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119-s-4424119th CongressWALLET

A bill to amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to prohibit certain institutions of higher education from receiving research and development awards, and for other purposes.

Sponsored By: Senator Scott, Rick [R-FL]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would bar federal research and development awards to colleges and universities that accept foreign funding for sensitive national-security research. It imposes a five-year ineligibility period after an institution receives foreign funds used for specified tasks like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or quantum information science.

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  • Applies to institutions of higher education as defined in the Higher Education Act. Affected schools would face new restrictions on federal research awards that could change university research programs and partnerships.
  • Defines "foreign source" to include specified countries such as Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, China, Cuba, Turkey, Russia, and Qatar and any other country designated by the Secretary of State. It also covers entities with at least 25 percent government ownership, subsidiaries, and agents like foundations or educational and cultural organizations.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.

Ban on federal R&D awards for universities

If enacted, the bill would bar a college or university from getting a federal research and development award for five years after it takes money from a defined foreign source to carry out certain research. The ban would apply when the foreign funds pay for research tied to national-security or military applications, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science. "Foreign source" would include listed governments (Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, China, Cuba, Turkey, Russia, Qatar), entities they set up, entities they own 25% or more of, and agents or subsidiaries; the Secretary of State could add more countries. The bill would rely on existing legal definitions for "institution of higher education" and for "research and development award."

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Scott, Rick [R-FL]

FL • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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