II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3920 

To secure the research enterprise of the United States from the Chinese 

Communist Party, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 9, 2020 

Mr. COTTON (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To secure the research enterprise of the United States from 

the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Safeguarding Edu5 cational Institutions, Colleges, Universities, and Research 

6 Entities from China’s Attempts to Misappropriate Prop7 erty of the United States Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘SECURE 

8 CAMPUS Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN CITIZENS OF THE PEO2 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall deny 

4 a nonimmigrant visa described in subparagraph (F) or (J) 

5 of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) to, and the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security may not admit to the United States 

8 pursuant to such a nonimmigrant visa, an alien who is 

9 a citizen of the People’s Republic of China if the Secretary 

10 of State determines that the alien seeks to enter the 

11 United States to participate in graduate-level or post12 graduate-level coursework or academic research in a field 

13 of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics at an 

14 institution of higher education. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall apply with 

16 respect to any application for a visa described in that sub17 section filed on or after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 (c) WAIVERS.— 

20 (1) HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES.—The Secretary 

21 of State may waive the application of subsection (a) 

22 with respect to a visa applicant who demonstrates 

23 that he or she is a member of a religious or ethnic 

24 group that is systematically oppressed by the Chi25 nese Communist Party. 

26 (2) NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

2 waive the application of subsection (a) on a 

3 case-by-case basis if such application would 

4 harm the national security of the United States. 

5 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

6 after the date on which a waiver under this 

7 paragraph is issued, the President shall submit 

8 to Congress a report that describes the specific 

9 national security interest served by the issuance 

10 of the waiver. 

11 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

13 in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 and the Secretary of Education, shall issue regulations 

15 specifying areas of study that constitute science, tech16 nology, engineering, and mathematics. 

17 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec18 tion shall be construed to require the denial of a visa appli19 cation of a citizen or permanent resident of Taiwan or 

20 Hong Kong. 

21 SEC. 3. CONDITIONS ON FEDERAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

22 As a condition of receiving a Federal research and 

23 development grant in a field of science, technology, engi24 neering, or mathematics, a grant recipient shall certify 

25 that the recipient— 


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1 (1) is not— 

2 (A) a citizen of the People’s Republic of 

3 China; or 

4 (B) a participant in a foreign talent re5 cruitment program of the People’s Republic of 

6 China listed by the Secretary of State in ac7 cordance with section 7; and 

8 (2) will not knowingly employ to carry out ac9 tivities funded by the Federal research and develop10 ment grant— 

11 (A) a citizen of the People’s Republic of 

12 China; or 

13 (B) a participant in a foreign talent re14 cruitment program of the People’s Republic of 

15 China listed by the Secretary of State in ac16 cordance with section 7. 

17 SEC. 4. PROTECTING INSTITUTIONS, LABORATORIES, AND 

18 RESEARCH INSTITUTES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, the head of each Federal agency shall ensure 

21 that any institution of higher education, laboratory, or re22 search institute receiving Federal assistance agrees, as a 

23 condition of such assistance, to not knowingly employ any 

24 individual who is a participant in a foreign talent recruit25 ment program of the People’s Republic of China. 


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1 (b) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.—Sec2 tion 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(30) The institution will not knowingly employ 

6 any individual who is a participant in a foreign tal7 ent recruitment program of the People’s Republic of 

8 China listed by the Secretary of State in accordance 

9 with section 7 of the SECURE CAMPUS Act of 

10 2020.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS IN FOREIGN TAL12 ENT RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS OF THE PEO13 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AS AGENTS OF 

14 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUB15 LIC OF CHINA. 

16 Notwithstanding section 3 of the Foreign Agents 

17 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 613), any individual 

18 in the United States who is associated with a foreign tal19 ent recruitment program of the People’s Republic of 

20 China, either as a recruiter or as a recruit— 

21 (1) shall be deemed to be an agent of a foreign 

22 principal (as defined in section 1(c) of such Act (22 

23 U.S.C. 611(c)); and 


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1 (2) shall comply with the registration require2 ments set forth in section 2 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 

3 612) not later than 30 days after the later of— 

4 (A) the date of the enactment of this Act; 

5 or 

6 (B) the date on which the individual en7 tered the United States. 

8 SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE. 

9 Section 1839(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘education, research,’’ after 

12 ‘‘commercial,’’; and 

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘or otherwise incorporated or 

14 substantially located in or composed of citizens of 

15 countries subject to compulsory political or govern16 mental representation within corporate leadership’’ 

17 after ‘‘foreign government’’. 

18 SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF STATE LIST OF FOREIGN TALENT 

19 RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS OF THE PEOPLE’S 

20 REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

23 in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary 

24 of Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall 

25 compile and publish in the Federal Register a list of forVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:01 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3920.IS S3920

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1 eign talent recruitment programs of the People’s Republic 

2 of China. 

3 (b) ANNUAL REVIEW AND REVISION.—Not less fre4 quently than annually, the Secretary of State shall— 

5 (1) review and revise the list compiled under 

6 subsection (a); and 

7 (2) publish the revised list in the Federal Reg8 ister. 

9 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) FOREIGN TALENT RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

12 OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.—In this 

13 Act, the term ‘‘foreign talent recruitment program 

14 of the People’s Republic of China’’ means any effort 

15 organized, managed, funded, or otherwise controlled 

16 by the Government of the People’s Republic of 

17 China or the Chinese Communist Party to employ, 

18 contract, or otherwise compensate 1 or more individ19 uals to conduct research, development, testing, or 

20 any other science or technology activity for the di21 rect or indirect benefit of the People’s Republic of 

22 China. 

23 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

24 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

2 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

Æ 


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