Stefanik proposes legislation to limit federal funding for colleges, universities with Chinese partnerships
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Elise Stefanik on Tuesday rolled out legislation that may limit federal funding for establishments of upper training which have partnerships with the People’s Republic of China as Republicans take intention at taxpayer cash for so-called Confucius Institutes.
The invoice, first obtained by Fox News, is titled the “End College Chinese Communist Partnerships Act” or the “End College CCP Act.”
The legislation would block any establishment of upper training or postsecondary instructional establishment from receiving federal funds if it has “a contractual partnership in effect with an entity that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, or organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China.”
Department of Education funds which are offered immediately to college students are exempt from Stefanik’s legislation.
Stefanik’s push got here after the Biden administration withdrew a rule that required schools taking part in sure federal applications to disclose ties with Confucius Institutes, which have been accused of propagating the Chinese Communist Party’s viewpoints in U.S. lecture rooms.
Stefanik’s invoice would enable establishments to restore eligibility to obtain federal funding in the event that they disclose to the secretary of training “all contractual partnerships” with a associated entity from the earlier 10 years and supply to the Education Department “sufficient evidence that such partnerships have been terminated.”
“House Democrats may have blocked my amendment last week, but their dangerous partisan obstruction will not stop me from standing up for America and strongly against China,” Stefanik informed Fox News. “I’m proud to introduce the End College Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Act to halt taxpayer dollars from flowing through American education institutions to benefit the CCP once and for all.”
Stefanik, R-N.Y., final week proposed a similar amendment to President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bundle, which might have barred federal funds from U.S. faculties that associate with China’s Confucius Institutes. That modification was blocked by Democrats.
Stefanik’s legislation states that Congress has discovered that the Chinese Communist Party has “been engaged in a sustained effort to undermine all facets of American power through influence campaigns within the United States,” and that the CCP has “engaged in the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property and academic and scientific research on college campuses, within national labs, and within the private sector.”
The invoice additionally states that the CCP “has attempted to recruit Chinese Americans and ethnic Chinese within the United States for intelligence collection and coercion to advance the CCP ideology and agenda,” and warns that the CCP ideology “has gained a foothold in all facets of our society, including in academia, business, entertainment, and the media.”
“The CCP and its diplomats, through Confucius Institutes, have monitored students on American campuses and has forced its views upon our institutions of higher learning,” the legislation reads, noting that via its “propaganda efforts in academia,” the CCP “has censored discussion on Tibet and Taiwan and has repeatedly interfered in campus-wide events.”
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The invoice states that CCP army officers have “repeatedly used cover identities, and other misleading tactics, to obscure the true nature of their activities in the United States, including as students studying at American universities,” and warned that their “talent recruitment plans” are designed to “attract, recruit, and cultivate overseas talent in furtherance of China’s strategic interests and reward individuals for stealing United States intellectual property.”
China started establishing Confucius Institutes on faculty campuses in 2004, together with its first within the U.S. on the University of Maryland. The variety of Confucius Institutes within the U.S. has since expanded to greater than 100, which is probably the most of any nation, in accordance to a authorities report.
There are additionally Confucius lecture rooms in Ok-12 grade faculties.
Former President Donald Trump proposed a rule on Dec. 31 that may have required faculties licensed to have pupil and trade customer applications to disclose agreements with Confucius Institutes and lecture rooms, together with partnerships and monetary dealings.
The rule was withdrawn on the finish of January.
According to a Senate report published in 2019, Confucius Institute funding “comes with strings that can compromise academic freedom.”
“The Chinese government approves all teachers, events, and speakers,” the report states. “Some U.S. schools contractually agree that both Chinese and U.S. laws will apply.”
“The Chinese teachers sign contracts with the Chinese government pledging they will not damage the national interests of China,” the report states. “Such limitations attempt to export China’s censorship of political debate and prevent discussion of potentially politically sensitive topics.”
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The report additionally states that the institutes “exist” as part of China’s “broader, long-term strategy.”
“Through Confucius Institutes, the Chinese government is attempting to change the impression in the United States and around the world that China is an economic and security threat,” the report states. “Confucius Institutes’ soft power encourages complacency towards China’s pervasive, long-term initiatives against both government critics at home and businesses and academic institutions abroad.”
And intelligence and nationwide safety officers from each the Biden administration and the Trump administration have warned that China poses the best nationwide safety risk to the United States, pointing to numerous particular threats — together with espionage, mental property theft and malign overseas affect.
Earlier this month, Biden spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping for the primary time since taking workplace and outlined his administration’s “core concerns” with China’s “practices, aggressive activities and abuses,” signaling a “clear and consistent subscription to American values,” in accordance to senior administration officers.
Fox News’ Brittany De Lea and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
