Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1777 To address foreign threats to higher education in the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2021 Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. TURNER, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. GAETZ, and Mrs. STEEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To address foreign threats to higher education in the United States. 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 ‘‘Stop Higher Education 4 Espionage and Theft Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1777 IH SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE 1 THREATS TO HIGHER EDUCATION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 28, United 3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘§ 540D. Designation of foreign intelligence threats to 6 higher education 7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘classified information’ has the 9 meaning given that term in section 1(a) of the Clas- 10 sified Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.); 11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 12 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting in con- 13 sultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of 14 Education, and the Director of National Intelligence; 15 ‘‘(3) the term ‘foreign actor’ means— 16 ‘‘(A) a foreign government or its auxiliary 17 territories, or any component thereof, whether 18 or not recognized by the United States; 19 ‘‘(B) a foreign-based political organization, 20 not substantially composed of United States 21 persons; 22 ‘‘(C) a faction of a foreign nation or na- 23 tions, not substantially composed of United 24 States persons; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(D) an entity that is openly acknowledged 1 by a foreign government or governments to be 2 directed and controlled by such foreign govern- 3 ment or governments; 4 ‘‘(E) any partnership, association, corpora- 5 tion, organization, or other combination of per- 6 sons who acts as an agent, representative, em- 7 ployee, or servant of, or whose activities are di- 8 rectly or indirectly supervised, directed, con- 9 trolled, financed, or subsidized in whole or in 10 major part by a government, organization, fac- 11 tion, or entity described in subparagraph (A) 12 (B), (C), or (D); or 13 ‘‘(F) any individual who acts as an agent, 14 representative, employee, or servant of, or 15 whose activities are directly or indirectly super- 16 vised, directed, controlled, financed, or sub- 17 sidized in whole or in major part by a govern- 18 ment, organization, faction, or entity described 19 in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D), unless 20 such individual is a citizen of and domiciled 21 within the United States; 22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘institution’ means any institu- 23 tion of higher education, as defined under section 24 101 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1001); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(5) the term ‘national security’ means the na- 1 tional defense, foreign relations, or economic inter- 2 ests of the United States; 3 ‘‘(6) the term ‘relevant committees of Congress’ 4 means— 5 ‘‘(A) the Committee on the Judiciary, the 6 Select Committee on Intelligence, the Com- 7 mittee on Homeland Security and Government 8 Affairs, and the Committee on Health, Edu- 9 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and 10 ‘‘(B) the Committee on the Judiciary, the 11 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 12 the Committee on Homeland Security, and the 13 Committee on Education and Labor of the 14 House of Representatives; and 15 ‘‘(7) the term ‘United States person’ has the 16 meaning given that term in section 101 of the For- 17 eign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 18 U.S.C. 1801). 19 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall des- 21 ignate a foreign actor as a foreign intelligence threat 22 to higher education, in accordance with this sub- 23 section, if the Director finds that the foreign actor 24 has committed, attempted to commit, or conspired to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1777 IH commit, in connection with an institution, one or 1 more of the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Smuggling goods from the United 3 States, in violation of section 554 of title 18. 4 ‘‘(B) Espionage, in violation of sections 5 791 through 799 of title 18. 6 ‘‘(C) Kidnapping, in violation of section 7 1201 of title 18. 8 ‘‘(D) Fraud or misuse of visas, permits, or 9 other documents, in violation of section 1546 of 10 title 18. 11 ‘‘(E) Aggravated identity theft, in violation 12 of section 1028A of title 18. 13 ‘‘(F) Fraud or related activity in connec- 14 tion with access devices, in violation of section 15 1029 of title 18. 16 ‘‘(G) Fraud or related activity in connec- 17 tion with computers, in violation of section 18 1030 of title 18. 19 ‘‘(H) Economic espionage, in violation of 20 section 1831 of title 18. 21 ‘‘(I) Theft of trade secrets, in violation of 22 section 1832 of title 18. 23 ‘‘(J) Terrorism, in violation of sections 24 2331 through 2339D of title 18. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(K) Interception or disclosure of wire, 1 oral, or electronic communications, in violation 2 of section 2511 of title 18. 3 ‘‘(L) A violation of any control on the im- 4 port or export of defense articles or defense 5 services imposed under section 38 of the Arms 6 Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778). 7 ‘‘(M) A violation of any control on the ex- 8 port, reexport, and in-country transfer of an 9 item imposed under section 1753 of the Export 10 Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4812). 11 ‘‘(N) An unlawful act described in section 12 206(a) of the International Emergency Eco- 13 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705(a)). 14 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 15 ‘‘(A) NOTICE BEFORE DESIGNATION.— 16 ‘‘(i) TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS.— 17 Not later than 7 days before making a des- 18 ignation under paragraph (1), the Director 19 shall submit to the Speaker and minority 20 leader of the House of Representatives, the 21 President pro tempore, majority leader, 22 and minority leader of the Senate, and the 23 members of the relevant committees of 24 Congress— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(I) written notice of the intent 1 of the Director to designate a foreign 2 actor under paragraph (1); and 3 ‘‘(II) the findings made under 4 paragraph (1) with respect to foreign 5 actor and the factual basis therefor. 6 ‘‘(ii) TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 7 Not later than 7 days before making a des- 8 ignation under paragraph (1), the Director 9 shall submit to the Attorney General, for 10 the Attorney General to determine whether 11 further investigation or prosecution is war- 12 ranted— 13 ‘‘(I) written notice of the intent 14 of the Director to designate a foreign 15 actor under paragraph (1); and 16 ‘‘(II) the findings made under 17 paragraph (1) with respect to the for- 18 eign actor and the factual basis there- 19 for. 20 ‘‘(iii) PROTECTION OF CLASSIFIED IN- 21 FORMATION.—The notice and findings sub- 22 mitted under clauses (i) and (ii) may be in 23 classified form. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REG- 1 ISTER.—If the Director makes a designation 2 under paragraph (1), the Director shall publish 3 the designation in the Federal Register on the 4 date of the designation. 5 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—For pur- 6 poses of section 117 of the Higher Education 7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f), a designation 8 under paragraph (1) shall take effect upon pub- 9 lication under subparagraph (B) of this para- 10 graph. 11 ‘‘(D) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION ON LAW- 12 FUL STATUS.— 13 ‘‘(i) REVOCATION OF NONIMMIGRANT 14 VISA.—The Secretary of State shall revoke 15 the nonimmigrant visa issued to any for- 16 eign actor present in the United States im- 17 mediately after such foreign actor has been 18 designated under paragraph (1). 19 ‘‘(ii) REMOVAL.—The Secretary of 20 Homeland Security shall initiate removal 21 proceedings against any foreign actor de- 22 scribed in clause (i) and expeditiously re- 23 move such foreign actor from the United 24 States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(iii) INELIGIBILITY.—Any foreign 1 actor who has been designated under para- 2 graph (1) shall be inadmissible to the 3 United States and ineligible to receive a 4 United States visa or be admitted to the 5 United States. 6 ‘‘(iv) APPEAL.—If a foreign actor ap- 7 peals a designation under paragraph (1), 8 the consequences described in clauses (i) 9 through (iii) shall be stayed until such ap- 10 peal has been fully adjudicated. 11 ‘‘(3) RECORD.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In making a designa- 13 tion under paragraph (1), the Director shall 14 create an administrative record. 15 ‘‘(B) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—The Di- 16 rector may consider classified information in 17 making a designation under paragraph (1). 18 Classified information shall not be subject to 19 disclosure for such time as it remains classified, 20 except that such information may be disclosed 21 to a court ex parte and in camera for purposes 22 of judicial review under subsection (d). 23 ‘‘(4) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A designation under 1 paragraph (1) shall be effective for all purposes 2 until revoked under paragraph (5) or (6) or set 3 aside under subsection (d). 4 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF DESIGNATION UPON PE- 5 TITION.— 6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 7 review the designation of a foreign actor as 8 a foreign intelligence threat to higher edu- 9 cation under the procedures set forth in 10 clauses (iii) and (iv) if the designated for- 11 eign actor files a petition for revocation 12 within the petition period described in 13 clause (ii). 14 ‘‘(ii) PETITION PERIOD.—For pur- 15 poses of clause (i)— 16 ‘‘(I) if the designated foreign 17 actor has not previously filed a peti- 18 tion for revocation under this sub- 19 paragraph, the petition period begins 20 2 years after the date on which the 21 designation was made; or 22 ‘‘(II) if the designated foreign 23 actor has previously filed a petition 24 for revocation under this subpara- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1777 IH graph, the petition period begins 2 1 years after the date of the determina- 2 tion made under clause (iv) with re- 3 spect to that petition. 4 ‘‘(iii) PROCEDURES.—Any foreign 5 actor designated as a foreign intelligence 6 threat to higher education that submits a 7 petition for revocation under this subpara- 8 graph shall provide evidence in the petition 9 that the relevant circumstances described 10 in paragraph (1) are sufficiently different 11 from the circumstances that were the basis 12 for the designation such that a revocation 13 with respect to the foreign actor is war- 14 ranted. 15 ‘‘(iv) DETERMINATION.— 16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 17 than 180 days after receiving a peti- 18 tion for revocation submitted under 19 this subparagraph, the Director shall 20 make a determination as to such rev- 21 ocation. 22 ‘‘(II) CLASSIFIED INFORMA- 23 TION.—The Director may consider 24 classified information in making a de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1777 IH termination in response to a petition 1 for revocation. Classified information 2 shall not be subject to disclosure for 3 such time as it remains classified, ex- 4 cept that such information may be 5 disclosed to a court ex parte and in 6 camera for purposes of judicial review 7 under subsection (d). 8 ‘‘(III) PUBLICATION OF DETER- 9 MINATION.—A determination made by 10 the Director under this clause shall be 11 published in the Federal Register. 12 ‘‘(IV) PROCEDURES.—Any rev- 13 ocation of a designation by the Direc- 14 tor shall be made in accordance with 15 paragraph (6). 16 ‘‘(C) OTHER REVIEW OF DESIGNATION.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If no review has 18 taken place under subparagraph (B) dur- 19 ing any 5-year period, the Director shall 20 review the designation of a foreign actor as 21 a foreign intelligence threat to higher edu- 22 cation under paragraph (1) in order to de- 23 termine whether such designation should 24 be revoked pursuant to paragraph (6). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURES.—If a review does 1 not take place pursuant to subparagraph 2 (B) in response to a petition for revocation 3 that is filed in accordance with that sub- 4 paragraph, the review shall be conducted 5 pursuant to procedures established by the 6 Director. The results of such review and 7 the applicable procedures shall not be re- 8 viewable in any court. 9 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF RESULTS OF 10 REVIEW.—The Director shall publish any 11 determination made under this subpara- 12 graph in the Federal Register. 13 ‘‘(5) REVOCATION BY ACT OF CONGRESS.—Con- 14 gress, by an Act of Congress, may block or revoke 15 a designation made under paragraph (1). 16 ‘‘(6) REVOCATION BASED ON CHANGE IN CIR- 17 CUMSTANCES.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENER [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]