Safeguarding United States Research Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3619 To provide increased transparency and accountability regarding potential for- eign influence in research and development programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2021 Mr. NORMAN (for himself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Mr. DUNCAN, and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide increased transparency and accountability regard- ing potential foreign influence in research and develop- ment programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Safeguarding United States Research Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3619 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS Sec. 101. Reporting exchange visitor change in field of study. Sec. 102. Reporting certain research program participation. Sec. 103. Review and revocation of certain nonimmigrant visas. Sec. 104. Annual report. TITLE II—FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARDS Sec. 101. Findings. Sec. 102. Disclosure of funding sources in applications for Federal research and development awards. TITLE I—IMMIGRATION 1 PROVISIONS 2 SEC. 101. REPORTING EXCHANGE VISITOR CHANGE IN 3 FIELD OF STUDY. 4 With respect to a principal nonimmigrant exchange 5 visitor admitted into the United States in the J–1 classi- 6 fication under section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immigration 7 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J)) in order 8 to study, the Secretary of State shall take such action as 9 may be necessary to ensure that the applicable program 10 sponsor is required to use the Student and Exchange Vis- 11 itor Information System to report any change to the non- 12 immigrant’s primary field of study. In carrying out this 13 section, the Secretary of State shall take into account the 14 record keeping and reporting requirements of the Sec- 15 retary of Homeland Security with regard to non- 16 immigrants admitted into the United States in the F–1 17 and M–1 classifications under subparagraphs (F) and (M) 18 of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)). 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3619 IH SEC. 102. REPORTING CERTAIN RESEARCH PROGRAM PAR- 1 TICIPATION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a principal non- 3 immigrant admitted into the United States in the J–1 4 classification under section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immigra- 5 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J)), in the 6 F–1 classification under section 101(a)(15)(F) of such 7 Act, or in the M–1 classification under section 8 101(a)(15)(M) of such Act, the Secretary of State and the 9 Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such action as 10 may be necessary to ensure that the applicable program 11 sponsor or academic or nonacademic institution is re- 12 quired to use the Student and Exchange Visitor Informa- 13 tion System to report when the nonimmigrant is partici- 14 pating in a research program funded in whole or in part 15 through a grant, contract, or other similar form of support 16 provided by the Federal Government, as well as program 17 identification information. 18 (b) NOTIFICATIONS.— 19 (1) SECRETARY.—In the case of a non- 20 immigrant described in subsection (a), the Secretary 21 of Homeland Security shall notify the appropriate 22 program manager at an Executive agency (as de- 23 fined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) 24 if and when the Secretary obtains information that 25 the nonimmigrant is participating in a research pro- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3619 IH gram funded in whole or in part through a grant, 1 contract, or other similar form of support provided 2 by such agency prior to the commencement of that 3 nonimmigrant’s participation and not later than 21 4 days after authorizing such participation. 5 (2) SPONSOR OR INSTITUTION.—In the case of 6 a nonimmigrant described in subsection (a), the ap- 7 plicable program sponsor or academic or nonaca- 8 demic institution shall notify the appropriate pro- 9 gram manager at an Executive agency (as defined in 10 section 105 of title 5, United States Code) if and 11 when the sponsor or institution obtains information 12 that the nonimmigrant is participating in a research 13 program funded in whole or in part through a grant, 14 contract, or other similar form of support provided 15 by such agency prior to the commencement of that 16 nonimmigrant’s participation and not later than 21 17 days after authorizing such participation. 18 SEC. 103. REVIEW AND REVOCATION OF CERTAIN NON- 19 IMMIGRANT VISAS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 21 rity shall have the authority to review and revoke a non- 22 immigrant visa granted under subparagraph (F), (J), or 23 (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nation- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3619 IH ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) if, in consultation with 1 the Attorney General, the Secretary finds that— 2 (1) the visa holder has misrepresented his or 3 her intention to pursue a certain program or field of 4 study; 5 (2) following a change to the nonimmigrant’s 6 primary field of study as described under section 7 101, that the new primary field of study would have 8 triggered a higher level of scrutiny during the visa 9 application process, and that the visa holder poses a 10 risk to the homeland security of the United States, 11 the national security of the United States, or re- 12 search integrity at their applicable program sponsor 13 or institution; or 14 (3) the visa holder’s enrollment in a research 15 program funded in whole or in part through a grant, 16 contract, or other similar form of support provided 17 by the Federal Government poses a risk to the 18 homeland security of the United States, the national 19 security of the United States, or research integrity 20 at their applicable program sponsor or institution. 21 (b) NOTICE.—Thirty days before the commencement 22 of a review under subsection (a), the Secretary of Home- 23 land Security shall provide the applicable program sponsor 24 or institution with a notice containing the specific basis 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3619 IH of the forthcoming review. During this 30-day period, the 1 program sponsor or institution may take corrective action 2 to alleviate any concerns raised by the Secretary. At the 3 conclusion of the 30-day period, the Secretary shall deter- 4 mine whether the program sponsor or institution has satis- 5 factorily addressed the concerns or a review remains nec- 6 essary. 7 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be no adminis- 9 trative or judicial review of a determination to re- 10 voke a visa under this section except in accordance 11 with this subsection. 12 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 13 (A) SINGLE LEVEL OF ADMINISTRATIVE 14 APPELLATE REVIEW.—The Secretary of Home- 15 land Security shall establish an appellate au- 16 thority to provide for a single level of adminis- 17 trative appellate review of such a determination. 18 (B) STANDARD FOR REVIEW.—Such ad- 19 ministrative appellate review shall be based 20 solely upon the administrative record estab- 21 lished at the time of the determination and 22 upon such additional or newly discovered evi- 23 dence as may not have been available at the 24 time of the determination. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3619 IH (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 1 (A) LIMITATION TO REVIEW OF RE- 2 MOVAL.—There shall be judicial review of a de- 3 termination to revoke a visa under this section 4 only in the judicial review of an order of re- 5 moval under section 242 of the Immigration 6 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252). 7 (B) STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 8 Such judicial review shall be based solely upon 9 the administrative record established at the 10 time of the review by the appellate authority 11 and the findings of fact and determinations 12 contained in such record shall be conclusive un- 13 less the applicant can establish abuse of discre- 14 tion or that the findings are directly contrary to 15 clear and convincing facts contained in the 16 record considered as a whole. 17 SEC. 104. ANNUAL REPORT. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 19 rity shall require the Academic Institutions Subcommittee 20 of the Homeland Security Advisory Council of the Depart- 21 ment of Homeland Security to provide an annual report 22 to the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 23 Homeland Security, and the Committee on Foreign Af- 24 fairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3619 IH on the Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security 1 and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on Foreign 2 Relations of the Senate, on— 3 (1) the implementation and execution of any 4 visa reviews and revocations undertaken under sec- 5 tion 103; 6 (2) the number of alien students enrolled at 7 academic or nonacademic institutions in the United 8 States, disaggregated by— 9 (A) program of study; 10 (B) previous and current nationality; and 11 (C) participation in a research program 12 (which may or may not be classified) funded in 13 whole or in part through a grant, contract, or 14 other similar form of support provided by the 15 Federal Government, differentiated by agency, 16 sub-agency, and program; and 17 (3) the number of alien students who have 18 changed their field of study, including their original 19 and subsequent field of study, disaggregated by the 20 information described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 21 and (C) of paragraph (2). 22 (b) APPENDIX.—Each report under subsection (a) 23 shall include an appendix containing any feedback pro- 24 vided on a voluntary basis by any program sponsor or in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3619 IH stitution affected by a visa review or revocation under- 1 taken under section 103. 2 TITLE II—FEDERAL RESEARCH 3 AND DEVELOPMENT AWARDS 4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) United States colleges and universities are 7 required publicly to report foreign gifts and con- 8 tracts to the Department of Education. Codified at 9 section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 10 (20 U.S.C. 1011f), this mandate requires nearly all 11 colleges and universities to report, twice each year, 12 foreign gifts and contracts the value of which is 13 $250,000 or more (considered alone or in combina- 14 tion with other gifts or contracts with a foreign 15 source) and to disclose any foreign ownership or 16 control to the Secretary of Education. 17 (2) Congress applauds the Department of Edu- 18 cation for taking concrete steps to enforce section 19 117, including the opening of 12 compliance inves- 20 tigations yielding important and actionable informa- 21 tion and catalyzed disclosure of $6,500,000,000 in 22 previously unreported foreign money. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3619 IH (3) On average, fewer than 300 of the approxi- 1 mately 6,000 United States colleges and universities 2 report receiving foreign money each year. 3 (4) It is in the interest of scientific and aca- 4 demic integrity that foreign funding is disclosed by 5 the recipient. 6 (5) Institutions have an obligation to comply 7 with all applicable laws and regulations requiring 8 disclosure of foreign funding. 9 SEC. 102. DISCLOSURE OF FUNDING SOURCES IN APPLICA- 10 TIONS FOR FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVEL- 11 OPMENT AWARDS. 12 Section 223 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry Na- 13 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 14 (Public Law 116–283) is amended— 15 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 16 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting be- 17 fore the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including a 18 description of any in-kind contributions and a 19 reasonable estimate of the value of such con- 20 tributions in dollars or man-hours, as applica- 21 ble’’; 22 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub- 23 paragraph (B); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3619 IH (C) by adding at the end the following new 1 subparagraph: 2 ‘‘(D) in the case of a covered individual 3 who is employed by an institution subject to 4 section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 5 1965 (20 U.S.C 1011f), certify that the indi- 6 vidual has provided the institution with the in- 7 formation necessary to comply with such section 8 and include, together with such certification, a 9 statement acknowledging receipt of such infor- 10 mation signed by the head of the office respon- 11 sible for the institution’s compliance with such 12 section; and’’; and 13 (2) in subsection (d)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘in-kind 14 contributions requiring a commitment of time and 15 directly supporting the individual’s research and de- 16 velopment efforts, such as the provision of office or 17 laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, or 18 students’’ and inserting ‘‘all in-kind contributions, 19 regardless of whether such contributions are in- 20 tended for use on the project for which the research 21 and development [Text truncated for display. 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