[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 23 (Monday, February 2, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H1946-H1947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ILLEGAL BIO LAB IN LAS VEGAS

  (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Kiley 
of California was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.)
  Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a 
serious national security issue that requires the immediate attention 
and immediate action from the United States Congress.
  An illegal bio lab was just raided in Las Vegas, and it is directly 
linked to the secret Chinese bio lab found in Reedley, California, in 
late 2022. That lab was oozing with E. coli, HIV, malaria, and other 
dangerous pathogens.
  The lab just raided in Vegas was operated by the same LLC and same 
Chinese nationals as the one discovered in Reedley. We know a lot about 
the one discovered in Reedley because I requested a report from the 
House of Representatives, an investigation which resulted in a report 
by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
  I want to share some of the details of that report, but I will start 
with its conclusion: That no one knows whether there are other unknown 
bio labs because there is no monitoring system in place.

                              {time}  2040

  Those were the words of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist 
Party in 2023. We know there was at least one other such lab, but we 
still don't know how many others because the legislation, the 
bipartisan legislation, that I have proposed with Representatives Costa 
and Valadao has not yet been passed.
  Here is what we learned about this lab that was discovered in Reedley 
and that has now had a counterpart discovered in Las Vegas.
  It was run by an international fugitive from China named Jesse Zhu. 
After running various state-connected companies in China, Zhu moved to 
Canada where he set up dozens of corporations to steal valuable 
American intellectual property and unlawfully transfer it to China. The 
Supreme Court of British Columbia found that he committed fraud on an 
epic scale, resulting in a $330 million judgment.
  He then fled to America, assumed an alias, David He, and set up 
several more companies, including the one behind the Reedley biolab and 
now the Vegas biolab.
  He was indicted in 2023 and has been in Federal custody ever since, 
but his partner and other associates have not been.
  The Reedley lab was discovered in December of 2022 when a code 
inspector came upon a suspicious warehouse. Inside, she found many 
Chinese nationals wearing white lab coats, glasses, masks, and latex 
gloves, along with thousands of vials of biological substances and a 
thousand mice. It was later learned that these were transgenic mice 
genetically engineered to catch and carry the COVID-19 virus. A further 
inspection found blood, tissue, and other bodily fluid samples and 
serums, along with thousands of vials of suspected biological material.
  Some of the vials were labeled in the names of infectious agents 
while others were labeled in a code that was never deciphered.
  At first the CDC--this was during the Biden administration--refused 
to investigate and even hung up on local officials who asked for help. 
After Representative Costa got involved, the CDC did an inspection and 
found at least 20 potentially infectious agents, including HIV, 
tuberculosis, and the deadliest known form of malaria. Yet, the CDC did 
not bother to test any samples, even those with unknown contents, 
making it impossible for the select committee to fully assess the 
potential risks that this specific facility posed to the community. The 
select committee report calls this baffling.
  Later, local officials discovered a refrigerator in the lab labeled 
``Ebola.''
  While the supposed purpose of the lab was to sell test kits, in fact, 
all the company did was buy counterfeit kits from China and resell them 
in the United States. Thus, the committee found there was a lack of 
apparent legitimate or even profit-motivated criminal motive in the 
operation of the facility.
  Meanwhile, Jesse Zhu, its operator, was receiving unexplained 
payments via wire transfer from Chinese banks.
  As I mentioned, the report concluded that we don't know if there are 
any other unknown biolabs because there is no such monitoring system. 
That is why I am calling upon the House to act quickly to pass the bill 
that I have introduced, along with Representatives Costa and Valadao, 
to find any other such labs that exist across the country and assure 
that they are shut down.
  The Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act 
would address gaps in Federal law outlined in this Congressional 
report.
  Specifically, it would require distributors of highly pathogenic 
agents to maintain federally reviewable logbooks of all transfers, 
including purchaser identity and intended use for at least 3 years. It 
would strengthen oversight by mandating Federal review of the number, 
location, and risks of high-containment labs with updated national 
standards for design, construction, and operation.
  It would protect against foreign threats by ensuring adversaries 
cannot exploit weak U.S. oversight to establish these secret labs. It 
would create a public health biosafety and biosecurity team as a single 
point of contact for State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments 
when suspicious labs are identified. It would require a feasibility 
study on creating a centralized national database of high-containment 
labs accessible to State and local officials for biosecurity purposes.
  As the city manager of Reedley, Nicole Zieba, said--who was centrally 
involved in trying to get the Federal and State authorities to take 
action here--she said: The Reedley incident highlighted a gap in the 
Nation's biosecurity. Any city around this country could have dozens of 
deadly pathogens stored next to sensitive locations and be completely 
unaware of it. She said that this proposed legislation puts us on a 
path to closing that critical gap that will help keep every American 
safe from the hazards like those that were discovered in the Reedley 
lab. Now, of course, we have seen alarmingly similar hazards discovered 
in the Vegas lab.
  I will be calling for a thorough investigation of what was discovered 
in Las Vegas, and I am calling upon the House of Representatives to 
move quickly to get this bipartisan bill passed so that it can then 
pass the Senate and be signed into law.


                     Extent of Fraud in California

  Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, people across the country are 
rightly outraged by the fraud that has been discovered in the State of 
Minnesota. However, for those of us in California, we have almost 
become desensitized to it. Every time there has been an independent 
audit, it seems, of any program in California, what is discovered is 
fraud on a scale that dwarfs anything that was discovered in Minnesota.
  We have already taken some action here in Congress to rein in the 
fraud that exists in California and to provide oversight and 
accountability that has

[[Page H1947]]

been sorely lacking. But what is needed is a comprehensive picture of 
just how large the scale of this fraud might be.
  That is why I am requesting that the Government Accountability Office 
conduct a study on the scale of fraud in California. I will read, for 
the record, my letter to Comptroller General Brown, Acting Comptroller 
General of the GAO, requesting this study.

  It says:

       One of Congress' most crucial duties is to steward public 
     funds by assuring they are spent in accordance with the law 
     and not siphoned off by criminals. Unfortunately, several 
     high-profile incidents of fraud in recent years have shown 
     the inability of some States to adequately protect public 
     money. In particular, California has had difficulty stopping 
     fraudsters who steal benefits destined for the most 
     vulnerable among us. To gain a greater understanding of the 
     impact this theft has on Californians and the Nation, I am 
     asking that the GAO conduct a study on the amount of waste, 
     fraud, and abuse California has fallen victim to.
       While fraud amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in 
     Minneapolis has recently garnered public attention, it still 
     pales in comparison to the fraud perpetrated in California.
       During the COVID-19 pandemic, LexisNexis estimated State 
     unemployment fraud reached $32.6 billion. Unemployed 
     Californians had their benefits stolen, and taxpayers were 
     taxed to fund criminals. The State's effort to aid the 
     homeless is also riddled with waste and fraud. The State 
     auditor examined spending on programs to reduce homelessness 
     between 2019 and 2024. Despite $24 billion in spending, 
     homelessness increased by 30,000 during that period, and no 
     grant recipients provided metrics that demonstrated any sort 
     of progress. This prevents the State government and the 
     public from knowing how money is being spent and if specific 
     programs are effective and worthy of continued funding.
       San Francisco nonprofit workers have been charged with 
     theft of public funds intended for homeless seniors, and real 
     estate executives in Los Angeles have been charged with 
     stealing $50 million from a variety of homeless programs. 
     Theft of public money is not just confined to nonprofits in 
     California. Even an Orange County judge was convicted of mail 
     fraud for stealing from a workers' compensation program.

  The letter concludes:

       Due to the widespread nature of theft involving public 
     money in California, we urgently need more information to 
     develop an effective antifraud strategy.
       To accomplish this, I ask the GAO to provide:
       1, how much money in total was publicly reported as lost to 
     waste, fraud, and abuse in California since 2016;
       2, a breakdown of fraud by economic sector such as 
     transportation, healthcare, housing, law enforcement;
       3, who the perpetrators of fraud are;
       4, what stolen funds are spent on; and,
       5, using California as a case study, what steps can the 
     Federal Government take to reduce the most common frauds 
     perpetrated against taxpayers?

  This study, Mr. Speaker, will provide information that we very much 
need in order to exercise the full range of oversight and 
accountability tools we have here in Congress to protect the tax 
dollars of hardworking California residents.

                              {time}  2050


              Recognizing Robin Trimble on Her Retirement

  Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Robin 
Trimble, who is retiring as the chief executive officer of the Rocklin 
Area Chamber of Commerce, for her 20 years of dedicated service to the 
Rocklin community.
  For two decades, Robin has led the chamber with enthusiasm, strength, 
and resilience. Through Robin's expertise, the Rocklin chamber was 
guided through a period of growth and prosperity. She helped the 
chamber expand its membership, started important community programs, 
forged strong partnerships that support Rocklin's local businesses and 
economy, and built a legacy that will continue to shape the Rocklin 
community for many years to come.
  Like any 20-year period, her tenure as CEO came with its fair share 
of unique challenges. One example is the important role that she played 
in minimizing the impact of the extraordinary challenges that arose as 
a result of the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 era.
  Throughout her tenure, Robin has worked tirelessly to make the dream 
of business ownership a reality and a successful path for many in the 
Rocklin area. Her ongoing advocacy for Rocklin businesses has left a 
meaningful mark on our local economy.
  I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Robin since my 
time in the State legislature. I have always appreciated her 
professionalism, wisdom, kindness, and generosity that she brought to 
her role as the chamber's chief executive officer. Robin's visionary 
leadership has made a lasting impact on the Rocklin Area Chamber of 
Commerce and the Rocklin community at large.
  Therefore, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I 
join the Rocklin community in wishing Robin Trimble a very happy 
retirement and thanking her for her 20 years of contributions to the 
Rocklin business community.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________