II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3837 

To require a thorough national security evaluation and clearance by the 

Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the 

Federal Bureau of Investigation of all Chinese student visa holders 

currently in the United States before issuing any new student visas 

to nationals of the People’s Republic of China. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2020 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. 

ERNST, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. COTTON, and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require a thorough national security evaluation and clearance by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation of all Chinese student visa holders currently in the 

United States before issuing any new student visas to 

nationals of the People’s Republic of China. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Vaccine 

5 Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) On May 13, 2020, the Federal Bureau of 

4 Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and In5 frastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced that 

6 cyber actors and non-traditional collectors affiliated 

7 with the People’s Republic of China have been ob8 served attempting to identify and illicitly obtain val9 uable intellectual property and public health data re10 lated to vaccines, treatments, and testing from net11 works and personnel affiliated with COVID–19-re12 lated research. 

13 (2) The potential theft of the data referred to 

14 in paragraph (1) jeopardizes the delivery of secure, 

15 effective, and efficient treatment options. 

16 (3) The announcement referred to in paragraph 

17 (1) urged all organizations conducting COVID–19- 

18 related research to maintain dedicated cybersecurity 

19 and insider threat practices to prevent surreptitious 

20 review or theft of COVID–19-related material. 

21 (4) According to the Institute of International 

22 Education, 369,548 Chinese nationals attended col23 leges, universities, and professional schools during 

24 the 2018–19 academic year. 

25 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

26 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

5 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

7 Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 of the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

11 House of Representatives. 

12 (2) CONTINUOUS VETTING.—The term ‘‘contin13 uous vetting’’ means— 

14 (A) regular checks with the institutions or 

15 organizations with which a nonimmigrant is af16 filiated; 

17 (B) periodic interviews with colleagues or 

18 superiors at such institutions or organizations; 

19 and 

20 (C) any other examination that the Sec21 retary of Homeland Security considers nec22 essary to make a determination under section 

23 4(d)(2). 

24 (3) ENHANCED VETTING.—The term ‘‘enhanced 

25 vetting’’ means a comprehensive background check 


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1 process developed by the Secretary of Homeland Se2 curity, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, 

3 the FBI Director, the Director of National Intel4 ligence, and the Secretary of Health and Human 

5 Services. 

6 SEC. 4. COVID–19-RELATED RESEARCH CYBERSECURITY 

7 REVIEW. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home10 land Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

11 the Attorney General, the Director of the Federal Bureau 

12 of Investigation, the Director of the Cybersecurity and In13 frastructure Security Agency, the Director of U.S. Citizen14 ship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Office of the 

15 Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Sec16 retary of Health and Human Services, shall complete a 

17 review, which shall consist of enhanced vetting of nationals 

18 of the People’s Republic of China residing in the United 

19 States as nonimmigrants described in subparagraph (F), 

20 (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) (except for non22 immigrants who are enrolled at an elementary or sec23 ondary school) to determine if any such nonimmigrants 

24 are engaging in any attempt to illegally obtain information 


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1 related to COVID–19 vaccine research or are otherwise 

2 a national security threat. 

3 (b) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity is unable to complete the review described in sub5 section (a) by the deadline set forth in such subsection, 

6 the Secretary shall— 

7 (1) complete such review not later than 60 days 

8 after the deadlines set forth in subsection (a); and 

9 (2) before the deadline set forth in subsection 

10 (a), notify the appropriate congressional committees 

11 of the reasons such review could not be completed by 

12 the original deadline. 

13 (c) CONTINUOUS VETTING.—The Secretary of Home14 land Security, in consultation with the agencies listed 

15 under subsection (a), shall conduct continuous vetting of 

16 all nonimmigrants residing in the United States who are— 

17 (1) described in subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) 

18 of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Na19 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)); 

20 (2) not enrolled at an elementary or secondary 

21 school; 

22 (3) nationals of the People’s Republic of China; 

23 and 


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1 (4) engaged in, or have access to, research of 

2 any potential COVID–19 vaccine or COVID–19 re3 lated material. 

4 (d) REPORT.—Upon the completion of the review re5 quired under this section, the Secretary of Homeland Se6 curity shall submit a report to the appropriate congres7 sional committees that— 

8 (1) contains the results of such review; and 

9 (2) indicates whether any of the Chinese na10 tionals vetted under subsection (a) pose a threat to 

11 the national security or public health of the United 

12 States. 

13 SEC. 5. TEMPORARY DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF STUDENT 

14 VISAS TO CHINESE NATIONALS. 

15 During the period beginning on the date of the enact16 ment of this Act and ending on the date on which the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security submits the report re18 quired under section 4(c), the Department of State may 

19 not issue, to a national of the People’s Republic of China, 

20 any student visa to a nonimmigrant described in subpara21 graph (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)). 

Æ 


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