Conservative groups are urging Congress to pass a National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA) amendment that would ban government contracts with China’s Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), a biotech firm linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). More than a dozen conservative groups have sent a letter to senators and House lawmakers, emphasizing the need to prohibit contracts with “adversarial biotech companies” like BGI.
According to Wisconsin GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, BGI collects genetic data from people worldwide, including pregnant women, and uses it for research with the Chinese military. Gallagher warns that the CCP could potentially use this genetic data to develop a bioweapon targeting the American people. He and Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee are leading the efforts to include the ban on BGI in this year’s NDAA.
The conservative groups, including Heritage Action and Americans for Limited Government, argue that the ban is necessary to protect Americans’ genomic information from malign actors who could leverage it for economic and national security goals. They highlight the importance of U.S. leadership in biotechnology and genomic data, as well as the potential applications in healthcare, targeted therapies, agriculture, and biodefense. However, they also caution that genomic data in the wrong hands could be used for genetic surveillance and control of minority populations.
The groups point out that the CCP has prioritized biotechnology and genomic data in its Made in China 2025 Plan and has been engaged in a decade-long genomic data collection effort, drawing data from millions of people around the world. They note that China’s efforts were further boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic when Chinese companies provided testing kits and gene-sequencing machines globally. The U.S. government has already taken action against BGI-controlled companies, placing them on the entity list for their involvement in the repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
The NDAA provisions proposed by Gallagher and Hagerty aim to protect American biotechnology by prohibiting the acquisition of genetic sequencing equipment from BGI and its subsidiaries. The conservative groups argue that this is crucial to counter China’s data collection efforts, which pose a threat to U.S. economic and national security leadership.
Overall, the call for a ban on government contracts with BGI reflects concerns about the potential misuse of genomic data by the Chinese government. Conservative groups are urging Congress to take action to safeguard Americans’ sensitive health information and protect national security interests.
