Markup Wrap Up: Committee Advances Legislation to Secure Biotechnology Data, Safeguard Taxpayer Funded Projects, Federal Grants, and More

WASHINGTON—Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a markup to consider a series of bills that address federal agency procurement of biotechnology equipment, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, improving federal cybersecurity, and more.

“Today the Oversight Committee took important steps forward with several bills, many of them with bipartisan support, to safeguard American taxpayer dollars and our national security. These bills provide legislative solutions to protect Americans in a number of ways by defending sensitive healthcare data, securing federal contractor information systems, and guarding taxpayer dollars,” said House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

The following bills were reported favorably to the House by the Committee:

• H.R. 8333, the BIOSECURE Act, Rep. Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Rep. Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.): This legislation prohibits a federal agency from procuring any biotechnology equipment or service from a biotechnology company of concern. The bill also prohibits a federal agency from contracting, either directly or through a subcontract, with an entity that uses such equipment or service in performance of the contract. The bill places similar prohibitions on federal loan or grant dollars.

“This bipartisan, bicameral bill prevents U.S. tax dollars from flowing to biotechnology companies that are owned, operated, or controlled by China or other foreign adversaries,” said Chairman Comer (R-Ky.). “This bill is a necessary step towards protecting America’s sensitive healthcare data from the CCP before these companies become more embedded in the U.S. economy, university systems, and federal contracting base.”

• H.R. 5255, the Federal Contractor Vulnerability Elimination Act of 2024, Rep. Mace (R-S.C.): This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to recommend updates to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to ensure that federal contractors have Vulnerability Disclosure Programs consistent with standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“Federal agencies must act quickly when dealing with a cyber-attack. The sooner a federal agency knows it may have a problem, the sooner it can take steps to protect its systems and data, including the personal data of millions of Americans. It’s reasonable to require federal contractors to play a proactive role in addressing information system vulnerabilities,” said Chairman Comer (R-Ky.).

“Contractors with access to government data and systems should at the very least have the same safeguards and lines of defense in place as our government. Adoption of vulnerability disclosure policies by government and defense contractors will help protect the sensitive data of American citizens and our national security,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

• H.R. 8276, the Reuse Excess Property Act, Rep. McClain (R-Mich.): This bill establishes transparency and accountability requirements to ensure agencies do better in leveraging excess personal property to meet agency needs.

“The Reuse Excess Property Act would hold agencies more accountable towards efficiently using and reusing personal property by introducing transparency and accountability mechanisms,” said Chairman Comer (R-Ky.). “This bill shines a lot on agency practices and could incentivize more efficient use of excess personal property, saving untold taxpayer dollars in the future.”

• H.R. 8335, the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act, Rep. Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa): This legislation directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance requiring federal agencies to report annually to Congress regarding certain federally funded projects that are more than five years behind schedule or have expenditures that are at least one billion more than the original cost estimate.

“Congress must ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent efficiently,” said Chairman Comer (R-Ky.) “Congress has a duty to oversee the federal government for inefficiency and waste. This bill informs policy makers and allows Congress to address failing government projects before further taxpayer dollars are misused.”

• H.R. 8334, the Grant Integrity and Border Security Act, Rep. Foxx (R-N.C.): This bill requires applicants for federal grants to certify that they will not violate section 274(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is a criminal statute prohibiting unlawfully bringing in or harboring aliens.

“Groups that criminally aid illegal aliens should not be eligible to receive federal grants,” said Chairman Comer (R-Ky.).

“We must hold law breakers accountable, secure our border, and stop the abuse of taxpayer funds,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.). “Taxpayers have been bearing the brunt of the massive waves of illegal aliens that have entered the United Sates and the Biden Administration has seemingly declared hardworking taxpayers collateral damage in their pursuit to subvert the meaning of citizenship.”

• H.R. 6462, the Resilient Employment and Authorization Determination to Increase the National Employment of Service Spouses (READINESS) Act, Rep. Crockett (D-Texas) and Rep. Bacon (R-Neb.): This legislation requires federal agencies to provide a federal employee who is the spouse of a military or Foreign Service member that has received a permanent change of duty station the opportunity to work remotely or transfer to a position of equal grade at the new duty station. If none of these options are feasible, this bill requires the agency to place the individual into leave-without-pay status for the position.

“It’s important for Congress to accommodate these families who sacrifice so much supporting their loved ones and help ease these transitions,” said Chairman Comer (R-Ky.).

• Post Office Naming Bills.

Watch the markup here.