[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5253 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5253
To provide that no Federal funds may be obligated or expended to award
a grant or contract to an institution of higher education for the
specific purposes of conducting fundamental research in collaboration
with a covered entity.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 2025
Mr. Barr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that no Federal funds may be obligated or expended to award
a grant or contract to an institution of higher education for the
specific purposes of conducting fundamental research in collaboration
with a covered entity.
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 ``Protecting American Research and
Talent Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH
COLLABORATION WITH COVERED ENTITIES.
(a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no Federal
funds may be obligated or expended to award a grant or contract to an
institution of higher education for the specific purposes of conducting
fundamental research in collaboration with a covered entity.
(b) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The head of a Federal agency may waive the
prohibition described in subsection (a) on a case-by-case
basis, with respect to an individual grant or contract with an
eligible institution of higher education described in paragraph
(2) if the agency head determines that such a waiver is in the
national security interests of the United States.
(2) Eligibility.--
(A) In general.--An institution of higher education
is eligible for a waiver under this subsection if--
(i) the international enrollment rate at
the institution is less than 15 percent; and
(ii) the enrollment at the institution of
students from foreign countries of concern is
less than 5 percent of the international
student body at the institution.
(B) Persecuted groups not to be included in cap.--
(i) In general.--For purposes of
calculating the enrollment at an institution of
higher education of students under clauses (i)
and (ii) of subparagraph (A), a student from a
foreign country of concern who is member of a
group on the list described in clause (ii) for
such foreign country of concern shall not count
toward the caps provided in such subparagraph.
(ii) List.--The Secretary of State shall
establish a list for each foreign country of
concern of groups who are the target of
persecution in the foreign country of concern.
(3) Congressional notice.--Not later than 30 days after the
date on which an award is made by a Federal agency involving an
institution of higher education with respect to which a waiver
is made under paragraph (1), the head of the agency shall
submit to Congress a notice of such waiver.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--On an annual basis, each head of a Federal
agency shall submit to Congress a report on the compliance of
the agency and institutions of higher education with the
requirements of this section.
(2) Contents.--Each report annex submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) a list of institutions of higher education that
applied for funding that also applied for a waiver
under subsection (b) during the period covered by the
report, and for each of these institutions, statistics
on domestic, international, and foreign country of
concern enrollment in each of the institution's
undergraduate and graduate schools; and
(B) for each waiver made under subsection (b)
during the period covered by the report--
(i) a justification for the waiver; and
(ii) a detailed description of the type and
extent of any collaboration between an
institution of higher education and a covered
entity allowed pursuant to the waiver,
including identification of the institution of
higher education and the covered entity
involved, the type of technology involved, the
duration of the collaboration, and terms and
conditions on intellectual property assignment,
as applicable, under the collaboration
agreement.
(d) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Collaboration.--The term ``collaboration'' means
coordinated activity between an institution of higher education
and a covered entity, and includes--
(A) sharing of research facilities, resources, or
data;
(B) sharing of technical know-how;
(C) any financial or in-kind contribution intended
to produce a research product;
(D) sponsorship or facilitation of research
fellowships, visas, or residence permits;
(E) joint ventures, partnerships, or other
formalized agreements for the purpose of conducting
research or sharing resources, data, or technology;
(F) inclusion of researchers as consultants,
advisors, or members of advisory or review boards; and
(G) such other activities as may be determined by
the Secretary of Defense.
(2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity''--
(A) means--
(i) any academic institution that is
included in the most recently updated list
developed pursuant to section 1286(c)(9) of the
John S. McCain National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232;
10 U.S.C. 4001 note);
(ii) any entity included in the list of
Chinese military companies operating in the
United States most recently submitted under
section 1260H(b)(1) of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283;10
U.S.C. 113 note); or
(iii) any college or university in the
People's Republic of China that--
(I) is known as the ``Seven Sons of
National Defense'';
(II) is designated under the
``Double First-Class Construction''
plan;
(III) is designated or overseen by
the State Administration for Science,
Technology, and Industry for National
Defense to host ``joint construction''
programs; or
(IV) otherwise conducts research or
other activities in support of
implementation of military-civil fusion
strategy or national defense
capabilities; and
(B) includes--
(i) any individual employed by, or
receiving funding from, an entity or academic
institution described in subparagraph (A);
(ii) any foreign person who holds a degree
from an academic institution described in
subparagraph (A); and
(iii) any foreign person who receives
funding from--
(I) an entity described in
subparagraph (A);
(II) a foreign talent program
included in the most recently updated
list developed pursuant to section
1286(c)(10) of the John S. McCain
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232;
10 U.S.C. 4001 note); or
(III) a foreign country of concern
or an entity based in a foreign country
of concern, whether or not directly
sponsored by the foreign country of
concern.
(3) Foreign country of concern.--The term ``foreign country
of concern'' has the meaning given the term in section 10612(a)
of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation
Act (Public Law 117-167; 136 Stat. 1635; 42 U.S.C. 19221).
(4) Fundamental research.--The term ``fundamental
research'' has the meaning given that term in National Security
Decision Directive-189 (NSSD-189), National Policy on the
Transfer of Scientific, Technical and Engineering Information,
dated September 21, 1985, or any successor document.
(5) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002) and includes--
(A) any department, program, project, faculty,
researcher, or other individual, entity, or activity of
such institution; and
(B) any branch of such institution within or
outside the United States.
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