The U.S. is falling behind in biotechnology development, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said Wednesday—adding that he and other lawmakers are working to help the country catch up with China’s push to incorporate technologies like gene editing for human performance on the battlefield.

As the Trump administration slashes scientific research funding, Young and his colleagues are hoping to impress upon the executive branch the necessity of biotech as not just a national-security priority, but as an economic driver for its voter strongholds.

“One general category in which the Chinese, in particular, are out-classing us, is in bio-manufacturing, industrial applications of biotech – new materials, for example – and new life-saving compounds that could be a great utility to warfighters,” Young sai

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