On September 9, 2024, the House of Representatives passed the BIOSECURE Act by 306 to 81 votes. Before the congressional recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had announced he would bring the BIOSECURE Act (H.R. 8333) to the floor for a vote in the Fall. The bill would prohibit companies from doing business with some Chinese biotech firms if they want to remain in good standing with the federal government.
The legislation was first introduced in the House by then Rep. Michael Gallagher (R-WI) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the then Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Rep. Gallagher recently retired. That bill is H.R. 7085.
In May, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) introduced a version of the bill (H.R. 8333). On May 15, the House Oversight Committee considered the bill and reported it out of committee on a vote of 40-1. The bill reported out was an amendment that was in the nature of a substitute.
The House legislation would prohibit federal agencies from awarding contracts, grants, or loans to biotechnology companies owned by foreign adversaries. The ban would apply to five companies: BGI Group, MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec, and WuXi Biologics. The bill also would require the administration to review and modify the list of prohibited companies on an annual basis. H.R. 8333 would permit federal agencies to waive the ban for a maximum of 545 days on a case-by-case basis.
While the House legislation has wide bipartisan support, an attempt to include it as an amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) fell short in June when the House considered the NDAA.
Similar legislation (S.3558) was introduced by the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), and Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) before the House legislation was marked up in committee and reported out with an amendment in the nature of a substitute in March. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the lone holdout on the committee. Cosponsors of the bill are Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), James Lankford (R-OK), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Mark Warner (D-VA).
The Senate legislation would prohibit federal agencies from awarding contracts, grants, or loans to biotechnology companies owned by foreign adversaries. The ban would apply to four companies: BGI Group, MGI, Complete Genomics, and WuXi AppTec. The bill also would require the administration to review and modify the list of prohibited companies on an annual basis. S.3558 would permit federal agencies to waive the ban for a maximum of 545 days on a case-by-case basis.
Both bills have been scored by the Congressional Budget Office as not increasing federal spending. A vote in the Senate has not yet been scheduled.
