Sen. Rick Scott, Reps. Elise Stefanik & Josh Gottheimer Introduce Bipartisan Bills to Limit Foreign Influence on American Universities

NAPLES, Fla. - Senator Rick Scott and U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik and Josh Gottheimer introduced The Defending American Research Act and No Branch Campuses in Hostile Countries Act to prevent foreign interference by America's enemies in the higher education system.

The two bills would block federal funding for universities that operate branch campuses in certain countries or receive research payouts from those countries.

The Defending American Research Act amends the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to require institutions of higher education to certify, as part of an application for a research and development award, that such institution does not operate certain branch campuses in specified adversarial or high-risk countries.

The No Branch Campuses in Hostile Countries Act amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to bar institutions of higher education from receiving a federal research and development award for five years if they receive funding from specific foreign governments to carry out research and development tasks tied to national security or military applications including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science.

Senator Scott said, "America has enemies and we need to start acting like it. 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, but we've been letting them do it for years. This legislation is critical to America's national security and the future of our higher education system, neither of which should be for sale."

Rep. Stefanik said, "Hostile foreign nations like China and Qatar have funneled millions of dollars to some of America's most prestigious universities. This funding has allowed these nations to promote harmful anti-American ideologies on college campuses and gain access to sensitive research with national security applications. Our legislation will prevent federal research dollars from padding the pockets of universities that continue to knowingly operate branch campuses in these nations or accept funds for national security-related research. These concrete actions will help defend American universities and students from hostile foreign influence."

Rep. Gottheimer said, "We know adversaries like the CCP are exploiting our universities to access cutting-edge research and push their anti-American agendas. 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. It's about protecting our national security and standing up for American innovation."

Read the full text of the No Branch Campuses in Hostile Countries Act HERE and The Defending American Research Act HERE.

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