Two Central Valley Congressmen are trying to address certain gaps in federal law that allowed the secret Reedley biolab incident to occur.
Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) and Rep. Jim Costa (D–Fresno) reintroduced the Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2025 into Congress on Thursday.
The backstory: Two years ago the City of Reedley discovered an illegal biolab in a warehouse, which housed various infectious agents including COVID-19 and HIV.
- The warehouse also had COVID-19 test kits, pregnancy tests and nearly 1,000 mice, along with many other pathogens.
- Jia Bei Zhu, the Chinese national who stored all of the pathogens and test kits in the warehouse, has been charged by the federal government with distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices, making false statements, conspiracy and wire fraud.
- Zhu operated companies Universal Meditech Incorporated and Prestige Biotech Incorporated and allegedly produced COVID-19 tests and pregnancy tests without approval from the FDA.
The big picture: The Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act would require distributors of highly pathogenic agents to maintain federally reviewable logbooks of all transfers for at least three years.
- The bill would also mandate federal review of high-containment labs and implement updated standards for design, construction and operation.
- Further, the act would create a Public Health Biosecurity Team as a single point of contact for state, local, tribal and territorial governments when suspicious labs are identified.
Flashback: The bill builds on the Safety Training for Officers on Public (STOP) Health Threats Act, which Valadao and Costa reintroduced earlier this year.
- The STOP Health Threats Act would provide local law enforcement with the tools and training to help respond to public health threats that arise from building code violations.
What they’re saying: “The Reedley Lab incident was a dangerous national security failure, and it’s critical we put safeguards in place to ensure it never happens again,” Valadao said. “This bipartisan bill closes the federal loopholes that allowed a facility like Reedley to operate under the radar and strengthens oversight so bad actors can’t exploit gaps in the future. I’m proud to partner with Congressman Costa to reintroduce this commonsense legislation and improve coordination at the local, state, and federal levels.”
- Costa said, “Since we first uncovered the illegal lab in Reedley, I’ve continued working with local, state, and federal leaders to push for stronger safeguards at the federal level to ensure public safety. That’s why I first introduced this bill last year, and why I’m reintroducing it today with bipartisan support – to close gaps in the regulation of labs and prevent bad actors from exploiting our public health system. The legislation strengthens tracking, improves oversight of anyone working with infectious diseases, and ensures deeper cooperation between local, state, and federal agencies.”
- Fresno County Public Health Director Joe Prado said the county appreciates the legislation that will address issues experienced during the response to the Reedley lab.
- “The proposed legislation will fill gaps in our national biosecurity surveillance while establishing a standardized framework for tracking the movement of highly infectious materials,” Prado said. “These measures will enable authorities to identify and mitigate potential risks more effectively.”
