This upcoming Sunday, the people of Venezuela will hold an election that, if legitimate, would put an end to years of the oppressive Maduro narco-regime. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued a statement in support of the Venezuelan people: “The...
NOTICIAS
Últimas Noticias
Rubio: “La Tenacidad y Valentía del Pueblo venezolano Estarán a la Vista”
Este próximo domingo, el pueblo venezolano tendrá una elección que, de ser legítima, pondría fin a años de opresión por parte del narco-régimen de Maduro. El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) grabó un mensaje de video en español y emitió una declaración en...
Rubio, Scott, Colleagues to Biden Admin: No Privileges Should Be Given to 9/11 Terrorist
Twenty-three years ago, the United States was attacked by Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001. Now, Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in a U.S. court for his role in the attack, has requested the U.S. Department of Justice to allow a prisoner transfer...
Next Week: Rubio Staff Hosts Mobile Office Hours
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of Senator Rubio’s...
Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Ensuring Continuity in Veterans’ Health Act
As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opens up new facilities, many veterans are losing access to the VA’s Community Care Program and, consequently, their long-term healthcare providers. Veterans throughout the country have reported a loss of care, including...
Rubio Introduces Bill to Strengthen U.S.-India Security Partnership
The U.S.-India partnership is vital to countering influences from Communist China. In order to strengthen this partnership, it is essential to enhance our strategic diplomatic, economic, and military relationship with New Delhi. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)...
Rubio, Grassley Call for Investigation Into HHS National Security Practices Throughout Pandemic
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, in an effort to improve protections for Americans’ genomic data, wrote to Christi Grimm, Principal Deputy Inspector within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to request that the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) expand the scope of their ongoing audit of potential payments going to U.S. entities that have partnerships with genomic data companies with ties to the Chinese government to include a review of HHS’s national security procedures throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The ongoing HHS OIG audit into Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ payments is a result of a June 2019 request from Senators Rubio and Grassley to address the national security concerns caused by companies affiliated with the Chinese government, like BGI, having access to Americans’ genomic data. Today, Rubio and Grassley sent a follow-up letter due to HHS national security considerations that arose throughout the course of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In their letter, the senators note “[s]ince our original request and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, troubling reports have surfaced that note BGI’s efforts to exploit the pandemic to expand their reach within the United States. This has been coupled with inaction and at times, support from HHS…In light of the documented concerns from the intelligence community and the ongoing investigation into HHS’s national security protocols, it is unacceptable that safeguards were not in place to prevent HHS’s promotion of BGI products.”
To address these concerns, Rubio and Grassley request a review of HHS actions related to BGI throughout the coronavirus pandemic, a status update on the existing investigation, and recommendations to improve HHS’s national security practices.
El full text of the letter .
Dear Principal Deputy Inspector General Grimm:
We write with regard to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) ongoing audit of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Assessment of National Security Risks to Genomic Testing Data. To improve protections for Americans’ genomic data, we request that HHS OIG expand the scope of investigation to include a review of HHS national security procedures throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
On June 10, 2019, we wrote to HHS OIG regarding the national security threat posed by foreign entities with ties to the Chinese government in a position to access Americans’ genomic data. Our letter expressed concerns about potential payments CMS might have made to entities with ties to the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), an entity with ties to the Chinese government. We requested a review of these practices, an evaluation of CMS’s approach to national security considerations, and recommendations to address these risks. Since our original request and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, troubling reports have surfaced that note BGI’s efforts to exploit the pandemic to expand their reach within the United States. This has been coupled with inaction and at times, support from HHS. For example, the Wall Street Journal reported that HHS came into possession of BGI COVID-19 test kits and then offered them to states. That same report notes that HHS received the kits from a friendly country and was unaware of the Chinese origin. In light of the documented concerns from the intelligence community and the ongoing investigation into HHS’s national security protocols, it is unacceptable that safeguards were not in place to prevent HHS’s promotion of BGI products.
In our previous letter, we noted BGI has partnered with Huawei, a Chinese state-directed telecommunications company, and that a multitude of U.S. intelligence officials have identified serious concerns with their data practices. In addition to their troubling associations, BGI has also demonstrated a disregard for human rights. On July 20, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security added two BGI subsidiaries to the Entity List due to their egregious human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. Such companies with ties to the Chinese government and Communist Party should never be in a position to pose a threat towards Americans’ genomic data. It has been almost two years since HHS OIG released its February 2019 report, which included a warning from the Federal Bureau of Investigation identifying HHS’s lax genomic data sharing practices and China as a risk to the security of genomic data. HHS must fully address these concerns.
To protect Americans’ genomic data, we request that HHS OIG expand the scope of its audit to include a review of HHS’s actions regarding BGI during the coronavirus pandemic, an update on the status of the ongoing investigation, and recommendations on ways to strengthen HHS’s national security practices.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Atentamente,