Floor SpeechBipartisan2026-02-04

NATIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR BIOLOGICAL LABS

ChinaInfrastructure

Context

On 2026-02-04, Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA-3) delivered a floor speech titled "NATIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR BIOLOGICAL LABS" in the House. The speech addressed China and also covered infrastructure.

Full Text

NATIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR BIOLOGICAL LABS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [House] [Pages H1987-H1988] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NATIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR BIOLOGICAL LABS (Mr. Kiley of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call for Congress to act with urgency to address the alarming news that we have just heard from Las Vegas of the discovery of yet another illegal, dangerous biolab run by Chinese nationals. In 2023, when the secret lab in Reedley, California, came to light, thanks to the tremendous efforts of local officials there, I gave several speeches on this floor calling attention to the danger that this posed to all Americans. I noted that we don't know how many similar such labs might be out there. After I requested an investigation, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party reached a similar conclusion that we don't know what other such labs might be out there. Unfortunately, it turned out to be true that we had reason for concern because the lab that was just discovered in Las Vegas is run by the same individuals under the same sham LLC as the one that was uncovered in Reedley. What is more, officials there described materials and equipment that are consistent with the operation that was going on in Reedley: commercial-grade freezers and refrigerators, equipment for processing biological materials, and thousands of vials which are now under examination by the FBI. In Reedley, the pathogens that were discovered included E. coli, Ebola, malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. We have every reason to believe that these same dangerous pathogens have been found in this latest Las Vegas lab. Mr. Speaker, the question still remains: How many other such labs are out there? As my colleague from Fresno, Mr. Costa, just said on this floor, many local communities simply don't have the ability to uncover these things on their own. That is why we need a national framework. We need national resources. We need more national oversight, and that is precisely what my bipartisan bill, authored together with Mr. Costa, will do. Mr. Speaker, I am calling today for an immediate markup of this legislation so that we can get it passed through the House and signed into law in order to protect our communities. California High-Speed Rail Update Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide a brief update on the California high-speed rail, [[Page H1988]] which, thankfully, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, this House just voted to cut funding off for. The President just signed that legislation into law. We are also now raising questions about what has happened to the $17 billion that has already been spent and whether, perhaps, there might be fraud at issue, or at least waste or a lack of diligence in the use of taxpayer funds. I don't think it is any coincidence that, as these efforts ramp up, the legislature is now considering a bill, which the Governor himself provided language for in a budget trailer bill, seeking to keep records related to the high-speed rail secret and seeking to make it so that this particular project has a greater ability to keep information secret than anything else in the public domain in California. It just goes to show how desperate the political leaders in California are, starting with the Governor, to avoid any accountability here. Mr. Speaker, the Governor, for his part, held a big ceremony yesterday with much hoopla about a supposed milestone for high-speed rail, which is to say the completion of a single railhead in Kern County. Mr. Speaker, I will remind the Governor that this is the year 2026. The high-speed rail project was supposed to be completed, having a full-fledged, high-speed rail system from Los Angeles to San Francisco, 6 years ago, in 2020. Yet, we are supposed to get excited about the completion of a single railhead in 2026. Mr. Speaker, after 17 years and $17 billion, there still has not been any track laid for this project. The New York Times estimated that it won't be finished this century at the current pace. Even the rosiest, most optimistic projections of the authorities are that by 2045, almost 20 years from now, we might have a line that goes from Gilroy to Palmdale. That would mean that if you wanted to go from L.A. to San Francisco, you would have to take one transit system for 2 hours, get off of that, get on the high-speed rail, then get off of that in Gilroy and take another transit system for 2 hours to get into San Francisco. That would be a 6-hour trip with three transit systems in 2045 that you could do today in 1 hour on Southwest Airlines. Mr. Speaker, we have cut off Federal funding for this boondoggle. It is time for the State to do the same and stop wasting the precious dollars of our hardworking taxpayers. ____________________

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NATIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR BIOLOGICAL LABS Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [House] [Pages H1987-H1988] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NATIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR BIOLOGICAL LABS (Mr. Kiley of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call for Congress to act with urgency to address the alarming news that we have just heard from Las Vegas of the discovery of yet another illegal, dangerous biolab run by Chinese nationals. In 2023, when the secret lab in Reedley, California, came to light, thanks to the tremendous efforts of local officials there, I gave several speeches on this floor calling attention to the danger that this posed to all Americans. I noted that we don't know how many similar such labs might be out there. After I requested an investigation, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party reached a similar conclusion that we don't know what other such labs might be out there. Unfortunately, it turned out to be true that we had reason for concern because the lab that was just discovered in Las Vegas is run by the same individuals under the same sham LLC as the one that was uncovered in Reedley. What is more, officials there described materials and equipment that are consistent with the operation that was going on in Reedley: commercial-grade freezers and refrigerators, equipment for processing biological materials, and thousands of vials which are now under examination by the FBI. In Reedley, the pathogens that were discovered included E. coli, Ebola, malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. We have every reason to believe that these same dangerous pathogens have been found in this latest Las Vegas lab. Mr. Speaker, the question still remains: How many other such labs are out there? As my colleague from Fresno, Mr. Costa, just said on this floor, many local communities simply don't have the ability to uncover these things on their own. That is why we need a national framework. We need national resources. We need more national oversight, and that is precisely what my bipartisan bill, authored together with Mr. Costa, will do. Mr. Speaker, I am calling today for an immediate markup of this legislation so that we can get it passed through the House and signed into law in order to protect our communities. California High-Speed Rail Update Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide a brief update on the California high-speed rail, [[Page H1988]] which, thankfully, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, this House just voted to cut funding off for. The President just signed that legislation into law. We are also now raising questions about what has happened to the $17 billion that has already been spent and whether, perhaps, there might be fraud at issue, or at least waste or a lack of diligence in the use of taxpayer funds. I don't think it is any coincidence that, as these efforts ramp up, the legislature is now considering a bill, which the Governor himself provided language for in a budget trailer bill, seeking to keep records related to the high-speed rail secret and seeking to make it so that this particular project has a greater ability to keep information secret than anything else in the public domain in California. It just goes to show how desperate the political leaders in California are, starting with the Governor, to avoid any accountability here. Mr. Speaker, the Governor, for his part, held a big ceremony yesterday with much hoopla about a supposed milestone for high-speed rail, which is to say the completion of a single railhead in Kern County. Mr. Speaker, I will remind the Governor that this is the year 2026. The high-speed rail project was supposed to be completed, having a full-fledged, high-speed rail system from Los Angeles to San Francisco, 6 years ago, in 2020. Yet, we are supposed to get excited about the completion of a single railhead in 2026. Mr. Speaker, after 17 years and $17 billion, there still has not been any track laid for this project. The New York Times estimated that it won't be finished this century at the current pace. Even the rosiest, most optimistic projections of the authorities are that by 2045, almost 20 years from now, we might have a line that goes from Gilroy to Palmdale. That would mean that if you wanted to go from L.A. to San Francisco, you would have to take one transit system for 2 hours, get off of that, get on the high-speed rail, then get off of that in Gilroy and take another transit system for 2 hours to get into San Francisco. That would be a 6-hour trip with three transit systems in 2045 that you could do today in 1 hour on Southwest Airlines. Mr. Speaker, we have cut off Federal funding for this boondoggle. It is time for the State to do the same and stop wasting the precious dollars of our hardworking taxpayers. ____________________