,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ghdb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bi1 #bjbj,mr4 ,murphy of ,north ,carolina introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife to improve protections against foreign influence at institutions of higher education1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,intelligence on ,nefarious ,foreign ,leaders ,using ,education ,networks for ,corrupt ,enrichment ,act or the ,,influence ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,schools in the ,united ,states1 especially institutions of higher education overseeing either sensitive research or critical military technology systems1 have provided a level of access to the ,chinese government that the ,chinese government has refused to provide to the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,china's control over the flow of information means the ,american people have an incomplete picture of ,chinese government actions and policies that run counter to the interest of the ,united ,states at home and abroad4 7#c7 ,in the last #ae years1 the ,chinese government has opened over #ajj ,confucius ,institutes on college and university campuses in the ,united ,states to increase their cultural standing in popular culture4 ,while there are currently more than #ejj ,confucius ,institutes worldwide1 the ,united ,states has more ,confucius ,institutes than any other country4 7#d7 ,federal ,government officials have expressed concerns about ,confucius ,institutes4 ,christopher ,wray1 ,director of the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation1 testified that the ,,fbi is watching warily ,confucius ,institutes and in certain instances have developed appropriate investigative steps4 7#e7 ,the ,department of ,education has not conducted regular oversight of the compliance of institutions of higher education with foreign gift reporting requirements and1 until recently1 has failed to adequately enforce the requirements of section #aag of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7relating to disclosures of foreign gifts74 ,the ,department of ,education maintains a database detailing the reporting of foreign gifts received by institutions1 but relies solely on the institutions to self-report gifts4 7#f7 ,the ,department of ,education is updating the reporting requirements applicable to institutions of higher education4 ,previously1 the ,department of ,education had not issued guidance on foreign gift reporting by institutions of higher education since #bjjd4 ,as a result1 institution's informed ,congress that the reporting requirements were unclear and confusing4 ,institutions also informed ,congress that the ,department of ,education website used to report foreign gifts was dated and difficult to use4 7#g7 ,absent full transparency regarding how ,confucius ,institutes operate and full reciprocity for the cultural outreach efforts of the ,united ,states on college campuses in ,china1 ,confucius ,institutes should not continue in the ,united ,states unchecked or unsupervised4 #c4 ,enhanced disclosure of certain foreign gifts and contracts ,section #aag of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajaa;f7 is amended-- 7#a7 by amending subseciton 7a7 to read as follows3 7a7 ,disclosure report ,an institution shall file a disclosure report with the ,secretary on ,january #ca or ,july #ca1 whichever is sooner1 whenever one or more of the following occurs3 7#a7 ,the institution is owned or controlled by a foreign source4 7#b7 ,the institution receives a gift from or enters into a contract with a foreign source determined by the ,secretary to be acting directly or indirectly on behalf of a foreign government that is adversarial to the ,united ,states1 regardless of the value of the gift or contract4 7#c7 ,the institution receives a gift from or enters into a contract with a foreign source not described in paragraph 7#b71 the value of which is-- 7,a7 #ej1jjj considered alone2 or 7,b7 #ajj1jjj or more in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with that foreign source within a calendar year4 2 7#b7 by amending subsection 7e7 to read as follows3 7e7 ,public availability of information 7#a7 ,public inspection ,subject to paragraph 7#d71 all disclosure reports required by this section shall be public records open to inspection and copying during business hours4 7#b7 ,publication by ,department of ,education ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of the ,,influence ,act1 and on an annual basis thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,education shall make available1 on a publicly accessible website of the ,department of ,education1 a database of the information disclosed to the ,secretary under this section during the preceding year4 7#c7 ,publication by institutions ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of the ,,influence ,act1 and on an annual basis thereafter1 each institution that receives a gift or enters into a contract described in subsection 7a7 shall make available1 on a publicly accessible website of the institution-- 7,a7 in the case of a gift described in such subsection1 a detailed explanation of the gift1 including the amount of the gift1 identification of the source of the gift1 and any conditions or restrictions on the gift2 and 7,b7 in the case of a contract described in such subsection1 a complete and accurate copy of the contract4 7#d7 ,restriction on publication of sensitive information 7,a7 ,in general ,information made publicly available under this section shall not include information that is determined by an institution to be confidential1 proprietary1 or otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law4 7,b7 ,enforcement authority ,if the ,secretary determines that an institution of higher education willfully or negligently disclosed information that is confidential1 proprietary1 or otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law in violation of subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary may declare such institution ineligible to participate in programs authorized under title ,,iv of this ,act4 2 and 7#c7 in subsection 7f77#b71 by inserting before the period at the end the following3 1 in addition to any other amounts as determined appropriate by the ,secretary of ,education4 #d4 ,foreign involvement in sensitive projects ,the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja et seq47 is further amended by inserting after section #aag the following3 #aag;a4 ,requirements for certain foreign contracts 7a7 ,foreign involvement in sensitive projects 7#a7 ,in general ,in a case in which an institution enters into a contract with a foreign individual under which the individual will participate in a sensitive project-- 7,a7 the institution shall disclose to the ,secretary-- 7i7 the date on which individual is expected to return to their home country2 and 7ii7 and the name of the country to which the individual is expected to return2 and 7,b7 such contract shall provide-- 7i7 that the individual may not disclose information derived from such project to a foreign government or any other foreign entity2 and 7ii7 that the penalties for disclosure of such information shall be the cancellation of the contract and a requirement to reimburse the ,federal ,government as described in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,liability for disclosure ,a foreign individual who knowingly or willfully discloses information in violation of a contract under paragraph 7#a7 shall be required to reimburse the ,federal ,government for the full costs of any investigation or administrative action resulting from such violation1 in addition to any other amounts as determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 7b7 ,china-,affiliated cultural or language program ,in a case in which an institution enters into a contract with an individual or entity under which a ,china-affiliated cultural or language program will be allowed to operate at the institution1 such contract-- 7#a7 shall include a provision protecting academic freedom at the institution2 and 7#b7 shall not include any provision that would limit the rights of an individual under the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term ,china-affiliated cultural or language program means any project1 program1 or other activity that-- 7,a7 seeks to familiarize students with ,chinese language or culture2 and 7,b7 is directly or indirectly funded by the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7#b7 ,the term sensitive project means any project1 program1 or other activity carried out by an institution-- 7,a7 that is funded1 in whole or in part1 by ,federal funds2 and 7,b7 for which a security clearance is required as a condition of participation4 4 #e4 ,interagency coordination on enforcement of foreign gift and contract requirements ,the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja et seq47 is further amended by inserting after section #aag;a 7as added by section #d7 the following3 #aag;b4 ,interagency coordination on enforcement of foreign gift and contract requirements 7a7 ,notification of violations ,the ,secretary of ,education shall establish a process to notify appropriate ,federal agencies of any violation of section #aag or section #aag;a4 7b7 ,consideration of enforcement action ,after receiving notice of a violation under subsection 7a71 the head of the ,federal agency that received such notice shall determine-- 7#a7 whether such violation constitutes a violation of a provision of law over which the agency has enforcement authority2 and 7#b7 if such a violation occurred1 whether to pursue an enforcement action against the individual or entity responsible for the violation4 4 #f4 ,reports ,section #fcf of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #aacb-e7 is amended to read as follows3 #fcf4 ,report on foreign and national security issues affecting institutions of higher education 7a7 ,report required ,on an annual basis1 the ,secretary of ,education1 in consultation and collaboration with the ,secretary of ,state1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 the ,attorney ,general1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal agencies1 shall submit to the authorizing committees a report on foreign and national security issues affecting institutions of higher education4 7b7 ,elements ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7 identification of areas of national need in foreign language1 area1 and international studies as such studies relate to government1 education1 business1 and nonprofit needs and a plan to address those needs2 7#b7 a description of any risks associated with allowing foreign students and other foreign individuals at institutions of higher education to access classified information1 protected intellectual property1 research and development information1 and military technology critical to the national security of the ,united ,states2 7#c7 best practices that may be implemented by the ,department of ,education1 the ,department of ,defense1 and other ,federal agencies with responsibilities relating to national security to strengthen the secrecy of grants1 projects1 and contracts that involve providing foreign individuals at institutions of higher education with access to classified or sensitive information1 including recommended enforcement actions to respond to the misuse of such information2 7#d7 a description of the ongoing efforts of ,federal law enforcement organizations1 including the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation1 to address the theft of sensitive information by adversarial foreign actors2 and 7#e7 a summary of any information from national security-related projects at institutions of higher education that was stolen1 misused1 or wrongfully disclosed during the period covered by the report and any actions taken to remedy the theft1 misuse1 or disclosure of such information4 7c7 ,form of report ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may include a classified annex4 7d7 ,public availability ,the ,secretary of ,education shall make each report under subsection 7a7 available on a publicly accessible website of the ,department of ,education1 except no report published on such website shall contain classified information4 4