In bipartisan cooperation, Senator Rick Scott of Florida and Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey have introduced a legislative package designed to stop foreign adversaries from influencing U.S. higher education.
The two bills, titled the “Defending American Research Act” and the “No Branch Campuses in Hostile Countries Act,” aim to force a choice for universities: keep your federal funding or keep your ties to hostile foreign governments.
The proposed laws target countries including China, Russia, Iran, and Qatar. Under the new requirements, any college applying for a federal research and development award must certify that it does not operate a branch campus in those nations.
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Furthermore, the legislation would implement a five-year ban on federal R&D funding for any school that accepts money from these foreign sources to conduct research in sensitive fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science.
Senator Scott, speaking from Naples, Florida, emphasized the risk of allowing foreign rivals to gain a foothold on American soil. “Countries like Communist China and terror-supporting Qatar should not be able to use America’s colleges and universities as outposts to spy on us, steal sensitive research and spread anti-American propaganda,” Scott said.
He added that the security of the American higher education system “should not be for sale.”
New York Representative Elise Stefanik highlighted the financial scale of the issue, noting that millions of dollars have been funneled into prestigious institutions.
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“This funding has allowed these nations to promote harmful anti-American ideologies on college campuses and gain access to sensitive research,” Stefanik stated, arguing that the bills will stop federal dollars from “padding the pockets” of schools that continue these partnerships.
New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer framed the issue as a matter of protecting taxpayer investments and national innovation.
“We know adversaries like the CCP are exploiting our universities to access cutting-edge research,” Gottheimer said. “This bipartisan legislation draws a clear line: if you’re taking money tied to hostile nations, you shouldn’t be getting U.S. taxpayer dollars, full stop.”
If the bills become law, federal agencies will have two years to implement the new certification and reporting requirements for all institutions of higher education.
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