What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Attorney General to write a report to Congress about how American taxpayer-funded research has benefited China. The report must be completed within one year and include information about research institutions, government funding programs, and how China has used American research.
Who It Affects
The Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence, Congress, research institutions, laboratories, colleges and universities that receive federal funding, and Chinese nationals involved in American research.
Key Provisions
• The Attorney General must submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within one year that details how China has benefited from American taxpayer-funded research (Sec. 3(a))
• The report must include a list of American government-funded research institutions and colleges that hired or allowed Chinese nationals to conduct research, with estimates of how many Chinese nationals were involved (Sec. 3(b)(1))
• The report must list American government programs, grants and research funding in science, technology, engineering and math fields that directly or indirectly worked with Chinese research institutions or Chinese Communist Party entities (Sec. 3(b)(2))
• The report must explain how China and the Chinese Communist Party have used American taxpayer-funded research, including for "civil-military fusion" (combining civilian and military technology) and human rights abuses (Sec. 3(b)(4))
What Changes
Congress will receive a formal report documenting connections between American taxpayer-funded research and how it has benefited China. No other changes to existing laws or practices are stated in the bill text.
Important Definitions
"United States taxpayer-funded research" means research funded by a federal or state government grant, or research conducted at institutions that receive federal or state government funding (Sec. 3(c))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 551
To direct the Attorney General to report to Congress on how United States
taxpayer-funded research has benefitted China, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 26, 2023
Mr. GOOD of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. DUN-
CAN, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. BIGGS, and Mr. GAETZ) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to report to Congress on
how United States taxpayer-funded research has bene-
fitted China, 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,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Taxpayer Funding
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for the Chinese Communist Party Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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•HR 551 IH
(1) United States taxpayer-funded research
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should not be used to benefit the People’s Republic
2
of China, especially as China undertakes the largest
3
theft of intellectual property in history, as was stat-
4
ed by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
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(2) According to a Congressional Report, the
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Chinese Communist Party’s intellectual property
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theft costs the United States, and ultimately the
8
American
taxpayer,
$225,000,000,000
to
9
$600,000,000,000 worth of intellectual property
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every year.
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(3) According to the Committee on Homeland
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Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate,
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there were more than 35,000 foreign nationals in-
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cluding 10,000 from China conducting research in
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the Department of Energy’s National Labs.
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(4) According to the Department of Education
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‘‘one university received research funding from a
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Chinese multinational conglomerate to develop new
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algorithms and advanced biometric security tech-
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niques for crowd surveillance capabilities,’’ while an-
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other ‘‘had multiple contracts with the Central Com-
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mittee of the Communist Party of China’’.
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(5) The Committee on Homeland Security and
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Governmental Affairs of the Senate found in a No-
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•HR 551 IH
vember 2019 report that ‘‘American taxpayer funded
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research has contributed to China’s global rise over
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the last 20 years’’.
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(6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation has
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found that China’s government has used some stu-
5
dents and professors in science, technology, engi-
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neering, and math (STEM) fields as nontraditional
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collectors of intellectual property, but has also noted
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that ‘‘the vast majority of the 1.4 million inter-
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national scholars on U.S. campuses pose no threat
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to their host institutions, fellow classmates, or re-
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search fields. On the contrary, these international
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visitors represent valuable contributors to their cam-
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puses’ achievements, providing financial benefits, di-
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versity of ideas, sought expertise, and opportunities
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for cross-cultural exchange’’.
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(7) In 2021, the Department of Justice an-
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nounced that four Chinese nationals were charged
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with an operation to hack into the computers of doz-
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ens of companies, universities and government agen-
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cies in the United States and other countries be-
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tween 2011 and 2018.
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•HR 551 IH
SEC. 3. REPORT ON CHINA BENEFITTING FROM UNITED
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STATES TAXPAYER-FUNDED RESEARCH.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the
3
date of enactment of the Act, the Attorney General, in
4
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Sec-
5
retary of Commerce, the Secretary of State, and the Direc-
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tor of National Intelligence, shall submit to the Committee
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on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the
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Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on the
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extent to which China has benefitted from United States
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taxpayer-funded research.
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(b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a)
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shall include the following:
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(1) The extent to which United States tax-
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payer-funded research has benefitted China, includ-
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ing a list of United States Government-funded enti-
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ties, such as research institutions, laboratories, and
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institutions of higher education, which have hired
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Chinese nationals or allowed Chinese nationals to
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conduct research, including an estimate in the num-
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ber of nationals hired or involved in research
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projects.
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(2) A list of United States Government pro-
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grams, grants, and other forms of research funding
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in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and
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math (STEM) fields that have directly or indirectly
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•HR 551 IH
cooperated or affiliated with research institutions in
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China or Chinese Communist Party entities.
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(3) The extent to which China’s funding of
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United States taxpayer-funded research institutions
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has benefitted China.
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(4) How the Government of China and the Chi-
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nese Communist Party have used United States tax-
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payer-funded research, including as part of China’s
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efforts to support ‘‘civil-military fusion’’ and human
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rights abuses.
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(c) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘United
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States taypayer-funded research’’ means research—
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(1) funded by a grant from the Federal Govern-
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ment or a State government; or
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(2) conducted at an institution that receives
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funding from the Federal Government or a State
16
government.
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Æ
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