FiercePharma: "House Speaker Mike Johnson pledges vote for BIOSECURE as China-targeting bill hangs in limbo"'
Ahead of an election in November—and amid a period of legislative uncertainty for the China-targeting BIOSECURE Act—U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R - LA) has pledged to hold a vote for the controversial bill before the year is out.
Speaking at an event held by conservative think tank the Hudson Institute, Johnson guaranteed that BIOSECURE would get his support and promised to push through more legislation around China-U.S. competition in 2024.
“We will vote on the BIOSECURE Act, which will halt federal contracts with biotech companies that are beholden to adversaries,” Johnson said at the Hudson Institute event Monday.
The bill, introduced earlier this year by former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, seeks to halt federal contracts with Chinese biotech outfits that are “beholden to adversaries and endanger Americans’ healthcare debt,” Johnson explained.
...While BIOSECURE has won wide bipartisan support, an attempt for a House floor vote that would have included the bill as an amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) fell short in June. The NDAA door remains open in the Senate—but voting on it as a standalone bill is considered difficult...
I'm still a bit skeptical about overall passage of the BIOSECURE Act this year, but we'll see.