Ro Khanna, Rich McCormick Unveil Biotech Workforce Assessment Bill

WASHINGTON, DC -Two US lawmakers have introduced legislation seeking a federal assessment of America’s biotechnology workforce as Washington sharpens its competition with China in critical emerging technologies.

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Congressman Rich McCormick on May 21 unveiled the Federal Biotechnology Workforce Assessment Act, aimed at evaluating whether the US government has enough skilled personnel to support the fast-growing biotechnology sector.

The legislation directs the Office of Personnel Management and Budget (OPM), in coordination with federal agencies, to define the biotechnology workforce and assess current and future staffing needs for “bio-literate” employees across the government.

According to the lawmakers, the report would then be submitted to Congress to help shape future hiring and workforce development policies tied to biotechnology, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing.

The proposal follows an April 2025 assessment by the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), which concluded that a properly trained biotechnology workforce within the US government was essential for maintaining American leadership in emerging technologies amid growing competition from China.

The bill is also linked to McCormick’s Biotechnology Workforce Alignment Act, with both measures aimed at identifying workforce gaps and aligning federal research priorities with industry needs.

“Investments into bolstering America’s federal biotechnology workforce will pave a path toward economic and scientific leadership for the US in the 21st-century economy,” Khanna said.

McCormick described the legislation as both an economic and national security initiative. “America leads the world in biotechnology, and we need to keep it that way,” McCormick said.

“Right now, we’re making historic investments in biotech research and biomanufacturing. Still, we’re leaving talent on the table because we don’t have a coordinated strategy to build the workforce that industry actually needs,” he said. (IANS)