INFLUENCE Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7842 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve protections against foreign influence at institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 29, 2020 Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve protections against foreign influence at institutions of higher education, 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 ‘‘Intelligence on Nefar- 4 ious Foreign Leaders Using Education Networks for Cor- 5 rupt Enrichment Act’’ or the ‘‘INFLUENCE Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Schools in the United States, especially in- 9 stitutions of higher education overseeing either sen- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7842 IH sitive research or critical military technology sys- 1 tems, have provided a level of access to the Chinese 2 government that the Chinese government has re- 3 fused to provide to the United States. 4 (2) China’s control over the flow of information 5 means the American people have an incomplete pic- 6 ture of Chinese government actions and policies that 7 run counter to the interest of the United States at 8 home and abroad. 9 (3) In the last 15 years, the Chinese govern- 10 ment has opened over 100 Confucius Institutes on 11 college and university campuses in the United States 12 to increase their cultural standing in popular cul- 13 ture. While there are currently more than 500 Con- 14 fucius Institutes worldwide, the United States has 15 more Confucius Institutes than any other country. 16 (4) Federal Government officials have expressed 17 concerns about Confucius Institutes. Christopher 18 Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investiga- 19 tion, testified that the FBI is ‘‘watching warily’’ 20 Confucius Institutes and ‘‘in certain instances have 21 developed appropriate investigative steps’’. 22 (5) The Department of Education has not con- 23 ducted regular oversight of the compliance of institu- 24 tions of higher education with foreign gift reporting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7842 IH requirements and, until recently, has failed to ade- 1 quately enforce the requirements of section 117 of 2 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (relating to dis- 3 closures of foreign gifts). The Department of Edu- 4 cation maintains a database detailing the reporting 5 of foreign gifts received by institutions, but relies 6 solely on the institutions to self-report gifts. 7 (6) The Department of Education is updating 8 the reporting requirements applicable to institutions 9 of higher education. Previously, the Department of 10 Education had not issued guidance on foreign gift 11 reporting by institutions of higher education since 12 2004. As a result, institution’s informed Congress 13 that the reporting requirements were unclear and 14 confusing. Institutions also informed Congress that 15 the Department of Education website used to report 16 foreign gifts was dated and difficult to use. 17 (7) Absent full transparency regarding how 18 Confucius Institutes operate and full reciprocity for 19 the cultural outreach efforts of the United States on 20 college campuses in China, Confucius Institutes 21 should not continue in the United States unchecked 22 or unsupervised. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7842 IH SEC. 3. ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN FOREIGN 1 GIFTS AND CONTRACTS. 2 Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 3 U.S.C. 1011f) is amended— 4 (1) by amending subseciton (a) to read as fol- 5 lows: 6 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE REPORT.—An institution shall file 7 a disclosure report with the Secretary on January 31 or 8 July 31, whichever is sooner, whenever one or more of the 9 following occurs: 10 ‘‘(1) The institution is owned or controlled by 11 a foreign source. 12 ‘‘(2) The institution receives a gift from or en- 13 ters into a contract with a foreign source determined 14 by the Secretary to be acting directly or indirectly 15 on behalf of a foreign government that is adversarial 16 to the United States, regardless of the value of the 17 gift or contract. 18 ‘‘(3) The institution receives a gift from or en- 19 ters into a contract with a foreign source not de- 20 scribed in paragraph (2), the value of which is— 21 ‘‘(A) $50,000 considered alone; or 22 ‘‘(B) $100,000 or more in combination 23 with all other gifts from or contracts with that 24 foreign source within a calendar year.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7842 IH (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol- 1 lows: 2 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 3 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Subject to para- 4 graph (4), all disclosure reports required by this sec- 5 tion shall be public records open to inspection and 6 copying during business hours. 7 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION BY DEPARTMENT OF EDU- 8 CATION.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 9 enactment of the INFLUENCE Act, and on an an- 10 nual basis thereafter, the Secretary of Education 11 shall make available, on a publicly accessible website 12 of the Department of Education, a database of the 13 information disclosed to the Secretary under this 14 section during the preceding year. 15 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION BY INSTITUTIONS.—Not 16 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 17 the INFLUENCE Act, and on an annual basis 18 thereafter, each institution that receives a gift or en- 19 ters into a contract described in subsection (a) shall 20 make available, on a publicly accessible website of 21 the institution— 22 ‘‘(A) in the case of a gift described in such 23 subsection, a detailed explanation of the gift, 24 including the amount of the gift, identification 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7842 IH of the source of the gift, and any conditions or 1 restrictions on the gift; and 2 ‘‘(B) in the case of a contract described in 3 such subsection, a complete and accurate copy 4 of the contract. 5 ‘‘(4) RESTRICTION ON PUBLICATION OF SEN- 6 SITIVE INFORMATION.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Information made 8 publicly available under this section shall not 9 include information that is determined by an in- 10 stitution to be confidential, proprietary, or oth- 11 erwise prohibited from disclosure by law. 12 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.—If the 13 Secretary determines that an institution of 14 higher education willfully or negligently dis- 15 closed information that is confidential, propri- 16 etary, or otherwise prohibited from disclosure 17 by law in violation of subparagraph (A), the 18 Secretary may declare such institution ineligible 19 to participate in programs authorized under 20 title IV of this Act.’’; and 21 (3) in subsection (f)(2), by inserting before the 22 period at the end the following: ‘‘, in addition to any 23 other amounts as determined appropriate by the 24 Secretary of Education’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7842 IH SEC. 4. FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN SENSITIVE PROJECTS. 1 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 2 et seq.) is further amended by inserting after section 117 3 the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 117a. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FOREIGN CON- 5 TRACTS. 6 ‘‘(a) FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN SENSITIVE 7 PROJECTS.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In a case in which an insti- 9 tution enters into a contract with a foreign indi- 10 vidual under which the individual will participate in 11 a sensitive project— 12 ‘‘(A) the institution shall disclose to the 13 Secretary— 14 ‘‘(i) the date on which individual is 15 expected to return to their home country; 16 and 17 ‘‘(ii) and the name of the country to 18 which the individual is expected to return; 19 and 20 ‘‘(B) such contract shall provide— 21 ‘‘(i) that the individual may not dis- 22 close information derived from such project 23 to a foreign government or any other for- 24 eign entity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7842 IH ‘‘(ii) that the penalties for disclosure 1 of such information shall be the cancella- 2 tion of the contract and a requirement to 3 reimburse the Federal Government as de- 4 scribed in paragraph (2). 5 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY FOR DISCLOSURE.—A foreign 6 individual who knowingly or willfully discloses infor- 7 mation in violation of a contract under paragraph 8 (1) shall be required to reimburse the Federal Gov- 9 ernment for the full costs of any investigation or ad- 10 ministrative action resulting from such violation, in 11 addition to any other amounts as determined appro- 12 priate by the Secretary. 13 ‘‘(b) CHINA-AFFILIATED CULTURAL OR LANGUAGE 14 PROGRAM.—In a case in which an institution enters into 15 a contract with an individual or entity under which a 16 China-affiliated cultural or language program will be al- 17 lowed to operate at the institution, such contract— 18 ‘‘(1) shall include a provision protecting aca- 19 demic freedom at the institution; and 20 ‘‘(2) shall not include any provision that would 21 limit the rights of an individual under the Constitu- 22 tion of the United States. 23 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7842 IH ‘‘(1) The term ‘China-affiliated cultural or lan- 1 guage program’ means any project, program, or 2 other activity that— 3 ‘‘(A) seeks to familiarize students with 4 Chinese language or culture; and 5 ‘‘(B) is directly or indirectly funded by the 6 Government of the People’s Republic of China. 7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sensitive project’ means any 8 project, program, or other activity carried out by an 9 institution— 10 ‘‘(A) that is funded, in whole or in part, by 11 Federal funds; and 12 ‘‘(B) for which a security clearance is re- 13 quired as a condition of participation.’’. 14 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION ON ENFORCEMENT 15 OF FOREIGN GIFT AND CONTRACT REQUIRE- 16 MENTS. 17 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 18 et seq.) is further amended by inserting after section 117a 19 (as added by section 4) the following: 20 ‘‘SEC. 117b. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION ON ENFORCE- 21 MENT OF FOREIGN GIFT AND CONTRACT RE- 22 QUIREMENTS. 23 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATIONS.—The Secretary 24 of Education shall establish a process to notify appro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7842 IH priate Federal agencies of any violation of section 117 or 1 section 117a. 2 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION OF ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 3 After receiving notice of a violation under subsection (a), 4 the head of the Federal agency that received such notice 5 shall determine— 6 ‘‘(1) whether such violation constitutes a viola- 7 tion of a provision of law over which the agency has 8 enforcement authority; and 9 ‘‘(2) if such a violation occurred, whether to 10 pursue an enforcement action against the individual 11 or entity responsible for the violation.’’. 12 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 13 Section 636 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 14 U.S.C. 1132–5) is amended to read as follows: 15 ‘‘SEC. 636. REPORT ON FOREIGN AND NATIONAL SECURITY 16 ISSUES AFFECTING INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH- 17 ER EDUCATION. 18 ‘‘(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—On an annual basis, the 19 Secretary of Education, in consultation and collaboration 20 with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the 21 Director of National Intelligence, the Attorney General, 22 and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 23 submit to the authorizing committees a report on foreign 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7842 IH and national security issues affecting institutions of higher 1 education. 2 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a) 3 shall include— 4 ‘‘(1) identification of areas of national need in 5 foreign language, area, and international studies as 6 such studies relate to government, education, busi- 7 ness, and nonprofit needs and a plan to address 8 those needs; 9 ‘‘(2) a description of any risks associated with 10 allowing foreign students and other foreign individ- 11 uals at institutions of higher education to access 12 classified information, protected intellectual prop- 13 erty, research and development information, and 14 military technology critical to the national security 15 of the United States; 16 ‘‘(3) best practices that may be implemented by 17 the Department of Education, the Department of 18 Defense, and other Federal agencies with respon- 19 sibilities relating to national security to strengthen 20 the secrecy of grants, projects, and contracts that 21 involve providing foreign individuals at institutions 22 of higher education with access to classified or sen- 23 sitive information, including recommended enforce- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7842.IH H7842 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7842 IH ment actions to respond to the misuse of such infor- 1 mation; 2 ‘‘(4) a description of the ongoing efforts of Fed- 3 eral law enforcement organizations, including the 4 Federal Bureau of Investigation, to address the theft 5 of sensitive information by adversarial foreign ac- 6 tors; and 7 ‘‘(5) a summary of any information from na- 8 tional security-related projects at institutions of 9 higher education that was stolen, misused, or wrong- 10 fully disclosed during the period covered by the re- 11 port and any actions taken to remedy the theft, mis- 12 use, or disclosure of such information. 13 ‘‘(c) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report under sub- 14 section (a) shall be su [Text truncated for display. 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