Furthering Operations for Resiliency, Transparency, and Integrity to Fortify (FORTIFY) United States Research Act
A BILL
To prohibit the United States from collaborating with certain foreign countries of concern on fundamental research intended to support the military, intelligence, or security capabilities of the United States, to strengthen the security and integrity of the United States scientific and research enterprise, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Working group on understanding scale and scope of problematic research collaboration between China and recipients of Federal research funding
Requirement To convene working group— Pursuant to section 904(e)(7)(B) of the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002 (50 U.S.C. 3383(e)(7)(B)), the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center shall convene a working group of officials and individuals in the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), Federal grant-making agencies, and outside experts to better understand the scale and scope of problematic research collaboration between the People's Republic of China and recipients of funds from the Federal Government.
Activities— The working group convened pursuant to subsection (a) shall—
expand the scope of previous counterintelligence efforts relating to research security threats, which focused primarily on foreign talent recruitment programs;
conduct open-source research for counterintelligence efforts on published research, bibliometric data, and other publicly available data;
identify the problematic research collaborations described in subsection (a) that pose the highest potential risk to the national security of the United States from entities within the defense industrial base of China and other entities the working group determines present a high-risk to the Federal Government; and
publish, on a semiannual basis, a database in accordance with subsection (c).
Threats to Research, Universities, Science, and Technology database—
Establishment—
In general— The working group convened pursuant to subsection (a) shall establish an unclassified database to serve as a comprehensive resource for the Department of Defense, the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), and other Federal grant-making agencies for conducting due diligence and risk review determinations for fundamental, controlled, or classified research grant award approvals, denials, or revocations.
Designation— The database established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be known as the “Threats to Research, Universities, Science, and Technology” database or the “TRUST” database (referred to in this subsection as the “Database”).
Contents— The Database shall include—
a catalog of entities, with supporting open-source documentation, that support the defense research, development, and industrial bases of China, including—
universities and their subdivisions;
state and national defense key laboratories;
provincial-level key laboratories;
research institutes subordinate to defense state-owned enterprises; and
other business enterprises involved in military-civil fusion programs that are partially or majority owned by universities or the Chinese Academy of Sciences;
mapping of the People's Republic of China’s State Administration for Science and Technology Industry for National Defense, including a focus on developing defense-related academic disciplines, key laboratories, and research groups at the universities;
identifying entities of the People's Republic of China engaging in critical technology research, including institutions, centers of excellence, laboratories, or personnel that conduct research in disciplines or subdisciplines of critical importance to the national and economic security of the United States;
mapping research institution links to the defense industry of the People's Republic of China, including subsidiaries and research institutes subordinate to major People's Republic of China state-owned defense enterprises; and
identifying other research entities and programs of the People's Republic of China tied to defense, including civilian universities and government research organizations that engage in defense research projects through formal partnerships or research collaboration with People's Republic of China defense entities, state-owned enterprises, or receipt of People's Republic of China defense program funding.
Annual report— The working group convened pursuant to subsection (a) shall submit an annual report to Congress containing a description of the progress and findings of the database.
Sec. 3 Research integrity and security
Short title— This section may be cited as the “Research Integrity and Security Act of 2024”.
Definitions— In this section:
Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate;
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives; and
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
Country of concern— The term country of concern means—
any country (including any special administrative region of such country) identified as a threat to the national security of the United States in the most recent report submitted to Congress by the Director of National Intelligence pursuant to section 108B of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3043b) (commonly referred to as the “Annual Threat Assessment”); or
any covered nation (as defined in section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United State Code).
Federal agency— The term “Federal agency” has the meaning given the term agency in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
Federal grant— The term Federal grant—
means a grant awarded by a Federal agency; and
includes a subgrant awarded by a non-Federal entity to carry out a Federal grant program.
Federal grant application— The term Federal grant application means an application for a Federal grant.
Foreign compensation— The term foreign compensation means a title, monetary compensation, access to a laboratory or other resource, or other benefit received from—
a foreign government;
a foreign government institution; or
a foreign public enterprise.
Foreign government— The term foreign government includes a person acting or purporting to act on behalf of a faction, party, department, agency, bureau, subnational administrative entity, or military of a country of concern.
Foreign government institution— The term foreign government institution means any foreign entity owned by, subject to the control of, or subject to the laws or regulations of a country of concern.
Foreign government enterprise— The term foreign government enterprise means an enterprise over which a foreign government directly or indirectly exercises a dominant influence.
Fundamental research— The term fundamental research means basic and applied research in science, engineering, or mathematics, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, and for which the researchers have not accepted restrictions for proprietary or national security concerns.
Institution of higher education— The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
Law enforcement agency— The term law enforcement agency—
means a Federal, State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency; and
includes—
the Office of Inspector General of an establishment (as defined in section 401 of title 5, United States Code) or a designated Federal entity (as defined in section 415 of title 5, United States Code); and
the Office of Inspector General, or similar office, of a State or unit of local government.
Outside compensation— The term outside compensation means any compensation, resource, or support (regardless of monetary value) made available to the applicant in support of, or related to, any research endeavor, including a title, research grant, cooperative agreement, contract, institutional award, access to a laboratory, or other resource, including materials, travel compensation, or work incentives.
Protection of federally funded research—
In general— The United States Government may not collaborate with a country of concern on fundamental research intended to support the military, intelligence, or security capabilities of the United States.
Prohibition— Neither the Secretary of Defense nor the Secretary of Energy may approve a Federal grant application for fundamental research that—
is ultimately intended to further the military, security, or intelligence capabilities of the United States;
is used to support the defense industrial base of the United States; and
will be jointly reviewed by or conducted with—
a foreign government, foreign government institution, or foreign government enterprise from a country of concern; or
any person that is receiving foreign compensation or outside compensation from a country of concern.
Exception— The prohibition under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an activity that is—
carried out in connection with a lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of—
a law enforcement agency; or
a Federal intelligence agency; or
authorized under chapter 224 of title 5, United States Code.
National security waiver for research— The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy may waive the prohibition under paragraph (2) if either Secretary determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that approving such Federal grant application—
is in the national security interest of the United States; and
does not pose an intelligence or national security risk.
Penalties and reporting—
Penalty on institutions— Any institution of higher education that has been awarded a Federal grant by the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy for research intended to support the military, security, or intelligence capabilities of the United States and is found by the Inspector General of the agency concerned to be collaborating with a foreign government, a foreign government institution, or a foreign government enterprise from a country of concern with respect to such research shall repay the full value of such grant to the Federal agency that originally approved the Federal grant application.
Reports by inspectors general— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense and the Inspector General of the Department of Energy shall each submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report, which shall include, with respect to the reporting period—
a list of projects that have received a Federal grant from the Federal agency concerned; and
a description of each project included in the list described in subparagraph (A) that indicates whether, in connection with such project—
a foreign government, foreign government institution, or foreign government enterprise from a country of concern has received a Federal grant; or
a person receiving foreign compensation or outside compensation from a country of concern has received a Federal grant.
GAO report— Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—
review each report submitted for the calendar year pursuant to paragraph (2); and
determine if a foreign government, a foreign government institution, or a foreign government enterprise from a country of concern has received a Federal grant.
Requests by chairperson and ranking member of appropriate congressional committees— The chairperson and ranking member of each appropriate congressional committee may jointly submit to the Comptroller General of the United States a written request to audit any Federal agency that has approved a Federal grant application for fundamental research ultimately intended to support the military, security, or intelligence capabilities of the United States.
Sec. 4 Study on United States research partnerships with the People's Republic of China
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering shall complete a study concerning United States Government-funded research conducted by United States persons who conduct such research in the United States and in the People’s Republic of China.
Assessment— The study conducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall assess—
whether the United States Government has benefitted from similar research partnerships, publications, accommodations, or access to resources while conducting research in the People's Republic of China that is funded by the United States Government; and
the principles of fundamental research and the open research enterprise by United States persons while conducting research in the United States and in the People's Republic of China.
Briefing— Not later than 30 days after completing the study pursuant to this section, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering shall brief the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives regarding the results of such study.
Sec. 5 Federal grant application fraud
In general— Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“1041. Federal grant application fraud
“(a) Definitions—In this section:
“(1) Federal agency—The term Federal agency has the meaning given the term agency in section 551 of title 5.
“(2) Federal grant—The term Federal grant—
“(A) means a grant awarded by a Federal agency;
“(B) includes a subgrant awarded by a non-Federal entity to carry out a Federal grant program; and
“(C) does not include—
“(i) direct United States Government cash assistance to an individual;
“(ii) a subsidy;
“(iii) a loan;
“(iv) a loan guarantee; or
“(v) insurance.
“(3) Federal grant application—The term Federal grant application means an application for a Federal grant.
“(4) Foreign compensation—The term foreign compensation means a title, monetary compensation, access to a laboratory or other resource, or other benefit received from—
“(A) a foreign government;
“(B) a foreign government institution; or
“(C) a foreign public enterprise.
“(5) Foreign government—The term foreign government includes a person acting or purporting to act on behalf of—
“(A) a faction, party, department, agency, bureau, subnational administrative entity, or military of a foreign country; or
“(B) a foreign government or a person purporting to act as a foreign government, regardless of whether the United States recognizes the government.
“(6) Foreign government institution—The term foreign government institution means a foreign entity owned by, subject to the control of, or subject to regulation by a foreign government.
“(7) Foreign public enterprise—The term foreign public enterprise means an enterprise over which a foreign government directly or indirectly exercises a dominant influence.
“(8) Law enforcement agency—The term law enforcement agency—
“(A) means a Federal, State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency; and
“(B) includes—
“(i) the Office of Inspector General of an establishment (as defined in section 401 of title 5) or a designated Federal entity (as defined in section 415 of title 5); and
“(ii) the Office of Inspector General, or similar office, of a State or unit of local government.
“(9) Outside compensation—The term outside compensation means any compensation, resource, or support (regardless of monetary value) made available to the applicant in support of, or related to, any research endeavor, including a title, research grant, cooperative agreement, contract, institutional award, access to a laboratory, or other resource, including materials, travel compensation, or work incentives.
“(b) Prohibition—Except as provided in subsection (c), it shall be unlawful for any individual to knowingly—
“(1) prepare or submit a Federal grant application that fails to disclose the receipt of any outside compensation, including foreign compensation, by the individual;
“(2) forge, counterfeit, or otherwise falsify a document for the purpose of obtaining a Federal grant; or
“(3) prepare, submit, or assist in the preparation or submission of a Federal grant application or document in connection with a Federal grant application that—
“(A) contains a false statement;
“(B) contains a material misrepresentation;
“(C) has no basis in law or fact; or
“(D) fails to disclose a material fact.
“(c) Exception—Subsection (b) shall not apply to an activity—
“(1) carried out in connection with a lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of—
“(A) a law enforcement agency; or
“(B) a Federal intelligence agency; or
“(2) authorized under chapter 224.
“(d) Penalty—Any individual who violates subsection (b)—
“(1) shall be fined in accordance with this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both; and
“(2) shall be prohibited from receiving a Federal grant during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which a sentence is imposed on the individual pursuant to paragraph (1).”
Clerical amendment— The analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
Sec. 6 Restricting the acquisition of emerging technologies by certain aliens
Report— Not later than 3 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a classified report to the congressional committees listed in subsection (d)(1) that identifies any alien that—
is employed by or collaborates with—
a foreign military and security related organization that is adversarial to the United States;
a foreign institution that is involved in the theft of United States research;
any entity involved in export control violations or the theft of intellectual property;
a foreign government that seeks to undermine the integrity and security of the United States research community; or
associates or collaborates with any entity that poses a national security threat based on intelligence assessments.
Designations of certain aliens seeking To acquire emerging technologies—
In general— The Secretary of State, in coordination with other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall identify persons identified pursuant to subsection (a) who are seeking to knowingly acquire sensitive or emerging technologies to undermine national security interests of the United States by benefitting an adversarial foreign government’s security or strategic capabilities.
Relevant factors— To determine if an alien identified pursuant to subsection (a) is seeking to knowingly acquire sensitive or emerging technologies to undermine national security interests of the United States by benefitting an adversarial foreign government’s security or strategic capabilities, the Secretary of State shall—
consider information and analyses relevant to implementing subsection (a) from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and other appropriate Federal agencies; and
consider the continual expert assessments of evolving sensitive or emerging technologies that foreign adversaries are targeting.
Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole—
Visas, admission, and parole— Except as provided in subsection (f), any alien identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1) is—
inadmissible to the United States;
ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to enter the United States; and
otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into the United States or to receive any other benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
Current visas revoked—
In general— Except as provided in subsection (f), any alien identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1) is subject to revocation of any visa or other entry documentation, regardless of when the visa or other entry documentation is or was issued.
Immediate effect— A revocation authorized under subparagraph (A)—
shall take effect immediately; and
shall automatically cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation that is in the alien’s possession.
Public availability of information— Information about the denial or revocation of a visa or other documentation under this paragraph shall be made available to the public.
Reporting requirement—
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives that identifies—
any criteria, if relevant used to describe the aliens to which the grounds of inadmissibility described in subsection (c) may apply; and
the number of individuals identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1), including the nationality of each such individual and the reasons for each such identification.
Classification of report— Each report required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted, to the extent practicable, in an unclassified form, but may be accompanied by a classified annex.
Congressional nomination determination— Not later than 60 days after receiving a request from the chairman and ranking member of a congressional committee listed in subsection (d)(1) with respect to whether an alien is seeking to knowingly acquire sensitive or emerging technologies to undermine national security interests of the United States by benefitting an adversarial foreign government’s security or strategic capabilities, the President shall—
determine if such alien meets such criteria; and
submit a classified or unclassified report to such chairman and ranking member with respect to such determination that includes a statement of whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to such alien.
Waiver—
In general— The President, on a case-by-case basis and for a period of not more than 180 days, may waive a requirement under subsection (c) to impose or maintain sanctions with respect to an alien if the President—
determines that such waiver is in the national security interest of the United States; and
not less than 30 days before such waiver takes effect, submits a report to the congressional committees listed in subsection (d)(1) that describes and justifies such waiver.
Renewal of waiver— The President may, on a case-by-case basis, renew a waiver under paragraph (1) for additional periods of not more than 180 days if the President—
determines that the renewal of the waiver is in the national security interest of the United States; and
not less than 15 days before the waiver expires, submits a report to the congressional committees listed in subsection (d)(1) that describes and justifies such renewal.
Sec. 7 Machine readable visa documents
Machine-Readable documents— Except as provided in subsection (b), not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall—
require the use of a machine-readable visa application form; and
make available documents submitted in support of a visa application in a machine readable format to assist in—
identifying fraud;
conducting lawful law enforcement activities; and
determining the eligibility of applicants for a visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
Waiver— The Secretary of State may waive the requirement under subsection (a) by providing to Congress, not later than 30 days before the effective date of such waiver—
a detailed explanation for why such waiver is being issued; and
a timeframe for the implementation of the requirement under subsection (a).
Report— Not later than 45 days after date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that—
describes how supplementary documents provided by a visa applicant in support of a visa application are stored and shared by the Department of State with authorized Federal agencies;
identifies the sections of a visa application that are machine-readable and the sections that are not machine-readable;
provides cost estimates, including personnel costs and a cost-benefit analysis for adopting different technologies, including optical character recognition, for—
making every element of a visa application, and documents submitted in support of a visa application, machine-readable; and
ensuring that such system—
protects personally-identifiable information; and
permits the sharing of visa information with Federal agencies in accordance with existing law; and
includes an estimated timeline for completing the implementation of subsection (a).
Sec. 8 Certifications regarding access to export controlled technology in educational and cultural exchange programs
Section 102(b)(5) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(5)) is amended to read as follows:
“(5) promoting and supporting medical, scientific, cultural, and educational research and development—
“(A) by developing exchange programs for foreign researchers and scientists, while protecting technologies regulated by export control laws important to the national security and economic interests of the United States; and
“(B) by requiring the sponsor of an exchange visitor program—
“(i) to certify to the Department of State that the sponsor, after reviewing all regulations related to the Export Controls Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4811 et seq.) and the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), has determined that—
“(I) a license is not required from the Department of Commerce or the Department of State to release such technology or technical data to the exchange visitor; or
“(II)
“(aa) a license is required from the Department of Commerce or the Department of State to release such technology or technical data to the exchange visitor; and
“(bb) the sponsor will prevent access to the controlled technology or technical data by the exchange visitor until the sponsor—
“(AA) has received the required license or other authorization to release it to the visitor; and
“(BB) has provided a copy of such license or authorization to the Department of State; and
“(ii) if the sponsor maintains export controlled technology or technical data, to submit to the Department of State the sponsor’s plan to prevent unauthorized export or transfer of any controlled items, materials, information, or technology at the sponsor organization or entities associated with a sponsor’s administration of the exchange visitor program.”
Sec. 9 Mandatory placement of research and development applicants failing to disclose required information in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System
Section 223(c)(2) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (42 U.S.C. 6605(c)(2)) is amended—
by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (G) as clauses (i) through (vii) and moving such clauses 2 ems to the right;
in the matter preceding clause (i), as redesignated, by striking “may take” and inserting the following: “—
“(A) shall—
“(i) indicate, in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, that such individual or entity is noncompliant to give notice to other Federal grant-making agencies; and
“(ii) disclose, in such system, any business relationship between such individual or entity and any foreign country of concern (as defined in section 9901(7) (15 U.S.C. 4651(7))), including any funding received by such individual or entity from any agent of such country; and
“(B) may take”
in subparagraph (B), as redesignated—
by striking clause (vi); and
by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (vi).
Sec. 10 Privacy and confidentiality
Nothing in this Act, or in any amendment made by this Act, may be construed as affecting the rights and requirements provided in—
section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”); or
subchapter III of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the “Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018”).