Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, along with his Senate and House colleagues, has introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at safeguarding sensitive American genetic data and personal health information from foreign adversaries. The Prohibiting Foreign Access to American Genetic Information Act of 2024 seeks to prevent biotechnology companies owned or controlled by foreign adversaries, such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), from receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars through federal contracts, grants, and loans.

The legislation specifically targets companies with significant ties to the CCP, including the BGI Group (BGI), MGI, Complete Genomics, and WuXi AppTec, and their subsidiaries. These companies pose a serious national security risk and would be subject to a fast-track ban. Senator Marshall emphasized the need to protect Americans' genetic data from CCP-aligned actors like BGI, stating, "The CCP should never have access to use Americans' sensitive genetic information against us."

Senator Hagerty highlighted the threat posed by CCP-backed companies, stating, "Backed by the PRC's balance sheet, BGI and other highly-subsidized CCP-directed companies seek to undercut their way into dominating the U.S. biotech market while aggressively collecting the genetic and other sensitive medical data of tens of millions of Americans and transferring it back to China for malign or unknown purposes."

Senator Peters emphasized the growing threats posed by biotech companies controlled by foreign adversaries, stating, "This bill will protect Americans' personal health and genetic information from foreign adversaries who have the ability and motivation to use it to undermine our national security."

Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, Representative Gallagher, expressed concern over BGI's collection of genetic data and its potential use by the CCP, stating, "The CCP will undoubtedly use the genetic data collected by BGI to further its malign aggression, potentially even to develop a bioweapon used to target the American people."

Representative Krishnamoorthi emphasized the need to close the loophole that allows U.S. taxpayer dollars to subsidize biotech companies of foreign adversaries, stating, "Closing this loophole is the first step in protecting the American bioeconomy and our national security, and ensuring our genomic data is kept safe and secure."

The legislation aims to address the strategic threat posed by foreign adversaries seeking to acquire human genetic and related data through biotechnology companies. It recognizes the potential for this data to be exploited for military purposes, invade privacy, and violate human rights. The bill also acknowledges the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party and other adversarial governments to gain military and economic advantage through biotechnology.

If personal health information and genetic data of Americans fall into the hands of adversarial foreign governments, it could lead to significant security risks, including genetically enhanced soldiers or engineered pathogens. Allowing companies that grant foreign governments access to this information to operate unchecked in the United States could provide these adversarial nations with economic and strategic leverage.

Apart from banning biotechnology companies with concerning business practices and ties to adversarial governments, the legislation establishes criteria to identify other companies of concern based on their potential risks to U.S. national security. It also includes provisions for an annual review to identify new companies or existing companies attempting to evade the ban through corporate restructuring.

The bipartisan legislation aims to protect American genetic data and personal health information from foreign adversaries, ensuring the safety and security of this sensitive information.