Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly has spent much of the last decade talking to almost anyone who will listen — investors, journalists, TV presenters, congressional committees — about the importance of biotechnology to the future of, well, just about everything.
This year, Kelly will have a chance to advocate more formally. In December, he was named chairman of a new 12-person congressional commission tasked with issuing a set of policy recommendations for how the U.S. government can keep the country’s biotech industry competitive and capable of serving national security needs.
The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, created by a 2021 law, was designed to give lawmakers counsel from top experts at a pivotal time for a vital industry. For some government watchdogs, though, the makeup of the commission also raises ethical concerns.
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