Should Possession of Toxins Like Ricin Be a Crime? (S. 744)

What is S. 744?

(Updated August 18, 2019)

This bill was enacted on July 25, 2019

This bill -- the Effective Prosecution of Possession of Biological Toxins and Agents Act of 2019 -- would broaden the coverage of current laws against the misuse of certain toxins. Specifically, this bill would make it a crime for certain “restricted persons” to possess any biological agent or toxin listed as a “select agent” by the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary.

Criminal fines collected under this bill would be recorded in the budget as revenues. They would be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund, from whence they could be spent without further appropriation action. 

HHS reformatted its regulations several years ago, causing certain toxins, including ricin, to not be covered under the criminal code.

Argument in favor

The possession of dangerous, weaponizable toxins such as ricin should be a crime. When HHS reformatted its regulations several years ago, overlooking ricin as a controlled toxin to be covered under the criminal code was an oversight; this bill corrects that error.

Argument opposed

HHS’ decision to not include ricin in the criminal code when it reformatted its regulations was intentional. Without understanding the reasoning behind HHS’ decision, Congress shouldn’t override the agency’s decision via this bill.

Impact

Restricted persons; select agents; toxins; possession of toxins by restricted persons; crime; Crime Victims Fund; and the HHS Secretary.

Cost of S. 744

The CBO estimates that there would be no budgetary impact to implementing this bill.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced this bill to make it a crime for restricted persons to possess any biological agent or toxin listed as a selected agent by the HHS Secretary. 

House sponsor Rep. John Ratcliffe says: 

“With the threat of bioterrorism on the rise, it’s more important than ever to ensure that our legal system is equipped to properly punish individuals who knowingly accumulate deadly toxins and agents without required registration. As a former federal prosecutor, I’m committed to improving the laws on the books to make sure that dangerous substances are kept out of the hands of people who can use them for malign activity.”

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) made an opening statement in support of this bill when it was marked up by the House Judiciary Committee on June 12, 2019: 

“H.R. 1986 fixes a technical, but important, error in the federal code. Current law makes it a crime for certain “restricted persons” to possess any biological agent or toxin listed as a “select agent” by the HHS Secretary. Several years ago, HHS re-formatted its regulations, which caused certain toxins — including ricin — to not be covered by the criminal code… [W]e are now seeing the effects of this error. Since the citations in the current statute are off, individuals who would otherwise be guilty of a crime — unregistered possession of ricin — have been moving to dismiss cases and federal prosecutors have had to argue the problem is a scrivener’s error, but several cases have been affected already — including one in my district. In United States v. Gibbs, in the Gainesville division of the Northern District of Georgia, the judge dismissed charges against a defendant for unregistered possession of ricin. In doing so, the court stated it is Congress’ duty to fix problems it has created in federal law.”

This bill unanimously passed the Senate and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security with the support of three bipartisan Senate cosponsors, including two Democrats and one Republican. Its House companion bill, sponsored by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), passed the House Judiciary Committee by voice vote with the support of three bipartisan House cosponsors, including two Republicans and one Democrat.

Media:

• House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) Opening Statement at Committee Markup (In Favor)
  
• CBO Cost Estimate (House Companion Bill)
  
• Ripon Advance