(2) Form

The report required by this subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex if submitted separately from the unclassified portion.

(f) Congressional briefing

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security shall provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees in response to significant developments relating to—

(1)

the contents of the report required by subsection (e); and

(2)

other material developments in biotechnology and biosecurity globally that may affect United States national security interests.

(g) Definitions

In this section—

(1)

the term appropriate congressional committees means—

(A)

the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and

(B)

the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of the Representatives.

(2)

the term biodefense means actions to counter biological threats, reduce risks, and prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological incidents;

(3)

the term biological threat means entities involved with, or a situation involving, a biological hazard that can potentially cause a biological incident;

(4)

the term Biological Weapons Convention means the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, done at Washington, London, and Moscow April 10, 1972, and entered into force March 26, 1975;

(5)

the term biosecurity means policies, practices, and controls that reduce the risk of loss, theft, misuse, diversion of, or intentional unauthorized release of biological materials;

(6)

the term biosurveillance means the process of gathering, integrating, interpreting, and communicating essential information and indications related to all-hazard threats or disease activity affecting human, animal, plant, and environmental health to achieve early detection and provide early warning and contribute to overall situational awareness of the health aspects of a biological incident to support and enhance decisionmaking at all levels;

(7)

the term biotechnology means the use of biological processes, organisms, or systems for manufacturing, research, or medical purposes, including genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioinformatics; and

(8)

the term countries that are major non-NATO allies means countries designated pursuant to section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321k).