Risky Research Review Act, Increased Accountability At Federal Prisons, Transparency On Royalties Paid To Gov’t Officials

Editor’s note: This week has seen the introduction of several new pieces of legislation by Senator Rand Paul and colleagues in the Senate.  Senator Paul discussed the risks of gain-of-function Research previously when it was discovered that 15 federal agencies knew about the risky research undertaken by the NIH. Senator Paul attempted to introduce an amendment requiring transparency in royalty payments back in 2023. 

Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces Bipartisan Risky Research Review Act to Oversee Gain-of-Function Research

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reintroduced the bipartisan Risky Research Review Act, a first-of-its-kind proposal to establish a Life Sciences Research Security Board within the Executive Branch. This independent board will oversee the funding of gain-of-function research and other high-risk life sciences research that potentially poses a threat to public health, safety, or national security.

“We must demand accountability for the grave oversights that were revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The safety of our nation and the trust in its institutions depend on it. My bill not only strengthens transparency but also ensures that public health decisions are made in the best interest of the American people, free from financial motives and prioritizing national security,” said Dr. Paul.

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is an original cosponsor of the legislation in the Senate.

“Life science research can yield breakthroughs that help protect the health of Americans, but it must be done with proper safeguards in place,” said Sen. Peters. “By creating an independent oversight agency, this bill will help maintain control of high-risk research, to ensure it’s effective, innovative, and safe.”

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U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, introduced the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Gain-of-function research is reported to be a potential target of a future President Trump Executive Order. As someone who has extensively investigated COVID-19 origins and biosafety concerns in foreign labs, it is clear to me that greater oversight measures are needed to review gain-of-function research of concern and risky experiments that involve virus transmission in humans. The National Institutes of Health has proven they are not capable of properly reviewing risky research applications, as in the case of EcoHealth Alliance. I believe the Risky Research Review Act establishes crucial oversight measures to alleviate the legitimate and significant concerns of the American people, thus reestablishing trust in our public health agencies,” said Rep. Griffith.

The Life Sciences Research Security Board will serve as an independent body responsible for thoroughly evaluating gain-of-function research and other potentially harmful studies involving high-consequence pathogens. Currently, the funding and study of life sciences research lack sufficient government oversight, allowing American taxpayer dollars to be spent without proper safeguards. Dr. Paul’s legislation establishes a much-needed stringent review process for the board to assess high-risk research and decide whether tax dollars should support specific research proposals, ensuring accountability and strengthening transparency.

The Risky Research Review Act will:

Establish an Independent Oversight Board: Form a Life Sciences Research Security Board dedicated to protecting public health, safety, and national security by evaluating and issuing binding determinations on high-risk life sciences research proposals seeking federal funding.

Define High-Risk Research: Specify high-risk life sciences research as studies with potential dangerous uses, or dual-use research of concern involving a high-consequence pathogen, or gain-of-function research.

Ensure Board Independence: Position the board as an independent agency within the Executive Branch, consisting of one executive director, five non-governmental scientists, two national security experts, and one non-governmental biosafety expert, each serving up to two four-year terms.

Restrict Funding Without Approval: Prohibit federal agencies from awarding funding for high-risk life sciences research without board approval.

Mandate Majority Vote: Require a majority vote of board members to approve high-risk life sciences research.

Empower the Board: Authorize the board to compel agencies to turn over necessary information and records, including classified information.

Demand Full Disclosure: Require life sciences research grant applicants to declare if their research falls under high-risk life sciences categories or involves select agents or toxins.

Automatic Referral: Mandate that all positive attestations are automatically referred to the board.

Continuous Subcontract Disclosure: Require grant recipients to continuously disclose subcontracts or subawards to agencies, with agencies required to submit these disclosures to the board.

Annual Reporting: The board will submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees and publish it online, summarizing determinations, findings, and information about entities and sub-awardees involved in high-risk life sciences research.

You can read the Risky Research Review Act HERE.

Republican Senators Reintroduce Bill to Increase Accountability at Federal Prisons

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), alongside Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and James Lankford (R-OK) announced the introduction of the Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025. This bill would bring greater accountability to our nation’s federal prisons by requiring the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Currently, the BOP Director is not subject to Senate confirmation despite having significant authority over taxpayer dollars and federal personnel. Unlike most U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) administrators and directors, the BOP Director is appointed by the U.S. Attorney General – not the President – without Senate consideration.

The Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025 would require the President to appoint the BOP Director with the advice and consent of the Senate. The legislation would also delineate any newly confirmed BOP Director’s tenure to a single, 10-year term at the head of the Bureau.

“No agency as large as the Bureau of Prisons should have so little accountability. Our bill ensures the concerns of those who work in prisons are heard and acted upon and will provide much needed Senate oversight of a taxpayer funded system,” said Dr. Paul.

“The Senate plays a vital role in staffing the federal government, evaluating the qualifications of more than a thousand presidential nominees to ensure transparency and accountability. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons oversees thousands of employees and a multi-billion dollar budget and should be subject to Senate review and confirmation as well,” said Senator McConnell. “Our bill would extend the Senate’s advice and consent role to the Bureau of Prisons Director and expand supervision over this federal agency. The thousands of Americans – and hundreds of Kentuckians – employed by the Bureau of Prisons deserve Senate oversight and an added layer of protection from harm.”

“The Director of the Bureau of Prisons oversees a massive budget and thousands of employees, including many Iowans. It’s a significant responsibility that requires serious oversight to protect inmates and employees from mismanagement or abuse. Requiring the BOP Director to face Senate confirmation would bring much needed transparency and accountability to the federal prison system,” said Senator Grassley.

“Any government agency that has over 30,000 employees, manages a multi-billion dollar budget, and directly impacts thousands of lives should not be exempt from Senate oversight,” said Senator Blackburn. “This bipartisan bill extends the Senate’s duty of advice and consent to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, fostering greater transparency for employees and further protecting taxpayer dollars in the federal prison system.”

“The Senate confirmation process ensures that Oklahoman voices are heard. Requiring Senate confirmation will improve transparency and give taxpayers the accountability they deserve,” said Senator Lankford.

The BOP Director supervises the federal prison employees who serve in over 120 facilities across the country working under hazardous conditions to protect the public from harm. The legislation announced today would subject the Director to the same congressional scrutiny as other top law enforcement agency chiefs within the DOJ, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Directors and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator. By extending Senate consideration to the BOP Director, this legislation would encourage the Bureau to provide greater responsiveness to the safety needs of its dedicated federal corrections workers.

Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces Transparency Bill on Royalties Paid to Government Officials

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reintroduced his Royalty Transparency Act. This legislation increases transparency on royalty payments paid to Executive Branch officials and makes the financial disclosure forms public for federal advisory committee members such as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Under current law, federal employees are not required to publicly disclose the source or amount of royalty payments received in service of their official duties. Additionally, the financial disclosures of members of federal advisory committees are not available to the public, despite the fact that these committees make recommendations to federal agencies that have a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of Americans. This lack of transparency prevents taxpayers from holding individuals accountable within the federal government for conflicts of interest and other abuses.

Dr. Paul’s legislation introduces long-overdue accountability by requiring Executive Branch employees to publicly disclose royalty payments for inventions developed during their employment with the federal government on their financial disclosure reports.

“Distrust in public health officials is at an all-time high. One way to restore trust is to make sure that public policy isn’t influenced by personal gain,” said Dr. Paul. “The Royalty Transparency Act will allow more information to be seen by the public to ensure federal decision makers, and the policies they write, aren’t being influenced by the royalty payments they receive.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) is an original cosponsor of the legislation in the Senate.

“I am proud to support the Royalty Transparency Act, ensuring federal employees’ transparency and accountability to the American people,” said Sen. Rick Scott. “Under current law, bureaucrats like Anthony Fauci and NIH employees were able to receive millions in royalty payments from companies outside the federal government without requirements for reporting, raising serious questions about potential conflicts of interest and fueling distrust in the federal government. Our bill will bring much-needed transparency to these payments by requiring they be publicly reported, helping to hold bureaucrats accountable to the American people and restoring trust in the federal government.”

U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, introduced the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“For too long, federal bureaucrats concealed the royalties they received, who they were paid by, what they were compensated for, and how much they were paid,” said Rep. Griffith. “As the Trump Administration ushers in a new era of transparency in our federal government, the Royalty Transparency Act will foster greater government transparency and accountability by requiring government officials in federal agencies to disclose the royalties that they receive as a result of their government service. I am excited to work with Senator Paul so we can shine a light on these royalties and hold federal bureaucrats to a greater standard of accountability.”

For years, Dr. Paul has been working to expose the potential conflicts of interest that may arise when millions of dollars in royalties are paid to federal employees serving their official duties. In 2022, Dr. Paul spearheaded a letter with four other members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requesting information on disclosures of royalty payments made by third-party providers to NIH employees. However, federal agencies, including NIH, have refused to release the information. Through litigation, Open the Books obtained redacted documents and uncovered that approximately 2,400 NIH scientists have been awarded over $300 million in royalties in the last decade, which translates to an average payment of $135,000 per scientist. Since NIH claims that it is not required to disclose this information, it’s still unknown how much each payment amounted to, or why a payment was made. Dr. Paul’s legislation aims to ensure that federal agencies, including NIH, cannot evade scrutiny from Congress and the public, holding federal employees to a higher standard of accountability.

The Royalty Transparency Act mandates that royalty payments received by federal employees from the U.S. Government be disclosed in their financial reports. It also requires members of advisory committees, particularly those at risk of conflicts of interest due to royalties or other financial connections, to adhere to the same standards of financial disclosure as are prevalent across the government. Furthermore, the bill requires that public financial disclosures be made available online, increasing transparency for American taxpayers. The bill introduces greater congressional oversight over the financial disclosure process for executive branch employees and strengthens measures to prevent conflicts of interest in federal procurement.

You can read the Royalty Transparency Act HERE.

Banner Image: NYC during COVID-19 . Image Credit – Yoav Aziz

Senator Rand Paul