BERKELEY, Calif. (U-WIRE) — Lawmakers in Congress are considering a sweeping anti-terrorism bill that would bar all non-U.S. citizens, including international students and faculty, from conducting research with certain biological microbes and chemical toxins.
The proposals have brought criticism from college lobbyist groups, which say restricting all non-U.S. citizens from working with threatening biological or chemical agents would impede scientific research at universities nationwide.
The House passed a version of the bill Tuesday that gives senior federal officials discretion to grant waivers to non-U.S. citizens on a case-by-case basis, said Janet Schumaker, an official with the American Society of Microbiology.
The Senate is expected to consider a similar version of the bill in the next few weeks.
“We assume that there will be a broad list of people who can receive the waivers, but we have no assurance,” Schumaker said. “We are concerned, for example, about Canadian lab (workers) who work with these agents.”
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Attorney General John Ashcroft created the list of restricted biological agents, including smallpox, anthrax and plague.
Currently, 250 to 300 institutions are conducting research programs using such agents.
Background checks on each of the employees working on the projects could cause possible delays in the research. This research is extremely important in light of recent bioterrorist threats, Schumaker said.
College lobbyist groups in Washington say they are working to protect scientific research, but did acknowledge the necessity of anti-terrorist legislation.
“We understand the momentum that has built up in Congress and want more attention paid to select agents in the universities,” Schumaker said. “We need to balance protection with research.”
People who use dangerous biological agents and do not register them are also subject to severe penalties under this legislation.
In a separate, less sweeping bill, the House and Senate passed a measure this week barring any foreigner from a nation known to harbor terrorism from handling restricted biological agents.
“If you have an Iraqi researcher by birth (who is not a U.S. citizen), he cannot get access to these restricted substances,” said Peter Smith, a spokesman for the Association of American Universities.