A bipartisan measure that aims to stop American taxpayer money from going to Chinese biotechnology companies that are a danger to national security has progressed in the House. Before President Joe Biden can sign the proposal into law, it must first pass both the Senate and the House.
By a vote of 40 to 1, the House Oversight Committee adopted the BIOSECURE Act (H.R. 8333) on May 15. Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi Apptec, and WuXi Biologics are among the Chinese "biotechnology companies of concern" that the bill would prohibit federal agencies from hiring.
American pharmaceutical and healthcare corporations, meanwhile, have until 2032 to sever their connections with these Chinese businesses.
Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) released a joint statement saying, "The House Oversight Committee just sent a powerful, bipartisan message to the Chinese Communist Party: the United States will not sit idly by while the CCP steals our genetic data and seeks to control our biotech supply chains."
"We are excited to collaborate with House leadership to get this bill on the floor as soon as possible. We are proud to lead the BIOSECURE Act."
The chairman and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are Mr. Moolenaar and Mr. Krishnamoorthi, respectively. The chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is Mr. Wenstrup. On May 10, the three of them and the five first co-sponsors of the BIOSECURE Act launched it.
The bill's text also prohibits using government loans or grants for the purpose of "procuring,obtaining, or using any biotechnology equipment or services" from Chinese biotech enterprises that are regarded to be of concern. Additionally, it would establish an interagency procedure to determine whether other corporations need to be prohibited.
Before the vote on May 15, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the Oversight Committee, stated that "this bill is a necessary step towards protecting America's sensitive healthcare data from the CCP before these companies become more embedded in the U.S. economy, university systems, and federal contracting base."
Introduced in January, H.R. 7085 was the initial legislation; the approved version was an upgraded version of the legislation. The addition of WuXi Biologics to the more recent version of the law is one way that the two versions vary from one another.
The Homeland Security Committee gave its approval in March, allowing the Senate to proceed a companion measure (S.3558) of the original House legislation.
By a vote of 40 to 1, the House Oversight Committee adopted the BIOSECURE Act (H.R. 8333) on May 15. Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi Apptec, and WuXi Biologics are among the Chinese "biotechnology companies of concern" that the bill would prohibit federal agencies from hiring.
American pharmaceutical and healthcare corporations, meanwhile, have until 2032 to sever their connections with these Chinese businesses.
Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) released a joint statement saying, "The House Oversight Committee just sent a powerful, bipartisan message to the Chinese Communist Party: the United States will not sit idly by while the CCP steals our genetic data and seeks to control our biotech supply chains."
"We are excited to collaborate with House leadership to get this bill on the floor as soon as possible. We are proud to lead the BIOSECURE Act."
The chairman and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are Mr. Moolenaar and Mr. Krishnamoorthi, respectively. The chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is Mr. Wenstrup. On May 10, the three of them and the five first co-sponsors of the BIOSECURE Act launched it.
The bill's text also prohibits using government loans or grants for the purpose of "procuring,obtaining, or using any biotechnology equipment or services" from Chinese biotech enterprises that are regarded to be of concern. Additionally, it would establish an interagency procedure to determine whether other corporations need to be prohibited.
Before the vote on May 15, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the Oversight Committee, stated that "this bill is a necessary step towards protecting America's sensitive healthcare data from the CCP before these companies become more embedded in the U.S. economy, university systems, and federal contracting base."
Introduced in January, H.R. 7085 was the initial legislation; the approved version was an upgraded version of the legislation. The addition of WuXi Biologics to the more recent version of the law is one way that the two versions vary from one another.
The Homeland Security Committee gave its approval in March, allowing the Senate to proceed a companion measure (S.3558) of the original House legislation.
