in effect
Executive Order 14292, signed May 5, 2025, directs federal agencies to cut off U.S. government funding for certain biological research deemed dangerous — specifically “gain-of-function” research that makes pathogens more transmissible or harmful. It also sets timelines for rewriting existing oversight policies and building new enforcement tools into research contracts.
Federal funding for dangerous gain-of-function research conducted by foreign entities in countries of concern (such as China) is to be ended immediately, and domestically funded gain-of-function research is suspended at least until new oversight policy is finished. Within 90 days, the Office of Science and Technology Policy must revise the federal framework governing screening of synthetic DNA/RNA sequences. Within 120 days, the 2024 federal policy on dual-use research of concern must be revised or replaced with stronger oversight, enforcement, and public transparency requirements. Within 180 days, the administration must produce a strategy — and if needed a legislative proposal — to regulate dangerous gain-of-function research that receives no federal funding at all. Going forward, every federal life-science grant or contract must include a clause making compliance with this order material to payment, requiring recipients to certify they do not conduct prohibited research, and warning that violations can trigger immediate funding revocation and up to a five-year ban from federal life-science grants.
U.S. universities, hospitals, and private research institutions that receive federal life-science funding — particularly those running or subcontracting research involving pathogens — must certify compliance and face potential loss of grants if they or their employees violate the order’s terms. Foreign research organizations, especially those in China and other countries the administration deems to have inadequate biosafety oversight, lose eligibility for U.S. federal research dollars. Synthetic nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) suppliers and manufacturers are also affected, as federal grantees will be required to purchase only from providers that follow the updated screening framework.