I am proud that several of my legislative proposals were passed by the Wisconsin State Senate during this week’s floor session.

Two of those bills are part of the Safeguard Wisconsin package, which is designed to protect our state from interference from foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party.

AB 673 bans the use of genetic software from foreign enemies in medical and research facilities and prohibits the storage of any human genome sequencing data within the borders of a foreign adversary.

Genetic data contains some of the most private and valuable details about an individual, like their identity, health conditions, ancestry and biological makeup. In the wrong hands, this information can be exploited by foreign adversaries for purposes ranging from surveillance and blackmail to the development of bioweapons.

AB 672 enacts penalty enhancers for crimes committed by a person acting as an agent of a foreign government or terrorist organization with the intent to silence or punish people for their political views.

These foreign actors specifically target individuals who engage in criticism of repressive regimes or who organize themselves to advocate for the cause of freedom in their native lands. This practice has a name: transnational repression.

Most Americans remain unaware of the degree to which foreign authoritarian governments are targeting their fellow citizens.

The Senate also passed AB 666, my bipartisan legislation that helps prevent fraud within the Wisconsin Unclaimed Property program.