Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to boost the Biosecure Act's odds of enactment with an 11th-hour plan to add it to the annual defense authorization bill during the lame-duck session.
Why it matters: The measure cutting off U.S. government funding to certain Chinese biotech companies deemed national security risks wasn't included in the House or Senate versions of the NDAA. But China hawks remain eager to make good on a yearlong push for legislation.
Driving the news: Johnson's office told Axios that the Biosecure Act is a "target" to include in the final version of the defense authorization package at year end, following similar comments Johnson made in an interview with Punchbowl.
- While the Biosecure Act has bipartisan support, key House Democrats, including members of leadership, have reservations about the way it singles out companies, and voted against it on the floor in September.
- Rep. Jim McGovern led concerns centered on a lack of due process for the five Chinese research companies who'd be subject to a contracting ban.
- When trying to reach a deal on a big, must-do package like the NDAA, extra provisions that cause headaches sometimes get dropped.
What they're saying: Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins said Biosecure's chances this year amount to a "coin flip."
- One potential change to smooth over concerns would be to make it easier for companies to get off the no funding list once they are on it, he said.
- A spokesperson for House Armed Services Committee Democrats declined to comment on the bill's prospects.
Between the lines: The measure is being closely watched by U.S. life sciences companies that depend on some of the Chinese companies for pharmaceutical ingredients and to run research and clinical trials.
- The measure sets 2032 as the deadline for cutting off business with the firms, though, giving drugmakers and biotechs an eight-year runway to adjust their contracts and supply chains.
- The companies named in the bill — BGI, MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics — argue that their work is being misconstrued and they do not jeopardize Americans' health data or pose other risks.
- "With limited legislative time left, Congress is looking for consensus, and the opposition to the Biosecure Act has been growing," said one lobbyist seeking amendments to the measure.
