BINSA Act

This bill amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to add biotechnology to the definitions of 'prohibited technology' and 'notifiable technology' for outbound investment screening, and requires rulemaking and a report on national security risks.

Sec. 3, Amendments: The bill adds 'biotechnology' to the list of prohibited technologies and notifiable technologies under the Defense Production Act. Biotechnology is defined as the research, development, manufacturing, or commercialization of pharmaceutical products, biological products, and therapeutic compounds, including drug discovery platforms, clinical research and development, biologics manufacturing, and related intellectual property. It also adds licensing a prohibited technology from a covered foreign person as a prohibited transaction.

Sec. 4, Rulemaking: The Secretary of the Treasury must issue a rule within one year to further define the parameters of biotechnology as amended. The rule must consult with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence. It must consider transactions involving licensing intellectual property, drug discovery platforms, clinical capabilities, and biologics manufacturing to covered foreign persons, especially those under Chinese control. The rule must not include agricultural biotechnology, industrial fermentation unrelated to pharmaceuticals, or basic academic research with no direct pharmaceutical application.

Sec. 5, Report required: Within 60 days, the Secretary of Defense must report to specified congressional committees on whether U.S. capital flows into China's biotechnology sector, including licensing transactions, negatively affect U.S. national security and military readiness. The report may include a classified annex.