WASHINGTON— Today, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel Jim Banks passed amendments to the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to protect DoD research from Chinese Communist Party espionage and combat malign Communist Party influence.
Said Chairman Banks said, “America’s foremost adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, has long pursued a malign agenda to weaken America from within. We can no longer sit back and allow the CCP to subvert our institutions, influence American students, and steal the crown jewels of American innovation. We certainly cannot afford to unwittingly aid them via our own Department of Defense and your tax dollars.
The CCP is counting on Congress to follow Joe Biden’s lead and be passive in protecting American interests. My amendments to the 2025 NDAA will ensure Congress leads the way to secure America against the China threat.”
Rep. Banks passed the following amendments to secure U.S. research from China in the FY25 NDAA:
- Prohibition on DOD Funding for Universities with Agreements with China & Russia – Prohibits universities from receiving DOD funding if they have agreements with entities of concern in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea, and requires them to apply for a waiver to continue the program. This waiver would require all details of the program to be publicized.
- Post-Employment Prohibition for Investigators on DOD-Funded Research – Prohibits participants in DOD-funded research on emerging and critical technologies from being employed by an entity of concern in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea for at least 10 years.
- Prohibition on DOD Funding of Fundamental Research with China – Prohibits DOD funding from going to researchers who conduct “fundamental research” in collaboration with CCP and Chinese military-tied organizations and schools.
The FY24 NDAA included several provisions from Rep. Banks to crack down on the Chinese Communist Party, including an amendment to require project leads on DOD-funded research to disclose the backgrounds of foreign researchers to receive DOD funding, and an amendment to ban DoD’s waiver for funding institutions of higher education that host Confucius Institutes.
