Federal

Preventing Malign CCP Influence on Academic Institutions Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,012 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require colleges and universities to report gifts and contracts they receive from organizations connected to the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, or the People's Liberation Army. The bill also requires schools to publicly post agreements they make with these affiliated organizations.

Who It Affects

Colleges and universities that receive federal grant funding are directly affected. Schools must report to the U.S. Secretary of Education (the federal official who oversees schools) about their ties to Chinese government-affiliated organizations.

Key Provisions

* Colleges must file disclosure reports with the Secretary of Education when they receive gifts or enter contracts worth $5,000 or more from organizations affiliated with the Chinese government, Communist Party, or People's Liberation Army, counting all gifts and contracts from that organization within a single calendar year. (Sec. 2(d)(1)(A)) * Disclosure reports must include the full legal name of the individual or organization that gave the gift or signed the contract. (Sec. 2(d)(1)(B)) * Schools that receive federal grant money must file annual reports identifying any activities they conduct through agreements with Chinese government-affiliated organizations, including joint research or academic exchanges. (Sec. 2(d)(2)) * Colleges must post the full text of any contract, agreement, or memorandum of understanding with Chinese government-affiliated organizations on a public website, regardless of whether the agreement is still active. (Sec. 2(d)(3))

What Changes

Schools currently reporting foreign gifts under existing law must now follow new reporting rules specifically for Chinese government-affiliated organizations. Schools must also make certain agreements publicly available online, which they may not currently be required to do.

Important Definitions

"PRC-, CCP-, or PLA-affiliated organization" means any entity that receives support directly or indirectly from the Chinese government, Communist Party, or People's Liberation Army. This includes cultural, language, or educational programs; think tanks that received more than $100,000 or more than 10 percent of their funding from these sources in one year (whichever amount is less); current members of these organizations working as employees or advisors; Chinese state-owned companies or their subsidiaries; and companies, think tanks, nonprofits, or similar entities where people from these organizations hold more than 5 percent ownership, voting control, or board positions. (Sec. 2(d)(2)(5))

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 768 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 9, 2023 Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 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 01:13 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S768.IS S768 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 768 IS SEC. 2. DISCLOSURES OF FOREIGN GIFTS. 1 Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 2 U.S.C. 1011f) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ 4 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (d), 5 whenever’’; 6 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 7 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 8 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO PRC-, CCP-, 11 AND PLA-AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS.— 12 ‘‘(1) ENHANCED DISCLOSURES OF GIFTS AND 13 CONTRACTS.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any institu- 15 tion receives a gift from or enters into a con- 16 tract with a PRC-, CCP-, or PLA-affiliated or- 17 ganization, the value of which is $5,000 or 18 more, considered alone or in combination with 19 all other gifts from or contracts with that orga- 20 nization within a calendar year, the institution 21 shall file a disclosure report with the Secretary 22 on January 31 or July 31, whichever is sooner. 23 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report 24 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S768.IS S768 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 768 IS ‘‘(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 01:13 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S768.IS S768 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 768 IS (4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 2 paragraph (6); and 3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(5) The term ‘PRC-, CCP-, or PLA-affiliated 6 organization’ means any entity that receives support 7 directly or indirectly from the Government of the 8 People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist 9 Party, or the People’s Liberation Army, including— 10 ‘‘(A) a cultural, language, or educational 11 institute or program; 12 ‘‘(B) a think tank that has received more 13 than $100,000 in one calendar year or more 14 than 10 percent of the total funding for such 15 think tank for that year, whichever is less, from 16 the Government of the People’s Republic of 17 China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the 18 People’s Liberation Army, or individuals affili- 19 ated with such organizations; 20 ‘‘(C) a person who is a current member of 21 the Government of the People’s Republic of 22 China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the 23 People’s Liberation Army, or is otherwise active 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S768.IS S768 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 768 IS 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 01:13 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S768.IS S768 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

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