[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1160 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1160
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve protections
against foreign influence at institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 18, 2021
Mr. Murphy of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Rice of South Carolina,
Mr. Tiffany, and Mr. Budd) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve protections
against foreign influence at institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Intelligence on Nefarious Foreign
Leaders Using Education Networks for Corrupt Enrichment Act'' or the
``INFLUENCE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Schools in the United States, especially institutions
of higher education overseeing either sensitive research or
critical military technology systems, have provided a level of
access to the Chinese government that the Chinese government
has refused to provide to the United States.
(2) China's control over the flow of information means the
American people have an incomplete picture of Chinese
government actions and policies that run counter to the
interest of the United States at home and abroad.
(3) In the last 15 years, the Chinese government has opened
over 100 Confucius Institutes on college and university
campuses in the United States to increase their cultural
standing in popular culture. While there are currently more
than 500 Confucius Institutes worldwide, the United States has
more Confucius Institutes than any other country.
(4) Federal Government officials have expressed concerns
about Confucius Institutes. Christopher Wray, Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, testified that the FBI is
``watching warily'' Confucius Institutes and ``in certain
instances have developed appropriate investigative steps''.
(5) The Department of Education has not conducted regular
oversight of the compliance of institutions of higher education
with foreign gift reporting requirements and, until recently,
has failed to adequately enforce the requirements of section
117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (relating to
disclosures of foreign gifts). The Department of Education
maintains a database detailing the reporting of foreign gifts
received by institutions, but relies solely on the institutions
to self-report gifts.
(6) The Department of Education is updating the reporting
requirements applicable to institutions of higher education.
Previously, the Department of Education had not issued guidance
on foreign gift reporting by institutions of higher education
since 2004. As a result, institution's informed Congress that
the reporting requirements were unclear and confusing.
Institutions also informed Congress that the Department of
Education website used to report foreign gifts was dated and
difficult to use.
(7) Absent full transparency regarding how Confucius
Institutes operate and full reciprocity for the cultural
outreach efforts of the United States on college campuses in
China, Confucius Institutes should not continue in the United
States unchecked or unsupervised.
SEC. 3. ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN FOREIGN GIFTS AND CONTRACTS.
Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f)
is amended--
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) Disclosure Report.--An institution shall file a disclosure
report with the Secretary on January 31 or July 31, whichever is
sooner, whenever one or more of the following occurs:
``(1) The institution is owned or controlled by a foreign
source.
``(2) The institution receives a gift from or enters into a
contract with a foreign source determined by the Secretary to
be acting directly or indirectly on behalf of a foreign
government that is adversarial to the United States, regardless
of the value of the gift or contract.
``(3) The institution receives a gift from or enters into a
contract with a foreign source not described in paragraph (2),
the value of which is--
``(A) $50,000 considered alone; or
``(B) $100,000 or more in combination with all
other gifts from or contracts with that foreign source
within a calendar year.'';
(2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
``(e) Public Availability of Information.--
``(1) Public inspection.--Subject to paragraph (4), all
disclosure reports required by this section shall be public
records open to inspection and copying during business hours.
``(2) Publication by department of education.--Not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment of the INFLUENCE Act,
and on an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary of Education
shall make available, on a publicly accessible website of the
Department of Education, a database of the information
disclosed to the Secretary under this section during the
preceding year.
``(3) Publication by institutions.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of the INFLUENCE Act, and on an
annual basis thereafter, each institution that receives a gift
or enters into a contract described in subsection (a) shall
make available, on a publicly accessible website of the
institution--
``(A) in the case of a gift described in such
subsection, a detailed explanation of the gift,
including the amount of the gift, identification of the
source of the gift, and any conditions or restrictions
on the gift; and
``(B) in the case of a contract described in such
subsection, a complete and accurate copy of the
contract.
``(4) Restriction on publication of sensitive
information.--
``(A) In general.--Information made publicly
available under this section shall not include
information that is determined by an institution to be
confidential, proprietary, or otherwise prohibited from
disclosure by law.
``(B) Enforcement authority.--If the Secretary
determines that an institution of higher education
willfully or negligently disclosed information that is
confidential, proprietary, or otherwise prohibited from
disclosure by law in violation of subparagraph (A), the
Secretary may declare such institution ineligible to
participate in programs authorized under title IV of
this Act.''; and
(3) in subsection (f)(2), by inserting before the period at
the end the following: ``, in addition to any other amounts as
determined appropriate by the Secretary of Education''.
SEC. 4. FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN SENSITIVE PROJECTS.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is
further amended by inserting after section 117 the following:
``SEC. 117A. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FOREIGN CONTRACTS.
``(a) Foreign Involvement in Sensitive Projects.--
``(1) In general.--In a case in which an institution enters
into a contract with a foreign individual under which the
individual will participate in a sensitive project--
``(A) the institution shall disclose to the
Secretary--
``(i) the date on which individual is
expected to return to their home country; and
``(ii) and the name of the country to which
the individual is expected to return; and
``(B) such contract shall provide--
``(i) that the individual may not disclose
information derived from such project to a
foreign government or any other foreign entity;
and
``(ii) that the penalties for disclosure of
such information shall be the cancellation of
the contract and a requirement to reimburse the
Federal Government as described in paragraph
(2).
``(2) Liability for disclosure.--A foreign individual who
knowingly or willfully discloses information in violation of a
contract under paragraph (1) shall be required to reimburse the
Federal Government for the full costs of any investigation or
administrative action resulting from such violation, in
addition to any other amounts as determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
``(b) China-Affiliated Cultural or Language Program.--In a case in
which an institution enters into a contract with an individual or
entity under which a China-affiliated cultural or language program will
be allowed to operate at the institution, such contract--
``(1) shall include a provision protecting academic freedom
at the institution; and
``(2) shall not include any provision that would limit the
rights of an individual under the Constitution of the United
States.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `China-affiliated cultural or language
program' means any project, program, or other activity that--
``(A) seeks to familiarize students with Chinese
language or culture; and
``(B) is directly or indirectly funded by the
Government of the People's Republic of China.
``(2) The term `sensitive project' means any project,
program, or other activity carried out by an institution--
``(A) that is funded, in whole or in part, by
Federal funds; and
``(B) for which a security clearance is required as
a condition of participation.''.
SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION ON ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN GIFT AND
CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is
further amended by inserting after section 117a (as added by section 4)
the following:
``SEC. 117B. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION ON ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN GIFT
AND CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) Notification of Violations.--The Secretary of Education shall
establish a process to notify appropriate Federal agencies of any
violation of section 117 or section 117a.
``(b) Consideration of Enforcement Action.--After receiving notice
of a violation under subsection (a), the head of the Federal agency
that received such notice shall determine--
``(1) whether such violation constitutes a violation of a
provision of law over which the agency has enforcement
authority; and
``(2) if such a violation occurred, whether to pursue an
enforcement action against the individual or entity responsible
for the violation.''.
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
Section 636 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1132-5)
is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 636. REPORT ON FOREIGN AND NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES AFFECTING
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
``(a) Report Required.--On an annual basis, the Secretary of
Education, in consultation and collaboration with the Secretary of
State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence,
the Attorney General, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies,
shall submit to the authorizing committees a report on foreign and
national security issues affecting institutions of higher education.
``(b) Elements.--Each report under subsection (a) shall include--
``(1) identification of areas of national need in foreign
language, area, and international studies as such studies
relate to government, education, business, and nonprofit needs
and a plan to address those needs;
``(2) a description of any risks associated with allowing
foreign students and other foreign individuals at institutions
of higher education to access classified information, protected
intellectual property, research and development information,
and military technology critical to the national security of
the United States;
``(3) best practices that may be implemented by the
Department of Education, the Department of Defense, and other
Federal agencies with responsibilities relating to national
security to strengthen the secrecy of grants, projects, and
contracts that involve providing foreign individuals at
institutions of higher education with access to classified or
sensitive information, including recommended enforcement
actions to respond to the misuse of such information;
``(4) a description of the ongoing efforts of Federal law
enforcement organizations, including the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, to address the theft of sensitive information by
adversarial foreign actors; and
``(5) a summary of any information from national security-
related projects at institutions of higher education that was
stolen, misused, or wrongfully disclosed during the period
covered by the report and any actions taken to remedy the
theft, misuse, or disclosure of such information.
``(c) Form of Report.--Each report under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
``(d) Public Availability.--The Secretary of Education shall make
each report under subsection (a) available on a publicly accessible
website of the Department of Education, except no report published on
such website shall contain classified information.''.
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