Federal

Preventing Malign CCP Influence on Academic Institutions Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,039 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires colleges and universities to tell the federal government about money and contracts they receive from organizations tied to China's government, the Chinese Communist Party, or the People's Liberation Army. The bill also requires schools to post these agreements publicly on their websites.

Who It Affects

Colleges and universities that receive federal grant money are directly affected. Organizations affiliated with China's government, the Chinese Communist Party, or the People's Liberation Army may be impacted by increased disclosure requirements.

Key Provisions

• Colleges must report gifts or contracts worth $5,000 or more from China-affiliated organizations by filing reports with the federal government on January 31 or July 31, whichever comes first (Sec. 2(1)(A)) • Schools receiving federal grants must file annual reports listing any joint research, academic exchanges, or other activities they conduct with China-affiliated organizations (Sec. 2(2)) • Colleges must post the full text of all contracts and agreements with China-affiliated organizations on a public website, even if those agreements are no longer active (Sec. 2(3)) • The bill defines "China-affiliated organizations" as entities that receive support from China's government, including cultural programs, certain think tanks, current government members, Chinese state companies, and companies where China-government officials hold board seats or own more than 5 percent of the company (Sec. 2(5))

What Changes

The bill modifies the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add new reporting and disclosure rules. Schools must now report financial ties to China-affiliated organizations that they did not have to report before.

Important Definitions

The bill defines "PRC-, CCP-, or PLA-affiliated organization" as any group receiving support from the People's Republic of China government, the Chinese Communist Party, or the People's Liberation Army. This includes cultural and educational programs, think tanks receiving more than $100,000 annually from these sources, current members of these organizations, Chinese state-owned companies, and companies where these organizations' officials hold board positions or own more than 5 percent ownership or voting control.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 944 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to disclose certain ties to organizations affiliated with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Com- munist Party, and the People’s Liberation Army, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Mr. PFLUGER (for himself, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. POSEY, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. GUEST, Mr. CREN- SHAW, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SANTOS, and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to disclose certain ties to organizations affiliated with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and the People’s Liberation Army, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Malign 4 CCP Influence on Academic Institutions Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H944.IH H944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 944 IH SEC. 2. DISCLOSURES OF FOREIGN GIFTS. 1 Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 2 U.S.C. 1011f) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ 4 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (d), 5 whenever’’; 6 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 7 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 8 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO PRC-, CCP-, 11 AND PLA-AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS.— 12 ‘‘(1) ENHANCED DISCLOSURES OF GIFTS AND 13 CONTRACTS.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any institu- 15 tion receives a gift from or enters into a con- 16 tract with a PRC-, CCP-, or PLA-affiliated or- 17 ganization, the value of which is $5,000 or 18 more, considered alone or in combination with 19 all other gifts from or contracts with that orga- 20 nization within a calendar year, the institution 21 shall file a disclosure report with the Secretary 22 on January 31 or July 31, whichever is sooner. 23 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report 24 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H944.IH H944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 944 IH ‘‘(i) the information described in sub- 1 sections (b) and (c) (as applicable); 2 ‘‘(ii) the full legal name of the indi- 3 vidual or organization that made the gift 4 or entered into the contract to which the 5 disclosure pertains; and 6 ‘‘(iii) instructions for accessing the in- 7 formation made available under paragraph 8 (3). 9 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF JOINT ACTIVITIES.—On 10 an annual basis, any institution that receives funds 11 under a Federal grant program shall file a disclosure 12 report with the Secretary that identifies any activi- 13 ties conducted pursuant to a contract or other agree- 14 ment between the institution and a PRC-, CCP-, or 15 PLA-affiliated organization, including any joint re- 16 search or academic exchanges. 17 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF AGREEMENTS.— 18 Each institution shall make available, on a publicly 19 accessible website of the institution, the full text of 20 any contract, agreement, or memorandum of under- 21 standing between the institution and a PRC-, CCP- 22 , or PLA-affiliated organization (regardless of 23 whether the contract, agreement, or memorandum 24 remains in effect).’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H944.IH H944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 944 IH (4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 2 paragraph (6); and 3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(5) The term ‘PRC-, CCP-, or PLA-affiliated 6 organization’ means any entity that receives support 7 directly or indirectly from the Government of the 8 People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist 9 Party, or the People’s Liberation Army, including— 10 ‘‘(A) a cultural, language, or educational 11 institute or program; 12 ‘‘(B) a think tank that has received more 13 than $100,000 in one calendar year or more 14 than 10 percent of the total funding for such 15 think tank for that year, whichever is less, from 16 the Government of the People’s Republic of 17 China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the 18 People’s Liberation Army, or individuals affili- 19 ated with such organizations; 20 ‘‘(C) a person who is a current member of 21 the Government of the People’s Republic of 22 China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the 23 People’s Liberation Army, or is otherwise active 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H944.IH H944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 944 IH in collaborating with such organizations as an 1 employee or advisor; 2 ‘‘(D) a Chinese State-owned enterprise or 3 partially or wholly owned subsidiary of a Chi- 4 nese State-owned enterprise; and 5 ‘‘(E) a company, think tank, nonprofit, or 6 other similar entity, which has on its board of 7 directors or with equity ownership or voting 8 control in excess of 5 percent any members of 9 the Government of the People’s Republic of 10 China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the 11 People’s Liberation Army, or executives of a 12 Chinese State-owned enterprise, including the 13 president, vice president, or any other officer 14 who performs a policy making function or any 15 other person who performs similar policy mak- 16 ing functions for such enterprise, including an 17 executive officer of a subsidiary of such enter- 18 prise who performs such policy making func- 19 tions.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H944.IH H944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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