Federal

Protecting Higher Education from Foreign Threats Act

Source: Congress.gov · 491 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes the Higher Education Act of 1965 to stop colleges and universities from receiving federal money if they employ instructors who are funded by the Chinese Communist Party. The bill allows schools to regain their eligibility for federal funds if they stop employing these instructors.

Who It Affects

Colleges and universities that receive federal funds. Instructors who receive funding from the Chinese Communist Party. The Secretary of Education (the federal official who oversees education programs).

Key Provisions

• Colleges cannot get federal funds or financial help in any year when they employ a CCP-funded instructor (Sec. 2(a)) • A college that loses federal funding can regain it in future years by proving to the Secretary that it no longer employs a CCP-funded instructor (Sec. 2(b)) • A "CCP-funded instructor" means a professor, teacher or any other individual who teaches students directly at a college AND received money directly or indirectly from the Chinese Communist Party while working there (Sec. 2(c))

What Changes

The law adds new rules to Title I of the Higher Education Act that ban federal funding to schools employing instructors with Chinese Communist Party funding.

Important Definitions

"CCP-funded instructor": A professor, teacher or other person who teaches students at a college and received money from the Chinese Communist Party, either directly or indirectly, while employed by that college.

Effective Date

180 days after the bill becomes law.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 684 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the award of Federal funds to institutions of higher education that employ instructors funded by the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 31, 2023 Mr. STEUBE (for himself and Mr. SELF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the award of Federal funds to institutions of higher education that employ instructors funded by the Chinese Communist Party, 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 ‘‘Protecting Higher 4 Education from Foreign Threats Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H684.IH H684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 684 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT OF INSTRUCTORS 1 FUNDED BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST 2 PARTY. 3 Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 4 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 5 117 the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 117a. PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT OF INSTRUC- 7 TORS FUNDED BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST 8 PARTY. 9 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTION ON ELIGIBILITY.—Notwith- 10 standing any other provision of law, no institution of high- 11 er education shall be eligible to receive funds or any other 12 form of financial assistance under any Federal program 13 for an award year in which the institution employs an 14 CCP-funded instructor. 15 ‘‘(b) RESUMPTION OF ELIGIBILITY.—An institution 16 of higher education that loses eligibility to receive funds 17 for an award year as described in subsection (a) may re- 18 gain eligibility to receive such funds in a subsequent award 19 year by demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the Sec- 20 retary, that the institution no longer employs a CCP-fund- 21 ed instructor. 22 ‘‘(c) CCP-FUNDED INSTRUCTOR DEFINED.—In this 23 section, the term ‘CCP-funded instructor’ means a pro- 24 fessor, teacher, or any other individual who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H684.IH H684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 684 IH ‘‘(1) provides instruction directly to the stu- 1 dents of an institution of higher education; and 2 ‘‘(2) received funds, directly or indirectly, from 3 the Chinese Communist Party while employed by 4 such institution.’’. 5 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 6 The amendment made by section 2 shall take effect 7 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H684.IH H684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.