Measure seeks domestic genomics protections

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is encouraging Senate passage of his legislation, The Genomics Data Security Act (S.1744), which establishes protections addressing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) national security risks.

S.1744 was presented in the wake of a recent Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) report detailing the CMS did not consider national security programming risks regarding genomic testing from testing companies such as BGI, which are affiliated with the Chinese government.

“It is ridiculous that our current policies enable the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans’ genomic data,” Rubio said. “There is absolutely no reason that Beijing, which routinely seeks to undermine U.S. national security, should be handed the genomic data of American citizens. We must take action to address these vulnerabilities, and that starts by passing my Genomics Data Security Act.”

The measure would require CMS to disclose whether the company conducting the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) test has ties to the People’s Republic of China, triggering the development of a process in which CMS would garner information on national security threats related to the company’s organizational structure.

Rubio previously secured a provision in the end-of-year appropriations bills in December 2019, requiring CMS disclosure of Russian and Chinese labs potentially receiving federal payments to process domestic genomic data.