Title V — Matters Related to Education
V Matters Related to Education
A Restrictions relating to foreign funding of educational institutions
Sec. 502 Limiting exemption from foreign agent registration requirement for persons engaging in activities in furtherance of certain pursuits to activities not promoting political agenda of foreign governments
Sec. 503 Reporting exchange visitor change in field of study
Sec. 504 Reporting certain research program participation
Sec. 505 Review and revocation of certain nonimmigrant visas
Sec. 506 Annual report
B Protecting Our Universities Act
Sec. 511 Sensitive research project list
Sec. 512 Foreign student participation in sensitive research projects
Sec. 513 Foreign entities
Sec. 514 Enforcement
Sec. 515 Definitions
C Other matters
Sec. 521 Report on China benefitting from United States taxpayer-funded research
Sec. 522 Conditions on Federal research grants
Sec. 523 Protecting institutions, laboratories, and research institutes
“(30) The institution will not knowingly employ any individual who is a participant in a foreign talent recruitment program of the People’s Republic of China listed by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 7 of the SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2021.”
Sec. 524 Registration of participants in foreign talent recruitment programs of the People’s Republic of China as agents of the Government of the People’s Republic of China
Sec. 525 Economic espionage
Sec. 526 Department of state list of foreign talent recruitment programs of the People’s Republic of China
Sec. 527 Definitions
Sec. 528 Disclosure on certain visa applications
Sec. 529 Review by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of certain foreign gifts to and contracts with institutions of higher education
“(iii) any transaction described in subparagraph (B)(vi) proposed or pending after the date of the enactment of the China Strategic Competition Act of 2021.”
“(vi) Any gift to an institution of higher education from a foreign person, or the entry into a contract by such an institution with a foreign person, if—
“(I)
“(aa) the value of the gift or contract equals or exceeds $1,000,000; or
“(bb) the institution receives, directly or indirectly, more than one gift from or enters into more than one contract, directly or indirectly, with the same foreign person for the same purpose the aggregate value of which, during the period of 2 consecutive calendar years, equals or exceeds $1,000,000; and
“(II) the gift or contract—
“(aa) relates to research, development, or production of critical technologies and provides the foreign person potential access to any material nonpublic technical information (as defined in subparagraph (D)(ii)) in the possession of the institution; or
“(bb) is a restricted or conditional gift or contract (as defined in section 117(h) of the Higher Education Act of (20 U.S.C. 1011f(h))) that establishes control.”
“(G) Foreign gifts to and contracts with institutions of higher education—For purposes of subparagraph (B)(vi):
“(i) Contract—The term “contract” means any agreement for the acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter of property or services by a foreign person, for the direct benefit or use of either of the parties.
“(ii) Gift—The term “gift” means any gift of money or property.
“(iii) Institution of higher education—The term “institution of higher education” means any institution, public or private, or, if a multicampus institution, any single campus of such institution, in any State—
“(I) that is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary school;
“(II) that provides a program for which the institution awards a bachelor’s degree (or provides not less than a 2-year program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree) or a more advanced degree;
“(III) that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association; and
“(IV) to which the Federal Government extends Federal financial assistance (directly or indirectly through another entity or person), or that receives support from the extension of Federal financial assistance to any of the institution’s subunits.”
“(11) as appropriate, and particularly with respect to covered transactions described in subsection (a)(4)(B)(vi), the importance of academic freedom at institutions of higher education in the United States; and”
“(H) In the case of a covered transaction involving an institution of higher education (as defined in subsection (a)(4)(G)), the Secretary of Education.”
“(8) Inclusion of other agencies on committee—In considering including on the Committee under paragraph (2)(K) the heads of other executive departments, agencies, or offices, the President shall give due consideration to the heads of relevant research and science agencies, departments, and offices, including the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and the Director of the National Science Foundation.”
“(D) an evaluation of whether there are foreign malign influence or espionage activities directed or directly assisted by foreign governments against institutions of higher education (as defined in subsection (a)(4)(G)) aimed at obtaining research and development methods or secrets related to critical technologies; and
“(E) an evaluation of, and recommendation for any changes to, reviews conducted under this section that relate to institutions of higher education, based on an analysis of disclosure reports submitted to the chairperson under section 117(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f(a)).”
Sec. 530 Disclosures of foreign gifts and contracts at institutions of higher education
“117. Disclosures of foreign gifts and agreements
“(a) Disclosure reports
“(1) Aggregate gifts and contract disclosures—An institution shall file a disclosure report described in subsection (b) with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury (in the capacity of the Secretary as the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States under section 721(k)(3) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565(k)(3))) not later than March 31 immediately following any calendar year in which the institution receives a gift from, or enters into a contract with, a foreign source, the value of which is $50,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from, or contracts with, that foreign source within the calendar year.
“(2) Disclosure of contracts with undetermined monetary value—An institution shall file a disclosure report described in subsection (b) with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury (in the capacity of the Secretary as the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States under section 721(k)(3) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565(k)(3))) not later than March 31 immediately following any calendar year in which the institution enters into a contract with a foreign source that has an undetermined monetary value.
“(3) Foreign source ownership or control disclosures—In the case of an institution that is owned or controlled by a foreign source, the institution shall file a disclosure report described in subsection (b) with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury (in the capacity of the Secretary as the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States under section 721(k)(3) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565(k)(3))) not later than March 31 of every year.
“(b) Contents of report—Each report to the Secretary required by subsection (a) shall contain the following:
“(1)
“(A) In the case of an institution required to file a report under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a)—
“(i) for gifts received from or contracts entered into with a foreign government, the aggregate amount of such gifts and contracts received from each foreign government, including the content of each such contract; and
“(ii) for gifts received from or contracts entered into with a foreign source other than a foreign government, the aggregate dollar amount of such gifts and contracts attributable to a particular country and the legal or formal name of the foreign source, and the content of each such contract.
“(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the country to which a gift is attributable is—
“(i) the country of citizenship, or if unknown, the principal residence, for a foreign source who is a natural person; or
“(ii) the country of incorporation, or if unknown, the principal place of business, for a foreign source which is a legal entity.
“(2) In the case of an institution required to file a report under subsection (a)(3)—
“(A) the information described in paragraph (1)(A) (without regard to any gift or contract threshold described in subsection (a)(1));
“(B) the identity of the foreign source that owns or controls the institution;
“(C) the date on which the foreign source assumed ownership or control; and
“(D) any changes in program or structure resulting from the change in ownership or control.
“(3) An assurance that the institution will maintain a true copy of each gift or contract agreement subject to the disclosure requirements under this section, until the latest of—
“(A) the date that is 4 years after the date of the agreement;
“(B) the date on which the agreement terminates; or
“(C) the last day of any period that applicable State public record law requires a true copy of such agreement to be maintained.
“(4) An assurance that the institution will produce true copies of gift and contract agreements subject to the disclosure requirements under this section upon request of the Secretary during a compliance audit or other institutional investigation and shall ensure all gifts and contracts from the foreign source are translated into English by a third party unaffiliated with the foreign source or institution for this purpose.
“(c) Additional disclosures for restricted and conditional gifts and contracts—Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), whenever any institution receives a restricted or conditional gift or contract from a foreign source, the institution shall disclose the following to the Department translated into English by a third party unaffiliated with the foreign source or institution:
“(1) For such gifts received from or contracts entered into with a foreign source other than a foreign government, the amount, the date, and a description of such conditions or restrictions. The report shall also disclose the country of citizenship, or if unknown, the principal residence for a foreign source which is a natural person, and the country of incorporation, or if unknown, the principal place of business for a foreign source which is a legal entity.
“(2) For gifts received from or contracts entered into with a foreign government, the amount, the date, a description of such conditions or restrictions, and the name of the foreign government.
“(d) Relation to other reporting requirements
“(1) State requirements—If an institution that is required to file a disclosure report under subsection (a) is within a State which has enacted requirements for public disclosure of gifts from or contracts with a foreign source that includes all information required under this section for the same or an equivalent time period, a copy of the disclosure report filed with the State may be filed with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury in lieu of the report required under such subsection. The State in which the institution is located shall provide to the Secretaries such assurances as the Secretaries may require to establish that the institution has met the requirements for public disclosure under State law if the State report is filed.
“(2) Use of other federal reports—If an institution receives a gift from, or enters into a contract with, a foreign source, where any other department, agency, or bureau of the executive branch requires a report containing all the information required under this section for the same or an equivalent time period, a copy of the report may be filed with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury in lieu of a report required under subsection (a).
“(e) Confucius Institute agreements
“(1) Defined term—In this subsection, the term “Confucius Institute” means a cultural institute directly or indirectly funded by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
“(2) Disclosure requirement—Any institution that has entered into an agreement with a Confucius Institute shall immediately make the full text of such agreement available—
“(A) on the publicly accessible website of the institution;
“(B) to the Department of Education;
“(C) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
“(D) to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives.
“(3) In subsection (i), as redesignated—
“(A) in paragraph (2), by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
“(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: “, or the fair market value of an in-kind gift”.
“(f) Public disclosure and modification of reports
“(1) In general—Not later than 30 days after receiving a disclosure report under this section, the Secretary shall make such report electronically available to the public for downloading on a searchable database under which institutions can be individually identified and compared.
“(2) Modifications—The Secretary shall incorporate a process permitting institutions to revise and update previously filed disclosure reports under this section to ensure accuracy, compliance, and ability to cure.
“(g) Sanctions for noncompliance
“(1) In general—As a sanction for noncompliance with the requirements under this section, the Secretary may impose a fine on an institution that in any year knowingly or willfully violates this section, that is—
“(A) in the case of a failure to disclose a gift or contract with a foreign source as required under this section or to comply with the requirements of subsection (b)(4), in an amount that is not less than $250 but not more than the amount of the gift or contract with the foreign source; or
“(B) in the case of any violation of the requirements of subsection (a)(3), in an amount that is not more than 25 percent of the total amount of funding received by the institution under this Act.
“(2) Repeated failures
“(A) Knowing and willful failures—In addition to a fine for a violation in any year in accordance with paragraph (1) and subject to subsection (e)(2), the Secretary shall impose a fine on an institution that knowingly and willfully fails in 3 consecutive years to comply with the requirements of this section, that is—
“(i) in the case of a failure to disclose a gift or contract with a foreign source as required under this section or to comply with the requirements of subsection (b)(4), in an amount that is not less than $100,000 but not more than twice the amount of the gift or contract with the foreign source; or
“(ii) in the case of any violation of the requirements of subsection (a)(3), in an amount that is not more than 25 percent of the total amount of funding received by the institution under this Act.
“(B) Administrative failures—The Secretary shall impose a fine on an institution that fails to comply with the requirements of this section in 3 consecutive years, in an amount that is not less than $250 but not more than the amount of the gift or contract with the foreign source.
“(C) Compliance plan requirement—An institution that fails to file a disclosure report for a receipt of a gift from or contract with a foreign source in 2 consecutive years, shall be required to submit a compliance plan to Secretary.
“(h) Compliance officer—Any institution that is required to report a gift or contract under this section shall designate and maintain a compliance officer who—
“(1) shall be a current employee or legally authorized agent of such institution; and
“(2) shall be responsible, on behalf of the institution, for compliance with the foreign gift reporting requirement under this section and section 124, if applicable.
“(i) Single point of contact—The Secretary shall maintain a single point of contact to—
“(1) receive and respond to inquiries and requests for technical assistance from institutions of higher education regarding compliance with the requirements of this section; and
“(2) coordinate the disclosure of information on the searchable database, and process for modifications of disclosures and ability to cure, as described in subsection (e).
“(j) Treatment of certain payments and gifts
“(1) Exclusions—The following shall not be considered a gift from a foreign source under this section:
“(A) Any payment of one or more elements of a student’s cost of attendance (as defined in section 472) to an institution by, or scholarship from, a foreign source who is a natural person, acting in their individual capacity and not as an agent for, at the request or direction of, or on behalf of, any person or entity (except the student), made on behalf of no more than 15 students that is not made under contract with such foreign source, except for the agreement between the institution and such student covering one or more elements of such student’s cost of attendance.
“(B) Assignment or license of registered industrial and intellectual property rights, such as patents, utility models, trademarks, or copyrights, or technical assistance, that are not identified as being associated with a national security risk or concern by the Federal Research Security Council as described under section 7902 of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 4493 of the Securing America’s Future Act.
“(2) Inclusions—Any gift to, or contract with, an entity or organization, such as a research foundation, that operates substantially for the benefit or under the auspices of an institution shall be considered a gift to or with respectively, such institution.
“(k) Definitions—In this section—
“(1) the term “contract”—
“(A) means any—
“(i) agreement for the acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter of property or services by the foreign source, for the direct benefit or use of either of the parties, except as provided in subparagraph (B); or
“(ii) affiliation, agreement, or similar transaction with a foreign source and is based on the use or exchange of an institution’s name, likeness, time, services, or resources, except as provided in subparagraph (B); and
“(B) does not include any agreement made by an institution located in the United States for the acquisition, by purchase, lease, or barter, of property or services from a foreign source;
“(2) the term “foreign source” means—
“(A) a foreign government, including an agency of a foreign government;
“(B) a legal entity, governmental or otherwise, created under the laws of a foreign state or states;
“(C) an individual who is not a citizen or a national of the United States or a trust territory or protectorate thereof; and
“(D) an agent, including a subsidiary or affiliate of a foreign legal entity, acting on behalf of a foreign source;
“(3) the term “gift” means any gift of money, property, resources, staff, or services;
“(4) the term “institution” means an institution of higher education, as defined in section 102, or, if a multicampus institution, any single campus of such institution, in any State; and
“(5) the term “restricted or conditional gift or contract” means any endowment, gift, grant, contract, award, present, or property of any kind which includes provisions regarding—
“(A) the employment, assignment, or termination of faculty;
“(B) the establishment of departments, centers, institutes, instructional programs, research or lecture programs, or new faculty positions;
“(C) the selection or admission of students; or
“(D) the award of grants, loans, scholarships, fellowships, or other forms of financial aid restricted to students of a specified country, religion, sex, ethnic origin, or political opinion.”
“124. Institutional policy regarding foreign gifts and contracts to faculty and staff
“(a) Requirement To maintain policy and database—Each institution of higher education described in subsection (b) shall—
“(1) maintain a policy requiring faculty, professional staff, and other staff engaged in research and development (as determined by the institution) employed at such institution to disclose to such institution any gifts received from, or contracts entered into with, a foreign source;
“(2) maintain a searchable database of information disclosed in paragraph (1) for the previous five years, except an institution shall not be required to include in the database gifts or contracts received or entered into before the date of enactment of the Securing America’s Future Act; and
“(3) maintain a plan to effectively identify and manage potential information gathering by foreign sources through espionage targeting faculty, professional staff, and other staff engaged in research and development (as determined by the institution) that may arise from gifts received from, or contracts entered into with, a foreign source, including through the use of periodic communications and enforcement of the policy described in paragraph (1).
“(b) Institutions—An institution of higher education shall be subject to the requirements of this section if such institution—
“(1) is an institution of higher education as defined under section 102; and
“(2) had more than $5,000,000 in research and development expenditures in any of the previous five years.
“(c) Sanctions for noncompliance
“(1) In general—As a sanction for noncompliance with the requirements under this section, the Secretary may impose a fine on an institution that in any year knowingly or willfully violates this section, in an amount that is not less than $250 but not more than $1,000.
“(2) Second failure—In addition to a fine for a violation in accordance with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall impose a fine on an institution that knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly fails to comply with the requirements of this section in a second consecutive year in an amount that is not less than $1,000 but not more than $25,000.
“(3) Third and additional failures—In addition to a fine for a violation in accordance with paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall impose a fine on an institution that knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly fails to comply with the requirements of this section in a third consecutive year, or any consecutive year thereafter, in an amount that is not less than $25,000 but not more than $50,000.
“(4) Administrative failures—The Secretary shall impose a fine on an institution that fails in 3 consecutive years to comply with the requirements of this section in an amount that is not less than $250 but not more than $25,000.
“(5) Compliance plan requirement—An institution that fails to comply with the requirements under this section for 2 consecutive years shall be required to submit a compliance plan to the Secretary.
“(d) Definitions—In this section—
“(1) the terms “foreign source” and “gift” have the meaning given the terms in section 117;
“(2) the term “contract” means any—
“(A) agreement for the acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter of property or services by the foreign source, for the direct benefit or use of either of the parties; or
“(B) affiliation, agreement, or similar transaction with a foreign source based on the use or exchange of the name, likeness, time, services, or resources of faculty, professional staff, and other staff engaged in research and development (as determined by the institution); and
“(3) the term “professional staff” means professional employees, as defined in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).”