A bill moving through Congress that prohibits federal agencies from procuring or obtaining any biotechnology equipment or service produced or provided by a “company of concern,” specifically five firms based in China, has drawn strong opposition from U.S. Rep. James McGovern.

The Biosecure Act, which passed in the House last week, prohibits federal funding to companies that use biotechnology from firms associated with a “foreign adversary.” The five firms named in the bill are BGI, MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics. WuXi Biologics is currently building a facility in Worcester. More companies could be added in the future to a list developed by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Defense.

McGovern voted against the bill (H.R. 8333) last week, and told the Gazette, “I have been a strong critic of the People’s Republic of China. I have authored and passed numerous pieces of legislation to hold the Chinese government accountable for human rights abuses and misdeeds, and I opposed this bill because I thought it was poorly written, not particularly well thought out, and I objected to the fact that there was no process to determine which companies would be out on a list.”

The Worcester Democrat said that randomly naming companies without a thorough and transparent process, and without due process, is what they do in China.

“That’s not what we should do in the United States,” he said.

McGovern, the ranking member on the House Rules committee and a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, was sanctioned by China in July for “interfering” in China’s domestic affairs.

Supporters of the bill say that it will protect American’s health data and U.S. pharmaceutical companies. The bill was introduced by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, in May. On Sept. 9, James Comer, R-Kentucky, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, moved to vote on the bill under a suspension of the rules, which limits floor debate, doesn’t allow amendments and requires a two-thirds majority. The bill passed with a vote of 309 to 81.

“I think we need to fix the bill. The bill tries to address an issue that is real and important. But the way it is written, I think it falls short. And so I want the bill fixed,” said McGovern.

McGovern has said that he is working with colleagues in the House and Senate to try to “fix” the bill, and that since the vote, other representatives have told him they wished they knew more about the bill at the time of the vote. The bill has now been read in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

“We want to make sure that patient data is protected, that sensitive information about U.S. citizens is not relayed to the Chinese government. That’s important,” said McGovern. “If companies are sharing sensitive information with the Chinese government, then they ought to be held to account. But we need to make sure that the companies that we name come after a thorough and transparent interagency review, and that the information that we are putting forward about these companies is accurate.”