This week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., brought back the “Genomics Expenditures and National Security Enhancement (GENE) Act.”
In recent years, Rubio has warned that China is targeting Americans’ genomic data, a point he reiterated this week.
“The genomic data of American citizens has been aggressively sought after by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through both legal and illegal means. The U.S. must advance its security in order to avoid risking any data being vulnerable to international influence,” Rubio’s office noted.
“There is no reason for our lack of oversight on access to American citizens’ genomic data. It’s imperative that Congress has a seat at the table to confront this growing national security and privacy threat,” said Rubio.
The bill “increases congressional oversight by requiring the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to include the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in its briefings; directs CFIUS to rewrite its regulations to require mandatory filing for any deal that involves a company working with genetic information” and “requires that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) be consulted on any deal that involves a genetic data transaction, to increase cross-agency awareness of transactions of concern.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is co-sponsoring the bill.
“For too long, the People’s Republic of China has collected Americans’ healthcare data without anywhere near sufficient scrutiny. This legislation would confront this growing national security threat and ensure private genetic information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands,” said Cornyn.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. House.
