Seventy-nine Democrats voted against a bill that would effectively ban Chinese military companies from doing federal business in the United States, but Gov. Tim Walz's campaign did not state a position on the bill due to concerns about Gov. Tim Walz's ties to a research lab that does business with one of the companies targeted in the bill.
Biosecure Act, HR8333passed the House by a vote of 306 yeas to 81 nays, with 79 Democrats and two Republicans voting no. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, the bill would prohibit federal agencies from “procuring or acquiring biotechnology equipment or services manufactured or provided by the biotechnology company at issue.”
One of the companies criticized in the law, the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), has been designated a “Chinese military enterprise” by the Department of Defense and has had extensive collaborations with medical research institutions with deep ties to Waltz. The news was reported earlier by Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Waltz campaign multiple times over the past six days for comment on whether they would support the BioSecure bill, but they declined to disclose the campaign's position.
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The House Oversight Committee is investigating Governor Walz's ties to China. (Getty Images)
BGI's presence in the United States was highlighted again this week. Fox News Digital The House Oversight Committee reported that it is aware of BGI-operated machines in use at Los Alamos, the most secretive government laboratory in the United States.
“Today, I spoke on the House floor in support of my bill, the Biosecurity Act, which is a first step toward ending our dependence on Chinese biotech and pharmaceutical companies and protecting the genetic data of millions of Americans from the Chinese Communist Party,” Wenstrup said. Post to X Shortly before the bill was passed.
“From collecting genetic data for research to aiding the Chinese Communist Party in its genocide, Chinese biotech companies have proven they will stop at nothing to support the Chinese Communist Party. Now is the time to reclaim our independence and protect health care for all Americans.”
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Earlier this year, the House Oversight Committee announced it was investigating Gov. Tim Walz's ties to China. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier this year, the House Oversight Committee announced it was investigating Walz's ties to China, and on Thursday The Washington Examiner reported The investigation has expanded and documents have been requested.
Waltz briefly worked as a teacher in China and participated in the Teachers Abroad Program in Guangdong province in 1989, teaching English and American history. Waltz has traveled to China dozens of times, The Wall Street JournalCiting local media reports, the report said he had visited China once in 1994, which was also his honeymoon, and that he had planned his wedding date to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“I've lived in China and, as I said, I've been there about 30 times. … I'm not of the opinion that we necessarily need to be in an adversarial relationship with China. I totally disagree and I think we need to be firm about their actions in the South China Sea, but there are a lot of areas where we can cooperate.” Waltz said in an interview. Partnered with Agri-Pulse Communications.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcomed in Rome, Italy on March 23, 2019. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
Reflecting on his visit to China in 1990, he was quoted as saying in local media, “No matter how long I live, I will never be treated so well again.”
“They gave me more gifts than I could take home. It was a great experience,” Waltz said, adding that he was “very well taken care of.”
This statement is Tiananmen Square Since 1989, massive human rights violations by the communist regime have been committed and continue to this day.
Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips and Cameron Cawthorn contributed to this report.
