On October 23, 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, H.R. 3160, to expand the control and monitoring of biotoxins in the U.S. There is concern from the academic and research communities that the passage of this bill may hamper the work of H-1B researchers. Subject workers would be required to obtain a special waiver from Heath and Human Services (HHS), who may designate categories of nonimmigrants that have expertise valuable to the U.S. regarding select agents, and would not be subject to the prohibition. For the text of the legislation, visit the Library of Congress website at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.3160

Please direct any comments or concerns you have with the proposed legislation to the Senate or Theresa Cardinal Brown, Manager, Labor and Immigration Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (TBrown@USChamber.com).

Please feel free to contact Berry, Appleman & Leiden with additional questions.