The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today advanced a bill that aims to cut off U.S. taxpayer funding for select Chinese biotech companies in a broad bipartisan vote, Peter reports.

Why it matters: The 11-1 tally illustrated the strong sentiment for responding to China's growing influence in biopharma, even though the bill has prompted widespread concern over disrupting supply chains and quashing innovation.

Between the lines: The legislation, sponsored by committee Chair Gary Peters and Sen. Bill Hagerty, shows how the tough stance toward China is spreading from national security circles to biotech.

• Sen. Rand Paul, the ranking member of the panel, was the only senator to vote no, and the only senator to even speak about the measure in the markup.
• Backers say that Chinese companies like BGI, which is named in the bill text, have ties to the Chinese government and could use genetic data they collect for nefarious means, including even developing a bioweapon.

The other side: BGI has said it "only serves institutional and corporate clients in the U.S. for research purposes" and "has no access to Americans' personal data."

• Paul said he had "no love lost for some of these companies" but expressed concern about the broader effects.
• "I do worry though that as our anger builds with China, that this idea of disengaging really has an overlay of provincial interests in this," Paul said. "By banning certain companies we're advantaging certain other companies."
• He also raised concerns that one of the companies in the bill, which he did not name, has "many different applications throughout the supply chain that we haven't really fully researched enough."
• The U.S. biotech industry has warned that vague language in the bill and overly broad terms could sweep up any number of companies — and that targeting certain Chinese biotechs could disrupt interwoven research and development.

What's next: Backers of the bill are likely to look for a larger vehicle to move it. The National Defense Authorization Act could be a natural landing place.

House Ways and Means Republicans today pushed through a bill that would block the the Biden administration's rule to impose minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes, Victoria reports.

Why it matters: Nursing facilities have vigorously fought the mandate, saying it will be impossible to comply without more funding.

• The bill passed 26-17, largely along party lines, with Republicans criticizing the additional layers of regulation the rule would bring.
• They were joined by some Democrats, who said the requirement would hit rural nursing facilities especially hard.

State of play: Under the rule, nursing homes would have to ensure they provide each patient at least 33 minutes of care a day from a registered nurse.

• It comes amid a health care workforce shortage stemming from the pandemic.
• President Biden has said the rule is needed to provide high-quality service and support to the frail elderly population.

Between the lines: Several committee Democrats at the markup expressed concern about the lack of qualified health care workers to fulfill the staffing standard and called the rule an "unfunded mandate."

• But Rep. Terri Sewell was the lone Democrat voting with Republicans to approve the bill.

Reality check: The bill still faces long odds in the Senate.

• But the issue won't be going away. This markup is further evidence of congressional interest in long-term care and how to accommodate an aging population.

The committee separately approved a bipartisan bill that would delay the inclusion of oral drugs to treat end-stage renal disease being moved into Medicare Part B payment system until 2033.

Nuclear radiation and its health effects are once again a hot topic on the Hill, Axios Energy Policy's Jael Holzman and Victoria report.

Why it matters: The energy transition will emit lots of radiation — and many are still suffering medical problems from the last industrial age.

• The Senate's lined up a vote this week on Josh Hawley's one-man push to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. It promises compensation to people exposed to the effects of nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining in the West.

Driving the news: A separate new bipartisan bill — the Health Care for Energy Workers Act — would allow individuals to use federal radiation exposure benefits to get home care services from physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

• That care to be covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, a 2000 law intended for workers at waste sites managed by the Energy Department as well as hazardous mines.
• The bill was introduced by Sens. John Hickenlooper and Marsha Blackburn, who represent states on the frontlines of future nuclear development — and where legacy waste sites remain.

What they're saying: Hickenlooper told Axios the bill is part of his efforts to get a grip on nuclear's true environmental impacts — while serving more rural communities that rely on at-home health care.

• "When this bill first appeared I immediately thought, what is the connection to the modern-day nuclear industry? ... Most of the people we talk about now were afflicted 30 to 50 years ago. The next question is, [what next] now that we know more?"
• Blackburn told Axios that she talked to nuclear workers at the Y-12 energy facility in Tennessee who lived in rural areas and found it difficult to access a doctor.
• "Our goal is to make certain that these energy workers, who many times are working in dangerous situations, have the opportunity to do their job but to know that there is a reliability of access to health care," she said.

What's next: Blackburn said she's optimistic that the bill could find a ride on any end-of-the-year health care package.