[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5316 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5316
To amend title VIII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include
biotechnology in the definitions of ``prohibited technology'' and
``notifiable technology'', and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 6, 2026
Mr. Ricketts (for himself and Ms. Slotkin) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title VIII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include
biotechnology in the definitions of ``prohibited technology'' and
``notifiable technology'', and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Biotech Investment National Security
Act of 2026'' or the ``BINSA Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The People's Republic of China has pursued a
deliberate, state-directed strategy to dominate global
biotechnology, including pharmaceutical development, biologics
manufacturing, and clinical research and development
capabilities.
(2) United States capital flowing to Chinese biotechnology
companies through licensing agreements, joint ventures, and
equity investments is accelerating the acquisition by the
People's Republic of China of pharmaceutical intellectual
property and clinical development capabilities in a manner that
creates strategic dependency risks for the United States.
(3) Cross-border out-licensing transactions between United
States and European pharmaceutical companies and Chinese
biotechnology firms totaled approximately $136,000,000,000 in
2025, representing a rapid and accelerating transfer of
pharmaceutical innovation capacity to entities subject to the
direction and control of the People's Republic of China.
(4) Biotechnology, including pharmaceutical development and
biologics manufacturing, has civil-military dual-use
applications and presents strategic dependency risks for the
United States comparable to those presented by semiconductors,
artificial intelligence, and other technologies already covered
by title VIII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C.
4581 et seq.).
(5) Section 851 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119-60; 41 U.S.C. 3901 note
prec.) (commonly referred to as the ``BIOSECURE Act''),
recognized that biotechnology is both a national security asset
and a strategic vulnerability, and that the People's Republic
of China seeks to dominate biotechnology as an industry of the
future.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that consistent
application of outbound investment screening to biotechnology is
necessary to prevent United States capital and intellectual property
from accelerating the dominance by the People's Republic of China of
the pharmaceutical innovation supply chain in a manner that will create
long-term strategic dependency risks analogous to those the United
States now faces with respect to rare earth elements and
semiconductors.
SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND LICENSING OF TECHNOLOGIES IN
PROHIBITED AND NOTIFIABLE TRANSACTIONS.
Section 809 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4589)
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)(A)--
(A) in clause (vii), by striking ``; or'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix);
and
(C) by inserting after clause (viii) the following:
``(viii) licensing of a prohibited
technology from a covered foreign person; or'';
(2) in paragraph (7)(A), by adding at the end the
following:
``(vi) Biotechnology, meaning the research,
development, manufacturing, or
commercialization of--
``(I) pharmaceutical products
(which has the meaning given the term
`drug' in section 201(g)(1) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1)));
``(II) biological products (as
defined in section 351(i) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(i)));
and
``(III) therapeutic compounds,
including drug discovery platforms,
clinical research and development
capabilities, biologics manufacturing,
and intellectual property and know-how
relating to therapeutic compounds.'';
and
(3) in paragraph (10)(A), by adding at the end the
following:
``(vi) Biotechnology, meaning the research,
development, manufacturing, or
commercialization of--
``(I) pharmaceutical products
(which has the meaning given the term
`drug' in section 201(g)(1) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1)));
``(II) biological products (as
defined in section 351(i) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(i)));
and
``(III) therapeutic compounds,
including drug discovery platforms,
clinical research and development
capabilities, biologics manufacturing,
and intellectual property and know-how
relating to therapeutic compounds.''.
SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall, not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, issue a rule
to further define the parameters of the area of ``biotechnology'', as
used in paragraphs (7)(A) and (10)(A) of section 809 of the Defense
Production Act of 1950, as amended by section 3.
(b) Requirements.--When defining the parameters of the area of
``biotechnology'' pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of the
Treasury shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of
National Intelligence;
(2) give particular consideration to transactions involving
the licensing of intellectual property, drug discovery
platforms, clinical research and development capabilities, and
biologics manufacturing know-how to covered foreign persons (as
defined in section 809 of the Defense Production Act of 1950);
(3) give particular consideration to licensing
transactions, joint ventures, and equity investments involving
drug discovery platforms, clinical development capabilities,
and biologics manufacturing as priority categories for both the
prohibited and notifiable technology tiers within the
biotechnology sector;
(4) consider the degree to which a transaction would
transfer pharmaceutical innovation capacity, clinical
development capabilities, or manufacturing know-how to entities
subject to the direction or control of the People's Republic of
China; and
(5) not define the biotechnology sector in a manner that
includes or could be construed to include agricultural
biotechnology, industrial fermentation unrelated to
pharmaceutical or therapeutic production, or basic academic
research with no direct pharmaceutical or therapeutic
application.
SEC. 5. REPORT REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report assessing whether flows
of the United States capital into the biotechnology sector of the
People's Republic of China, including through licensing transactions
with Chinese biotechnology firms, negatively affect the United States
national security and military readiness.
(b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(2) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives;
(3) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives;
(4) the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition
between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party of
the House of Representatives;
(5) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(6) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate; and
(7) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
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