II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3997 

To strengthen the security and integrity of the United States scientific and 

research enterprise. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 18, 2020 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, 

Mr. BRAUN, Mr. COONS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. 

HAWLEY, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, 

Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To strengthen the security and integrity of the United States 

scientific and research enterprise. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Safeguarding American Innovation Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Federal Research Security Council. 


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Sec. 4. Federal grant application fraud. 

Sec. 5. Restricting the transfer of goods, technologies, and sensitive information 

to certain aliens. 

Sec. 6. Limitations on educational and cultural exchange programs. 

Sec. 7. Amendments to disclosures of foreign gifts. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal depart5 ment or agency to which more than $100,000,000 in 

6 research and development funds were appropriated 

7 for fiscal year 2020. 

8 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘research 

10 and development’’ means all research activities, 

11 both basic and applied, and all development ac12 tivities. 

13 (B) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘‘develop14 ment’’ means experimental development. 

15 (C) EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 

16 term ‘‘experimental development’’ means cre17 ative and systematic work, drawing upon knowl18 edge gained from research and practical experi19 ence, which— 

20 (i) is directed toward the production 

21 of new products or processes or improving 

22 existing products or processes; and 


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1 (ii) like research, will result in gaining 

2 additional knowledge. 

3 (D) RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘research’’— 

4 (i) means a systematic study directed 

5 toward fuller scientific knowledge or under6 standing of the subject studied; and 

7 (ii) includes activities involving the 

8 training of individuals in research tech9 niques if such activities— 

10 (I) utilize the same facilities as 

11 other research and development activi12 ties; and 

13 (II) are not included in the in14 struction function. 

15 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RESEARCH SECURITY COUNCIL. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle V of title 31, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘CHAPTER 79—FEDERAL RESEARCH 

20 SECURITY COUNCIL 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘7901. Definitions. 

‘‘7902. Federal Research Security Council establishment and membership. 

‘‘7903. Functions and authorities. 

‘‘7904. Strategic plan. 

‘‘7905. Annual report. 

‘‘7906. Requirements for Executive agencies. 

21 ‘‘§ 7901. Definitions 

22 ‘‘In this chapter: 


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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 Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

8 ‘‘(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence 

9 of the Senate; 

10 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

11 of the Senate; 

12 ‘‘(E) the Committee on Armed Services of 

13 the Senate; 

14 ‘‘(F) the Committee on Health, Education, 

15 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

16 ‘‘(G) the Committee on Oversight and Re17 form of the House of Representatives; 

18 ‘‘(H) the Committee on Homeland Security 

19 of the House of Representatives; 

20 ‘‘(I) the Committee on Energy and Com21 merce of the House of Representatives; 

22 ‘‘(J) the Permanent Select Committee on 

23 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

24 ‘‘(K) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

25 the House of Representatives; 


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1 ‘‘(L) the Committee on Armed Services of 

2 the House of Representatives; and 

3 ‘‘(M) the Committee on Education and 

4 Labor of the House of Representatives. 

5 ‘‘(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the 

6 Federal Research Security Council established under 

7 section 7902(a). 

8 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘Execu9 tive agency’ has the meaning given that term in sec10 tion 105 of title 5. 

11 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL RESEARCH SECURITY RISK.— 

12 The term ‘Federal research security risk’ means the 

13 risk posed by malign state actors and other persons 

14 to the security and integrity of research and develop15 ment conducted using grants awarded by Executive 

16 agencies. 

17 ‘‘(5) INSIDER.—The term ‘insider’ means any 

18 person with authorized access to any United States 

19 Government resource, including personnel, facilities, 

20 information, research, equipment, networks, or sys21 tems. 

22 ‘‘(6) INSIDER THREAT.—The term ‘insider 

23 threat’ means the threat that an insider will use his 

24 or her authorized access (wittingly or unwittingly) to 

25 harm the national and economic security of the 


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1 United States or negatively affect the integrity of a 

2 Federal agency’s normal processes, including dam3 aging the United States through espionage, sabo4 tage, unauthorized disclosure of national security in5 formation or non-public information, or through the 

6 loss or degradation of departmental resources, capa7 bilities, and functions. 

8 ‘‘(7) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘research 

10 and development’ means all research activities, 

11 both basic and applied, and all development ac12 tivities. 

13 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘develop14 ment’ means experimental development. 

15 ‘‘(C) EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT.— 

16 The term ‘experimental development’ means 

17 creative and systematic work, drawing upon 

18 knowledge gained from research and practical 

19 experience, which— 

20 ‘‘(i) is directed toward the production 

21 of new products or processes or improving 

22 existing products or processes; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) like research, will result in gain24 ing additional knowledge. 

25 ‘‘(D) RESEARCH.—The term ‘research’— 


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1 ‘‘(i) means a systematic study directed 

2 toward fuller scientific knowledge or under3 standing of the subject studied; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) includes activities involving the 

5 training of individuals in research tech6 niques if such activities— 

7 ‘‘(I) utilize the same facilities as 

8 other research and development activi9 ties; and 

10 ‘‘(II) are not included in the in11 struction function. 

12 ‘‘(8) UNITED STATES RESEARCH COMMU13 NITY.—The term ‘United States research commu14 nity’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) research and development centers of 

16 Executive agencies; 

17 ‘‘(B) private research and development 

18 centers in the United States, including for-prof19 it and nonprofit research institutes; 

20 ‘‘(C) research and development centers at 

21 institutions of higher education (as defined in 

22 section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 


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1 ‘‘(D) research and development centers of 

2 States, United States territories, Indian tribes, 

3 and municipalities; 

4 ‘‘(E) government-owned, contractor-oper5 ated United States Government research and 

6 development centers; and 

7 ‘‘(F) any person conducting federally fund8 ed research or receiving Federal research grant 

9 funding. 

10 ‘‘§ 7902. Federal Research Security Council establish11 ment and membership 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, in the 

13 Office of Management and Budget, a Federal Research 

14 Security Council, which shall develop federally funded re15 search and development grant making policy and manage16 ment guidance to protect the national and economic secu17 rity interests of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following agencies 

20 shall be represented on the Council: 

21 ‘‘(A) The Office of Management and 

22 Budget. 

23 ‘‘(B) The Office of Science and Technology 

24 Policy. 

25 ‘‘(C) The Department of Defense. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The Department of Homeland Secu2 rity. 

3 ‘‘(E) The Office of the Director of Na4 tional Intelligence, including the National Coun5 terintelligence and Security Center. 

6 ‘‘(F) The Department of Justice, including 

7 the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

8 ‘‘(G) The Department of Energy. 

9 ‘‘(H) The Department of Commerce, in10 cluding the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology. 

12 ‘‘(I) The Department of Health and 

13 Human Services, including the National Insti14 tutes of Health. 

15 ‘‘(J) The Department of State. 

16 ‘‘(K) The Department of Transportation. 

17 ‘‘(L) The National Aeronautics and Space 

18 Administration. 

19 ‘‘(M) The National Science Foundation. 

20 ‘‘(N) The Department of Education. 

21 ‘‘(O) The Small Business Administration. 

22 ‘‘(P) The Council of Inspectors General on 

23 Integrity and Efficiency. 

24 ‘‘(Q) Other Executive agencies, as deter25 mined by the Chairperson of the Council. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LEAD REPRESENTATIVES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 45 

3 days after the date of the enactment of this 

4 chapter, the head of each agency represented on 

5 the Council shall designate a representative of 

6 that agency as the lead representative of the 

7 agency on the Council. 

8 ‘‘(B) FUNCTIONS.—The lead representa9 tive of an agency designated under subpara10 graph (A) shall ensure that appropriate per11 sonnel, including leadership and subject matter 

12 experts of the agency, are aware of the business 

13 of the Council. 

14 ‘‘(c) CHAIRPERSON.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 45 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this chapter, the 

17 Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

18 shall designate a senior-level official from the Office 

19 of Management and Budget to serve as the Chair20 person of the Council. 

21 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Chairperson shall per22 form functions that include— 

23 ‘‘(A) subject to subsection (d), developing 

24 a schedule for meetings of the Council; 


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1 ‘‘(B) designating Executive agencies to be 

2 represented on the Council under subsection 

3 (b)(1)(Q); 

4 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the lead rep5 resentative of each agency represented on the 

6 Council, developing a charter for the Council; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) not later than 7 days after comple9 tion of the charter, submitting the charter to 

10 the appropriate congressional committees. 

11 ‘‘(3) LEAD SCIENCE ADVISOR.—The Director of 

12 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall be 

13 the lead science advisor to the Chairperson for pur14 poses of this chapter. 

15 ‘‘(4) LEAD SECURITY ADVISOR.—The Director 

16 of the National Counterintelligence and Security 

17 Center shall be the lead security advisor to the 

18 Chairperson for purposes of this chapter. 

19 ‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not later 

20 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this chap21 ter and not less frequently than quarterly thereafter. 

22 ‘‘§ 7903. Functions and authorities 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the Council 

24 shall consider the missions and responsibilities of Council 

25 members in determining the lead agencies for Council 


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1 functions. The Council shall perform the following func2 tions: 

3 ‘‘(1) Developing and implementing, across all 

4 Executive agencies that award research and develop5 ment grants, a uniform application process for 

6 grants in accordance with subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) Developing and implementing a uniform 

8 and regular reporting process for identifying persons 

9 participating in federally funded research and devel10 opment or that have access to nonpublic federally 

11 funded information, data, research findings, and re12 search and development grant proposals. 

13 ‘‘(3) Identifying or developing criteria, in ac14 cordance with subsection (c), for sharing and receiv15 ing information with respect to Federal research se16 curity risks in order to mitigate such risks with— 

17 ‘‘(A) members of the United States re18 search community; and 

19 ‘‘(B) other persons participating in feder20 ally funded research and development. 

21 ‘‘(4) Identifying an appropriate Executive agen22 cy— 

23 ‘‘(A) to accept and protect information 

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1 eral entities based on the processes established 

2 under paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

3 ‘‘(B) to facilitate the sharing of informa4 tion received under subparagraph (A) to sup5 port, as necessary and appropriate— 

6 ‘‘(i) oversight of federally funded re7 search and development; 

8 ‘‘(ii) criminal and civil investigations 

9 of misappropriated Federal funds, re10 sources, and information; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) counterintelligence investiga12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(5) Identifying, as appropriate, Executive 

14 agencies to provide— 

15 ‘‘(A) shared services, such as support for 

16 conducting Federal research security risk as17 sessments, activities to mitigate such risks, and 

18 oversight and investigations with respect to 

19 grants awarded by Executive agencies; and 

20 ‘‘(B) common contract solutions to support 

21 enhanced information collection and sharing 

22 and the verification of the identities of persons 

23 participating in federally funded research and 

24 development. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Identifying and issuing guidance, in ac2 cordance with subsection (d) and in coordination 

3 with the National Insider Threat Task Force estab4 lished by Executive Order 13587 (50 U.S.C. 3161 

5 note) for developing and implementing insider threat 

6 programs for Executive agencies to deter, detect, 

7 and mitigate insider threats, including the safe8 guarding of sensitive information from exploitation, 

9 compromise, or other unauthorized disclosure, taking 

10 into account risk levels and the distinct needs, mis11 sions, and systems of each such agency. 

12 ‘‘(7) Identifying and issuing guidance for devel13 oping compliance and oversight programs for Execu14 tive agencies to ensure that research and develop15 ment grant recipients accurately report conflicts of 

16 interest and conflicts of commitment in accordance 

17 with subsection (b)(1). Such programs shall include 

18 an assessment of— 

19 ‘‘(A) a grantee’s support from foreign 

20 sources and affiliations with foreign funding in21 stitutions or laboratories; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the impact of such support and affili23 ations on United States national security and 

24 economic interests. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Assessing and making recommendations 

2 with respect to whether openly sharing certain types 

3 of federally funded research and development is in 

4 the economic and national security interests of the 

5 United States. 

6 ‘‘(9) Identifying and issuing guidance to the 

7 United States research community, and other recipi8 ents of Federal research and development funding, 

9 to ensure that such institutions and recipients adopt 

10 existing best practices to reduce the risk of mis11 appropriation of research data. 

12 ‘‘(10) Identifying and issuing guidance on addi13 tional steps that may be necessary to address Fed14 eral research security risks arising in the course of 

15 Executive agencies providing shared services and 

16 common contract solutions under paragraph (5)(B). 

17 ‘‘(11) Engaging with the United States re18 search community in performing the functions de19 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and with re20 spect to issues relating to Federal research security 

21 risks. 

22 ‘‘(12) Carrying out such other functions, as de23 termined by the Council, that are necessary to re24 duce Federal research security risks. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIFORM GRANT APPLI2 CATION PROCESS.—In developing the uniform application 

3 process for Federal research and development grants re4 quired under subsection (a)(1), the Council shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) ensure that the process— 

6 ‘‘(A) requires principal investigators, co7 principal investigators, and senior personnel as8 sociated with the proposed Federal research or 

9 development grant project— 

10 ‘‘(i) to disclose biographical informa11 tion, all affiliations, including any foreign 

12 military and foreign government-related or13 ganizations, and all current and pending 

14 support, including affiliations with foreign 

15 funding institutions or laboratories, and all 

16 support received from foreign sources; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) to certify the accuracy of the re18 quired disclosures under penalty of per19 jury; and 

20 ‘‘(B) uses a machine-readable application 

21 form to assist in identifying fraud and ensuring 

22 the eligibility of applicants; 

23 ‘‘(2) design the process— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to reduce the administrative burden 

2 on persons applying for Federal research and 

3 development funding; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to promote information sharing 

5 across the United States research community, 

6 while safeguarding sensitive information; and 

7 ‘‘(3) complete the process not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of the enactment of the Safeguarding 

9 American Innovation Act. 

10 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION SHARING

11 CRITERIA.—In identifying or developing criteria and pro12 cedures for sharing information with respect to Federal 

13 research security risks under subsection (a)(3), the Coun14 cil shall ensure that such criteria address, at a min15 imum— 

16 ‘‘(1) the information to be shared; 

17 ‘‘(2) the circumstances under which sharing is 

18 mandated or voluntary; 

19 ‘‘(3) the circumstances under which it is appro20 priate for an Executive agency to rely on informa21 tion made available through such sharing in exer22 cising the responsibilities and authorities of the 

23 agency under applicable laws relating to the award 

24 of grants; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the procedures for protecting intellectual 

2 capital that may be present in such information; and 

3 ‘‘(5) appropriate privacy protections for persons 

4 involved in Federal research and development. 

5 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR INSIDER THREAT PRO6 GRAM GUIDANCE.—In identifying or developing guidance 

7 with respect to insider threat programs under subsection 

8 (a)(6), the Council shall ensure that such guidance pro9 vides for, at a minimum— 

10 ‘‘(1) such programs— 

11 ‘‘(A) to deter, detect, and mitigate insider 

12 threats; and 

13 ‘‘(B) to leverage counterintelligence, secu14 rity, information assurance, and other relevant 

15 functions and resources to identify and counter 

16 insider threats; 

17 ‘‘(2) the development of an integrated capability 

18 to monitor and audit information for the detection 

19 and mitigation of insider threats, including 

20 through— 

21 ‘‘(A) monitoring user activity on computer 

22 networks controlled by Executive agencies; 

23 ‘‘(B) providing employees of Executive 

24 agencies with awareness training with respect 


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1 to insider threats and the responsibilities of em2 ployees to report such threats; 

3 ‘‘(C) gathering information for a central4 ized analysis, reporting, and response capa5 bility; and 

6 ‘‘(D) information sharing to aid in track7 ing the risk individuals may pose while moving 

8 across programs and affiliations; 

9 ‘‘(3) the development and implementation of 

10 policies and procedures under which the insider 

11 threat program of an Executive agency accesses, 

12 shares, and integrates information and data derived 

13 from offices within the agency; 

14 ‘‘(4) the designation of senior officials with au15 thority to provide management, accountability, and 

16 oversight of the insider threat program of an Execu17 tive agency and to make resource recommendations 

18 to the appropriate officials; and 

19 ‘‘(5) such additional guidance as is necessary to 

20 reflect the distinct needs, missions, and systems of 

21 each Executive agency. 

22 ‘‘(e) ISSUANCE OF WARNINGS RELATING TO RISKS

23 AND VULNERABILITIES IN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC

24 COOPERATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council, in conjunction 

2 with the lead security advisor under section 

3 7902(c)(4), shall establish a process for informing 

4 members of the United States research community 

5 and the public, through the issuance of warnings de6 scribed in paragraph (2), of potential risks and 

7 vulnerabilities in international scientific cooperation 

8 that may undermine the integrity and security of the 

9 United States research community or place at risk 

10 any federally funded research and development. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—A warning described in this 

12 paragraph shall include, to the extent the Council 

13 considers appropriate, a description of— 

14 ‘‘(A) activities by the national government, 

15 local governments, research institutions, or uni16 versities of a foreign country— 

17 ‘‘(i) to exploit, interfere, or undermine 

18 research and development by the United 

19 States research community; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) to misappropriate scientific 

21 knowledge resulting from federally funded 

22 research and development; 

23 ‘‘(B) efforts by strategic competitors to ex24 ploit the research enterprise of a foreign coun25 try that may place at risk— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the science and technology of that 

2 foreign country; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) federally funded research and de4 velopment; and 

5 ‘‘(C) practices within the research enter6 prise of a foreign country that do not adhere to 

7 the United States scientific values of openness, 

8 transparency, reciprocity, integrity, and merit9 based competition. 

10 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM OFFICE AND COMMITTEES.—The 

11 interagency working group established under section 1746 

12 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

13 2020 (Public Law 116–92) shall be a working group under 

14 the Council performing duties authorized under such sec15 tion and as directed by the Council. The Council may also 

16 establish a program office and any committees, working 

17 groups, or other constituent bodies the Council deems ap18 propriate, in its sole and unreviewable discretion, to carry 

19 out its functions. 

20 ‘‘(g) EXCLUSION ORDERS.—To reduce Federal re21 search security risk, the Interagency Suspension and De22 barment Committee shall provide quarterly reports to the 

23 Council that detail— 

24 ‘‘(1) the number of ongoing investigations by 

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1 rity that may result, or have resulted, in agency pre2 notice letters, suspensions, proposed debarments, 

3 and debarments; 

4 ‘‘(2) Federal agencies’ performance and compli5 ance with interagency suspensions and debarments; 

6 ‘‘(3) efforts by the Interagency Suspension and 

7 Debarment Committee to mitigate Federal research 

8 security risk; 

9 ‘‘(4) proposals for developing a unified Federal 

10 policy on suspensions and debarments; and 

11 ‘‘(5) other current suspension and debarment 

12 related issues. 

13 ‘‘§ 7904. Strategic plan 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this chapter, the Council shall 

16 develop a strategic plan for addressing Federal research 

17 security risks and for managing such risks, that in18 cludes— 

19 ‘‘(1) the criteria and processes required under 

20 section 7903(a), including a threshold and require21 ments for sharing relevant information about such 

22 risks with all Executive agencies and, as appro23 priate, with other Federal entities, foreign govern24 ments, and non-Federal entities; 


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1 ‘‘(2) an identification of existing authorities for 

2 addressing such risks; 

3 ‘‘(3) an identification and promulgation of best 

4 practices and procedures, and an identification of 

5 available resources, for Executive agencies to assess 

6 and mitigate such risks; 

7 ‘‘(4) recommendations for any legislative, regu8 latory, or other policy changes to improve efforts to 

9 address such risks; 

10 ‘‘(5) recommendations for any legislative, regu11 latory, or other policy changes to incentivize the 

12 adoption of best practices for avoiding and miti13 gating Federal research security risks by the United 

14 States research community and key United States 

15 foreign research partners; 

16 ‘‘(6) an evaluation of the effect of implementing 

17 new policies or procedures on existing Federal grant 

18 processes, regulations, and disclosures of conflicts of 

19 interest and conflicts of commitment; 

20 ‘‘(7) a plan for engaging with Executive agen21 cies, the private sector, and other nongovernmental 

22 stakeholders to address such risks and share infor23 mation between Executive agencies, the private sec24 tor, and nongovernmental stakeholders; and 


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1 ‘‘(8) a plan for identification, assessment, miti2 gation, and vetting of Federal research security 

3 risks. 

4 ‘‘(b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 7 

5 calendar days after completion of the strategic plan re6 quired by subsection (a), the Chairperson of the Council 

7 shall submit the plan to the appropriate congressional 

8 committees. 

9 ‘‘§ 7905. Annual report 

10 ‘‘Not later than December 15 of each year, the Chair11 person of the Council shall submit a report to the appro12 priate congressional committees that describes— 

13 ‘‘(1) the activities of the Council during the 

14 preceding fiscal year; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the progress made toward implementing 

16 the strategic plan required under section 7904 after 

17 such plan has been submitted to Congress. 

18 ‘‘§ 7906. Requirements for Executive agencies 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Executive 

20 agency on the Council shall be responsible for— 

21 ‘‘(1) assessing Federal research security risks 

22 posed by persons participating in federally funded 

23 research and development; 

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1 lines, requirements, and practices identified by the 

2 Council under section 7903(a); 

3 ‘‘(3) prioritizing Federal research security risk 

4 assessments conducted under paragraph (1) based 

5 on the applicability and relevance of the research 

6 and development to the national security and eco7 nomic competitiveness of the United States; and 

8 ‘‘(4) ensuring that all agency initiatives impact9 ing federally funded research grant making policy 

10 and management to protect the national and eco11 nomic security interests of the United States are in12 tegrated with the activities of the Council. 

13 ‘‘(b) INCLUSIONS.—The responsibility of the head of 

14 an Executive agency for assessing Federal research secu15 rity risk described in subsection (a) includes— 

16 ‘‘(1) developing an overall Federal research se17 curity risk management strategy and implementation 

18 plan and policies and processes to guide and govern 

19 Federal research security risk management activities 

20 by the Executive agency; 

21 ‘‘(2) integrating Federal research security risk 

22 management practices throughout the lifecycle of the 

23 grant programs of the Executive agency; 

24 ‘‘(3) sharing relevant information with other 

25 Executive agencies, as determined appropriate by 


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1 the Council in a manner consistent with section 

2 7903; and 

3 ‘‘(4) reporting on the effectiveness of the Fed4 eral research security risk management strategy of 

5 the Executive agency consistent with guidance issued 

6 by the Office of Management and Budget and the 

7 Council.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

9 at the beginning of title 31, United States Code, is amend10 ed by inserting after the item relating to chapter 77 the 

11 following new item: 

‘‘79. Federal Research Security Council .................................. 7901.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION FRAUD. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘§ 1041. Federal grant application fraud 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal 

19 agency’ has the meaning given the term ‘agency’ in 

20 section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL GRANT.—The term ‘Federal 

22 grant’— 

23 ‘‘(A) means a grant awarded by a Federal 

24 agency; 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes a subgrant awarded by a 

2 non-Federal entity to carry out a Federal grant 

3 program; and 

4 ‘‘(C) does not include— 

5 ‘‘(i) direct United States Government 

6 cash assistance to an individual; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a subsidy; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a loan; 

9 ‘‘(iv) a loan guarantee; or 

10 ‘‘(v) insurance. 

11 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION.—The 

12 term ‘Federal grant application’ means an applica13 tion for a Federal grant. 

14 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN COMPENSATION.—The term ‘for15 eign compensation’ means a title, monetary com16 pensation, access to a laboratory or other resource, 

17 or other benefit received from— 

18 ‘‘(A) a foreign government; 

19 ‘‘(B) a foreign government institution; or 

20 ‘‘(C) a foreign public enterprise. 

21 ‘‘(5) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘for22 eign government’ includes a person acting or pur23 porting to act on behalf of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a faction, party, department, agency, 

2 bureau, subnational administrative entity, or 

3 military of a foreign country; or 

4 ‘‘(B) a foreign government or a person 

5 purporting to act as a foreign government, re6 gardless of whether the United States recog7 nizes the government. 

8 ‘‘(6) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION.— 

9 The term ‘foreign government institution’ means a 

10 foreign entity owned by, subject to the control of, or 

11 subject to regulation by a foreign government. 

12 ‘‘(7) FOREIGN PUBLIC ENTERPRISE.—The term 

13 ‘foreign public enterprise’ means an enterprise over 

14 which a foreign government directly or indirectly ex15 ercises a dominant influence. 

16 ‘‘(8) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 

17 ‘law enforcement agency’— 

18 ‘‘(A) means a Federal, State, local, or 

19 Tribal law enforcement agency; and 

20 ‘‘(B) includes— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Office of Inspector General of 

22 an establishment (as defined in section 12 

23 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

24 U.S.C. App.)) or a designated Federal en25 tity (as defined in section 8G(a) of the InVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3997.IS S3997

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1 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

2 App.)); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Office of Inspector General, 

4 or similar office, of a State or unit of local 

5 government. 

6 ‘‘(9) OUTSIDE COMPENSATION.—The term ‘out7 side compensation’ means any compensation that is 

8 not received from the primary employer of an indi9 vidual. 

10 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any in11 dividual to knowingly— 

12 ‘‘(1) prepare or submit a Federal grant applica13 tion that fails to disclose the receipt of any outside 

14 compensation, including foreign compensation, by 

15 the individual; 

16 ‘‘(2) forge, counterfeit, or otherwise falsify a 

17 document for the purpose of obtaining a Federal 

18 grant; or 

19 ‘‘(3) prepare, submit, or assist in the prepara20 tion or submission of a Federal grant application or 

21 document in connection with a Federal grant appli22 cation that— 

23 ‘‘(A) contains a false statement; 

24 ‘‘(B) contains a material misrepresenta25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(C) has no basis in law or fact; or 

2 ‘‘(D) fails to disclose a material fact. 

3 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b) does not apply to 

4 an activity— 

5 ‘‘(1) carried out in connection with a lawfully 

6 authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence 

7 activity of— 

8 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency; or 

9 ‘‘(B) a Federal intelligence agency; or 

10 ‘‘(2) authorized under chapter 224. 

11 ‘‘(d) PENALTY.—Any individual who violates sub12 section (b)— 

13 ‘‘(1) shall be fined in accordance with this title, 

14 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both; and 

15 ‘‘(2) shall be prohibited from receiving a Fed16 eral grant during the 5-year period beginning on the 

17 date on which a sentence is imposed on the indi18 vidual under paragraph (1).’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 for chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1041. Federal grant application fraud.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. RESTRICTING THE TRANSFER OF GOODS, TECH2 NOLOGIES, AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION TO 

3 CERTAIN ALIENS. 

4 (a) GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 

5 212(a)(3)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(A)(i)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(i) any activity— 

8 ‘‘(I) to violate any law of the 

9 United States relating to espionage or 

10 sabotage; 

11 ‘‘(II) to violate or evade any law 

12 prohibiting the export from the 

13 United States of goods, technologies, 

14 or sensitive information; or 

15 ‘‘(III) to acquire export-con16 trolled goods, technologies, or sen17 sitive information (notwithstanding 

18 any exclusions for items not normally 

19 subject to export controls) if the Sec20 retary of State has determined that 

21 the acquisition of those goods, tech22 nologies, or sensitive information by a 

23 category of aliens that includes such 

24 alien would be contrary to an 

25 articulable national security (including 


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1 economic security) interest of the 

2 United States;’’. 

3 (b) DETERMINING FACTORS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing criteria for 

5 determining whether an alien is included in a cat6 egory of aliens that may be inadmissible under sec7 tion 212(a)(3)(A)(i)(III) of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act, as amended by subsection (a), offi9 cials of the Department of State shall— 

10 (A) seek advice and assistance from offi11 cials at the Office of the Director of National 

12 Intelligence, the Office of Science and Tech13 nology Policy, the Department of Health and 

14 Human Services, the Department of Defense, 

15 the Department of Homeland Security, the De16 partment of Energy, the Department of Com17 merce, and other appropriate Federal agencies; 

18 (B) consider factors such as the alien’s 

19 past or likely employment or cooperation with— 

20 (i) foreign military and security re21 lated organizations that are adversarial to 

22 the United States; 

23 (ii) foreign institutions involved in the 

24 theft of United States research; 


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1 (iii) entities involved in export control 

2 violations or the theft of intellectual prop3 erty; and 

4 (iv) a government that seeks to under5 mine the integrity and security of the 

6 United States research community; and 

7 (C) weigh the proportionality of risk for 

8 the factors listed in subparagraph (B). 

9 (2) MACHINE-READABLE DOCUMENTS.—Not 

10 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act, the Secretary of State shall— 

12 (A) use a machine-readable visa applica13 tion form; and 

14 (B) make available documents submitted in 

15 support of a visa application in a machine read16 able format to assist in— 

17 (i) identifying fraud; 

18 (ii) conducting lawful law enforcement 

19 activities; and 

20 (iii) determining the eligibility of ap21 plicants for a visa under the Immigration 

22 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

23 seq.). 

24 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

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1 ally thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with 

2 the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the 

3 Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Sec5 retary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, and the 

6 heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit 

7 a report to Congress that identifies— 

8 (1) the criteria used to describe the category of 

9 aliens to which such section 212(a)(3)(A)(i)(III) 

10 may apply; and 

11 (2) the number of individuals determined to be 

12 inadmissible under such section 212(a)(3)(A)(i)(III), 

13 including the nationality of each such individual. 

14 (d) CLASSIFICATION OF ANNUAL REPORT.—Each 

15 annual report required under subsection (c) shall be sub16 mitted, to the extent practicable, in an unclassified form, 

17 but may be accompanied by a classified appendix detailing 

18 the criteria used to describe the category of aliens to which 

19 such section 212(a)(3)(A)(i)(III) applies if the Secretary 

20 of State determines that such action— 

21 (1) is in the national security and economic se22 curity interests of the United States; or 

23 (2) is necessary to further the purposes of this 

24 Act. 


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1 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 45 days after date of 

2 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall sub3 mit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

4 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on 

5 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

6 Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Com7 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; the Committee 

8 on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives, 

9 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

10 Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

11 of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Select 

12 Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representa13 tives, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

14 of Representatives that— 

15 (1) describes how supplementary documents 

16 provided by a visa applicant in support of a visa ap17 plication are stored and shared by the Department 

18 of State with authorized Federal agencies; 

19 (2) identifies the sections of a visa application 

20 that are machine-readable and the sections that are 

21 not machine-readable; 

22 (3) provides cost estimates, including personnel 

23 costs and a cost-benefit analysis for adopting dif24 ferent technologies, including optical character rec25 ognition, for— 


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1 (A) making every element of a visa appli2 cation, and documents submitted in support of 

3 a visa application, machine-readable; and 

4 (B) ensuring that such system— 

5 (i) protects personally-identifiable in6 formation; and 

7 (ii) permits the sharing of visa infor8 mation with Federal agencies in accord9 ance with existing law; and 

10 (4) includes an estimated timeline for com11 pleting the implementation of subsection (b)(2). 

12 SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EX13 CHANGE PROGRAMS. 

14 Section 102(b)(5) of the Mutual Educational and 

15 Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(5)) 

16 is amended by striking the semicolon at the end and in17 serting the following: ‘‘by developing exchange programs 

18 for foreign researchers and scientists, while protecting 

19 technologies regulated by export control laws important to 

20 the national security and economic interests of the United 

21 States, including requiring sponsors— 

22 ‘‘(A) to disclose to the Department of 

23 State whether an exchange visitor, as a primary 

24 part of his or her exchange program, will have 

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1 nical data regulated by export control laws at 

2 sponsor organizations through research activi3 ties, lectures, course work, sponsor employees, 

4 officers, agents, third parties at which the spon5 sor places the exchange visitor, volunteers, or 

6 other individuals or entities associated with a 

7 sponsor’s administration of the exchange visitor 

8 program; 

9 ‘‘(B) to provide a plan to the Department 

10 of State that establishes appropriate program 

11 safeguards to prevent the unauthorized release 

12 of controlled technology or technical data regu13 lated by export control laws at sponsor organi14 zations or through their employees, officers, 

15 agents, third parties, volunteers, or other indi16 viduals or entities associated with a sponsor’s 

17 administration of the exchange visitor program; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of 

20 the Secretary of State, that programs that will 

21 release controlled technology or technical data 

22 to an exchange visitor at the sponsor organiza23 tion through exchange visitor programs have re24 ceived appropriate authorization from the De25 partment of State, the Department of ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3997.IS S3997

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1 merce, other cognizant Federal agency before 

2 the sponsor releases controlled technology or 

3 technical data;’’. 

4 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO DISCLOSURES OF FOREIGN 

5 GIFTS. 

6 Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1011f) is amended— 

8 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An institution shall file a 

12 disclosure report with the Secretary not later than 

13 the sooner of the first March 31 or September 30 

14 occurring after the date on which— 

15 ‘‘(A) a foreign source gains ownership of, 

16 or control over, the institution; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the institution receives a gift from, or 

18 enters into a contract with, a foreign source, 

19 the value of which is $50,000 or more, consid20 ered alone or in combination with all other gifts 

21 from or contracts with that foreign source with22 in a calendar year. 

23 ‘‘(2) REVISIONS; UPDATES.—The Secretary 

24 shall permit institutions to revise and update disclo25 sure reports previously filed to ensure that such reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3997.IS S3997

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1 ports are accurate and in compliance with applicable 

2 requirements.’’; 

3 (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Not later than 30 days 

6 after receiving a disclosure report under this section, the 

7 Secretary shall make such report electronically available 

8 to the public for downloading on a searchable database 

9 under which institutions can be individually identified and 

10 compared.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) WARNINGS; FINES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) WARNINGS.—The Secretary shall 

15 issue a warning to any institution that fails to 

16 file a disclosure report for a receipt of a gift 

17 from or contract with a foreign source. 

18 ‘‘(B) FINES.—The Secretary may impose a 

19 fine on any institution that repeatedly fails to 

20 file a disclosure report for a receipt of a gift 

21 from or contract with a foreign source in ac22 cordance with subsection (a) in an amount that 

23 is not more than 3 times the amount of the gift 

24 or contract with the foreign source.’’; 


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1 (4) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of enactment of the Safeguarding American 

6 Innovation Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations 

7 to carry out this section using the negotiated rule8 making procedure set forth in section 492(b). 

9 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Regulations issued pursuant 

10 to paragraph (1) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) incorporate instructions for— 

12 ‘‘(i) reporting structured gifts and 

13 contracts; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) reporting contracts that balances 

15 the need for transparency, while protecting 

16 the proprietary information of institutes of 

17 higher education; and 

18 ‘‘(B) clarify the definition of ‘subunit’, for 

19 purposes of subsection (i)(4)(C).’’; 

20 (5) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub21 section (i); 

22 (6) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(h) TREATMENT OF TUITION PAYMENT.—A tuition 

25 and related fees and expenses payment to an institution 


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1 by a foreign source made on behalf of a student enrolled 

2 at such institution shall not be considered a gift from or 

3 contract with a foreign source under this section.’’; and 

4 (7) in subsection (i), as redesignated— 

5 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or prop6 erty’’ and inserting ‘‘, property, human re7 sources, or payment of any staff’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (5)(B), by inserting ‘‘in9 stitutes, instructional programs,’’ after ‘‘cen10 ters,’’. 

Æ 


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