Protect Our Universities Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1678 To create a task force within the Department of Education to address the threat of foreign government influence and threats to academic research integrity on college campuses, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 12, 2019 Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. COOK, and Mr. BACON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), Armed Services, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To create a task force within the Department of Education to address the threat of foreign government influence and threats to academic research integrity on college campuses, 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 ‘‘Protect Our Univer- 4 sities Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1678 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Adversaries of the United States take ad- 3 vantage of a largely vulnerable academic system. 4 Academia is a place of uniquely free thought; how- 5 ever, adversaries take advantage of access to feder- 6 ally funded sensitive research that takes place on the 7 campuses of institutions of higher education. 8 (2) As stated in a 2018 report by the White 9 House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, 10 ‘‘More than 300,000 Chinese nationals annually at- 11 tend U.S. universities or find employment at U.S. 12 national laboratories, innovation centers, incubators, 13 and think tanks. Chinese nationals now account for 14 approximately one third of foreign university and 15 college students in the United States and about 25 16 percent of graduate students specializing in science, 17 technology, engineering, or math (STEM).’’. 18 (3) International students from nations that are 19 adversarial to the United States could face undue 20 pressure or incentives to divulge technology to their 21 home nation or to use sensitive information to nega- 22 tively impact the United States. According to the 23 same 2018 White House Report, ‘‘The national and 24 economic security risks are that the Chinese State 25 may seek to manipulate or pressure even unwitting 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1678 IH or unwilling Chinese nationals into becoming non- 1 traditional information collectors that serve Beijing’s 2 military and strategic ambitions.’’. 3 (4) Technology and information that could be 4 deemed sensitive to the national security interests of 5 the United States should be given increased scrutiny 6 to determine if access should be restricted in a re- 7 search environment. 8 (5) An open federally funded research environ- 9 ment exposes the United States to the possibility of 10 exchanging research affiliated with current or future 11 critical military technological systems. 12 (6) In Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 13 Director Wray’s view, Chinese non-traditional intel- 14 ligence collectors ‘‘are exploiting the very open re- 15 search and development environment that we have, 16 which we all revere. But they‘re taking advantage of 17 it, so one of the things we’re trying to do is view the 18 China threat as not just the whole-of-government 19 threat, but a whole-of-society threat on their end, 20 and I think it’s going to take a whole-of-society re- 21 sponse by us.’’. 22 (7) As stated in the January 2018 China’s 23 Technology Transfer Strategy report by the Defense 24 Innovation Unit, ‘‘Academia is an opportune envi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1678 IH ronment for learning about science and technology 1 since the cultural values of U.S. educational institu- 2 tions reflect an open and free exchange of ideas. As 3 a result, Chinese science and engineering students 4 frequently master technologies that later become 5 critical to key military systems, amounting over time 6 to unintentional violations of U.S. export control 7 laws.’’. 8 SEC. 3. TASK FORCE. 9 (a) TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED.—Not later than one 10 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of De- 12 fense and the Director of National Intelligence, shall es- 13 tablish the National Security Technology Task Force 14 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’) within the 15 Department of Education to address the threat of espio- 16 nage at institutions of higher education. 17 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 18 (1) DESIGNATION.—The Task Force shall in- 19 clude not more than 30 members, of which— 20 (A) at least 1 representative shall be from 21 the Department of Defense, designated by the 22 Secretary of Defense; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1678 IH (B) at least 1 representative shall be from 1 the intelligence community, designated by the 2 Director of National Intelligence; 3 (C) at least 1 representative shall be from 4 the Department of Justice, designated by the 5 United States Attorney General; 6 (D) at least 1 representative shall be from 7 the Department of Energy, designated by the 8 Secretary of Energy; and 9 (E) at least 1 representative shall be from 10 each of the following offices of the Department 11 of Education, as appointed and named by the 12 Secretary of Education: 13 (i) Office of Postsecondary Education. 14 (ii) Office of Planning, Evaluation, 15 and Policy Development. 16 (iii) Office of the General Counsel. 17 (iv) Any other office the Secretary of 18 Education determines to be appropriate. 19 (2) MEMBERSHIP LIST.—Not later than 10 20 days after the first meeting of the Task Force, the 21 Task Force shall submit to Congress a list identi- 22 fying each member of the Task Force. 23 (c) SENSITIVE RESEARCH PROJECT LIST.—The 24 Task Force shall, in consultation with the Office of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1678 IH Director of National Intelligence, actively maintain a list 1 of sensitive research projects. Such list shall— 2 (1) be referred to as the Sensitive Research 3 Projects List; and 4 (2) for each project included on the list, indi- 5 cate— 6 (A) the qualified funding agency that is 7 funding the project; 8 (B) whether the project is open to student 9 participation; and 10 (C) whether the project is related to— 11 (i) an item listed on the Commerce 12 Control List (CCL) maintained by the De- 13 partment of Commerce; 14 (ii) an item listed on the United 15 States Munitions List maintained by the 16 Department of State; or 17 (iii) technology designated by the Sec- 18 retary of Defense as having a technology 19 readiness level of 1, 2, or 3. 20 (d) CONSULTATION WITH OIG.—The Task Force 21 shall periodically, but no less than annually, consult with 22 the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of 23 Education, which shall include annual reports to the Of- 24 fice of the Inspector General on the activities of the Task 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1678 IH Force, with an opportunity for the Office of the Inspector 1 General to provide active feedback related to such activi- 2 ties. 3 (e) INSTRUCTION TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 4 EDUCATION.—Not less than once every six months, the 5 Task Force shall provide relevant instruction to institu- 6 tions of higher education at which research projects on 7 the Sensitive Research Project List are being carried out. 8 Such instruction shall provide the institutions of higher 9 education with information related to the threat posed by 10 espionage, best practices identified by the Task Force, 11 and, to the extent possible, any specific risks that the in- 12 telligence community, the qualified funding agency, or law 13 enforcement entities determine appropriate to share with 14 the institutions. 15 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 16 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every six 17 months thereafter, the Task Force shall provide a report 18 to the Committee on Education and Labor, the Committee 19 on Armed Services, and the Permanent Select Committee 20 on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, and to 21 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 22 sions, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Select 23 Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, regarding the 24 threat of espionage at institutions of higher education. In 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1678 IH each such briefing, the Task Force shall identify actions 1 that may be taken to reduce espionage carried out through 2 student participation in sensitive research projects. The 3 Task Force shall also include in this report an assessment 4 of whether the current licensing regulations relating to the 5 International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export 6 Administration Regulations are sufficient to protect the 7 security of the projects listed on the Sensitive Research 8 Project List. 9 SEC. 4. FOREIGN STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN SENSITIVE 10 RESEARCH PROJECTS. 11 (a) APPROVAL OF FOREIGN STUDENT PARTICIPA- 12 TION REQUIRED.—Beginning on the date that is one year 13 after the date of enactment of this Act, for each project 14 on the Sensitive Research Project List that is open to stu- 15 dent participation, the head of such project at the institu- 16 tion of higher education at which the project is being car- 17 ried out shall ensure that each student participating in 18 such project shall be required to provide proof of citizen- 19 ship before the student is permitted to participate in such 20 project. A student who is a citizen of a country identified 21 in subsection (b) shall be permitted to participate in such 22 a project only if— 23 (1) the student applies for, and receives ap- 24 proval from, the Director of National Intelligence to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1678 IH participate in such project, based on a background 1 check and any other information the Director deter- 2 mines to be appropriate; and 3 (2) in the case of such a project that is related 4 to an item or technology described in subparagraph 5 (C) of section 3(c)(2), the student applies for, and 6 receives approval from, the head of the qualified 7 funding agency, to participate in such project. 8 (b) LIST OF CITIZENSHIP REQUIRING APPROVAL.— 9 Approval under subsection (a) shall be required for any 10 student who is a citizen of a country that is one of the 11 following: 12 (1) The People’s Republic of China. 13 (2) The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 14 (3) The Russian Federation. 15 (4) The Islamic Republic of Iran. 16 (5) Any country identified by the head of the 17 qualified funding agency as requiring approval for 18 the purposes of this section. 19 SEC. 5. FOREIGN ENTITIES. 20 (a) LIST OF FOREIGN ENTITIES THAT POSE AN IN- 21 TELLIGENCE THREAT.—Not later than one year after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National 23 Intelligence shall identify foreign entities, including gov- 24 ernments, corporations, non-profit and for-profit organiza- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1678 IH tions, and any subsidiary or affiliate of such an entity, 1 that the Director determines pose a threat of espionage 2 with respect to sensitive research projects, and shall de- 3 velop and maintain a list of such entities. The Director 4 may add or remove entities from such list at any time. 5 The initial list developed by the Director shall include the 6 following entities (including any subsidiary or affiliate): 7 (1) Huawei Technologies Company. 8 (2) ZTE Corporation. 9 (3) Hytera Communications Corporation. 10 (4) Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology 11 Company. 12 (5) Dahua Technology Company. 13 (6) Kaspersky Lab. 14 (7) Any entity that is owned or controlled by, 15 or otherwise has demonstrated financial ties to, the 16 government of a country identified under section 17 4(b). 18 (b) NOTICE TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU- 19 CATION.—The Director of National Intelligence shall 20 make the initial list required under subsection (a), and 21 any changes to such list, available to the Secretary of Edu- 22 cation, the Task Force, and the head of each qualified 23 funding agency as soon as practicable. The Secretary of 24 Education shall provide such initial list and subsequent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Mar 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1678 IH amendments to each institution of higher education at 1 which a project on the Sensitive Research Project List is 2 being carried out. 3 (c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF CERTAIN TECH- 4 NOLOGIES.—Beginning on the date that is one year after 5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each 6 sensitive research project shall, as a condition of receipt 7 of funds from a qualified funding agency, provide an as- 8 surance to such qualified funding agency that, beginning 9 on the date that is two years after the date of the enact- 10 ment of this Act, any technology developed by an entity 11 included on the list maintained under subsection (a) shall 12 not be utilized in carrying out the sensitive research 13 project. 14 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT. 15 The head of each qualified funding agency shall take 16 such steps as may be necessary to enforce the provisions 17 of sections 4 and 5 of this Act. Upon determination that 18 the head of a sensitive research project has failed to meet 19 the requirements of either section 4 or section 5, the head 20 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]