BIOSECURE Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
BIOSECURE Act
This bill prohibits entities that receive federal funds from using biotechnology that is from a company associated with a foreign adversary.
Specifically, federal agencies and recipients of federal funds (e.g., grantees) may not procure or use any biotechnology equipment or service that is from a biotechnology company of concern and may not contract with any entities that do so. A biotechnology company of concern is an entity that is under the control of a foreign adversary and that poses a risk to national security based on its research or multiomic data collection (e.g., collection of genomic information).
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must, in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) and other specified agencies, develop a list of prohibited companies; the list must include five particular companies, as specified in the bill. OMB and DOD may approve waivers of these restrictions on an as-needed basis, which are valid for up to one year and may be extended once for an additional 180 days.
In addition, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence must report on the national security risks posed by (1) multiomic data collection by foreign adversaries in connection with biotechnology equipment or services, and (2) biotechnology companies that have such data.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 10, 2024. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 10, 2024: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) introduced it on May 10, 2024, and 14 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 7 Democrats, 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 10, 2024, 853 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 730 days ago, on September 10, 2024.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers