NJ AR29

New Jersey Assembly Resolution urges the U.S. President and Congress to cease all funding of gain-of-function research involving pathogenic substances and organisms

Gain-of-function research involves altering the genetic makeup of viruses and microorganisms to increase transmissibility, virulence, or ability to evade immunity, with the stated purpose of understanding pathogen behavior and developing vaccines

The resolution cites 2012 NIH-funded experiments that mutated the H5N1 avian influenza virus (60% mortality rate in humans) to study increased transmissibility, which prompted an eight-month federal research pause and new protocols

References testimony from former CDC Director Robert Redfield before Congress in March 2023 stating his belief that COVID-19 resulted from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology

Copies of the resolution would be transmitted to the President, Vice President, and all members of Congress if adopted