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
Prevents colleges and universities from getting federal research and development awards for five years after taking certain foreign funding tied to national-security work. This bill would target funding used for projects related to artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science and sets out which foreign governments and entities trigger the restriction.
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- Colleges and universities: An institution that accepts covered foreign-source funds for a specified task would be ineligible for federal R&D awards for 5 years after that receipt.
- Researchers and research programs: Projects in AI, biotechnology, and quantum information science at affected schools could lose access to federal R&D support for the same 5-year period.
- Federal funders: Defense and other federal R&D programs would be barred from awarding grants or contracts to institutions subject to the prohibition during the ban.
- Foreign sources named: The bill lists Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, China, Cuba, Turkey, Russia, and Qatar and lets the Secretary of State add others as covered foreign sources.
- Legal changes: It would add a new Section 223A to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and define key terms like “foreign source” and “specified task.”
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Ban federal R&D awards to foreign-funded universities
If enacted, this bill would bar colleges and universities from getting some federal research awards for five years. The bar applies when an institution receives foreign-source funds to do national-security or military research. Examples include artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science. Listed foreign sources include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, Turkey, and Qatar. The Secretary of State could add more countries. The rule would take effect upon enactment.
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.
View on Congress.gov