II 

Calendar No. 620 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3997 

[Report No. 116–317] 

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, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. JOHNSON, Ms. 

MCSALLY, Mr. LANKFORD, and Mr. ROMNEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 14, 2020 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Safeguarding American Innovation Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Federal Research Security Council. 

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. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

9 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal depart10 ment or agency to which more than $100,000,000 in 

11 research and development funds were appropriated 

12 for fiscal year 2020. 

13 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

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

15 and development’’ means all research activities, 

16 both basic and applied, and all development ac17 tivities. 

18 (B) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘‘develop19 ment’’ means experimental development. 

20 (C) EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 

21 term ‘‘experimental development’’ means cre22 ative and systematic work, drawing upon knowlVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 edge gained from research and practical experi2 ence, which— 

3 (i) is directed toward the production 

4 of new products or processes or improving 

5 existing products or processes; and 

6 (ii) like research, will result in gaining 

7 additional knowledge. 

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

9 (i) means a systematic study directed 

10 toward fuller scientific knowledge or under11 standing of the subject studied; and 

12 (ii) includes activities involving the 

13 training of individuals in research tech14 niques if such activities— 

15 (I) utilize the same facilities as 

16 other research and development activi17 ties; and 

18 (II) are not included in the in19 struction function. 

20 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RESEARCH SECURITY COUNCIL. 

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

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 79—FEDERAL RESEARCH 

2 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. 

3 ‘‘§ 7901. Definitions 

4 ‘‘In this chapter: 

5 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

10 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

12 ‘‘(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence 

13 of the Senate; 

14 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

15 of the Senate; 

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

17 the Senate; 

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

19 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

20 ‘‘(G) the Committee on Oversight and Re21 form of the House of Representatives; 


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1 ‘‘(H) the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 of the House of Representatives; 

3 ‘‘(I) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives; 

5 ‘‘(J) the Permanent Select Committee on 

6 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

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

8 the House of Representatives; 

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

10 the House of Representatives; and 

11 ‘‘(M) the Committee on Education and 

12 Labor of the House of Representatives. 

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

14 Federal Research Security Council established under 

15 section 7902(a). 

16 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘Execu17 tive agency’ has the meaning given that term in sec18 tion 105 of title 5. 

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

20 The term ‘Federal research security risk’ means the 

21 risk posed by malign state actors and other persons 

22 to the security and integrity of research and develop23 ment conducted using grants awarded by Executive 

24 agencies. 


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

2 person with authorized access to any United States 

3 Government resource, including personnel, facilities, 

4 information, research, equipment, networks, or sys5 tems. 

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

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

8 or her authorized access (wittingly or unwittingly) to 

9 harm the national and economic security of the 

10 United States or negatively affect the integrity of a 

11 Federal agency’s normal processes, including dam12 aging the United States through espionage, sabo13 tage, unauthorized disclosure of national security in14 formation or non-public information, or through the 

15 loss or degradation of departmental resources, capa16 bilities, and functions. 

17 ‘‘(7) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

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

19 and development’ means all research activities, 

20 both basic and applied, and all development ac21 tivities. 

22 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘develop23 ment’ means experimental development. 

24 ‘‘(C) EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT.— 

25 The term ‘experimental development’ means 


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1 creative and systematic work, drawing upon 

2 knowledge gained from research and practical 

3 experience, which— 

4 ‘‘(i) is directed toward the production 

5 of new products or processes or improving 

6 existing products or processes; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) like research, will result in gain8 ing additional knowledge. 

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

10 ‘‘(i) means a systematic study directed 

11 toward fuller scientific knowledge or under12 standing of the subject studied; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) includes activities involving the 

14 training of individuals in research tech15 niques if such activities— 

16 ‘‘(I) utilize the same facilities as 

17 other research and development activi18 ties; and 

19 ‘‘(II) are not included in the in20 struction function. 

21 ‘‘(8) UNITED STATES RESEARCH COMMU22 NITY.—The term ‘United States research commu23 nity’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) research and development centers of 

25 Executive agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(B) private research and development 

2 centers in the United States, including for-prof3 it and nonprofit research institutes; 

4 ‘‘(C) research and development centers at 

5 institutions of higher education (as defined in 

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

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 

8 ‘‘(D) research and development centers of 

9 States, United States territories, Indian tribes, 

10 and municipalities; 

11 ‘‘(E) government-owned, contractor-oper12 ated United States Government research and 

13 development centers; and 

14 ‘‘(F) any person conducting federally fund15 ed research or receiving Federal research grant 

16 funding. 

17 ‘‘§ 7902. Federal Research Security Council establish18 ment and membership 

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

20 Office of Management and Budget, a Federal Research 

21 Security Council, which shall develop federally funded re22 search and development grant making policy and manage23 ment guidance to protect the national and economic secu24 rity interests of the United States. 

25 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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

2 shall be represented on the Council: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Office of Management and 

4 Budget. 

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

6 Policy. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Department of Defense. 

8 ‘‘(D) The Department of Homeland Secu9 rity. 

10 ‘‘(E) The Office of the Director of Na11 tional Intelligence, including the National Coun12 terintelligence and Security Center. 

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

14 the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

15 ‘‘(G) The Department of Energy. 

16 ‘‘(H) The Department of Commerce, in17 cluding the National Institute of Standards and 

18 Technology. 

19 ‘‘(I) The Department of Health and 

20 Human Services, including the National Insti21 tutes of Health. 

22 ‘‘(J) The Department of State. 

23 ‘‘(K) The Department of Transportation. 

24 ‘‘(L) The National Aeronautics and Space 

25 Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(M) The National Science Foundation. 

2 ‘‘(N) The Department of Education. 

3 ‘‘(O) The Small Business Administration. 

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

5 Integrity and Efficiency. 

6 ‘‘(Q) Other Executive agencies, as deter7 mined by the Chairperson of the Council. 

8 ‘‘(2) LEAD REPRESENTATIVES.— 

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

10 days after the date of the enactment of this 

11 chapter, the head of each agency represented on 

12 the Council shall designate a representative of 

13 that agency as the lead representative of the 

14 agency on the Council. 

15 ‘‘(B) FUNCTIONS.—The lead representa16 tive of an agency designated under subpara17 graph (A) shall ensure that appropriate per18 sonnel, including leadership and subject matter 

19 experts of the agency, are aware of the business 

20 of the Council. 

21 ‘‘(c) CHAIRPERSON.— 

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

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

24 Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

25 shall designate a senior-level official from the Office 


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1 of Management and Budget to serve as the Chair2 person of the Council. 

3 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Chairperson shall per4 form functions that include— 

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

6 a schedule for meetings of the Council; 

7 ‘‘(B) designating Executive agencies to be 

8 represented on the Council under subsection 

9 (b)(1)(Q); 

10 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the lead rep11 resentative of each agency represented on the 

12 Council, developing a charter for the Council; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(D) not later than 7 days after comple15 tion of the charter, submitting the charter to 

16 the appropriate congressional committees. 

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

18 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall be 

19 the lead science advisor to the Chairperson for pur20 poses of this chapter. 

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

22 of the National Counterintelligence and Security 

23 Center shall be the lead security advisor to the 

24 Chairperson for purposes of this chapter. 


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

2 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this chap3 ter and not less frequently than quarterly thereafter. 

4 ‘‘§ 7903. Functions and authorities 

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

6 shall consider the missions and responsibilities of Council 

7 members in determining the lead agencies for Council 

8 functions. The Council shall perform the following func9 tions: 

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

11 Executive agencies that award research and develop12 ment grants, a uniform application process for 

13 grants in accordance with subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(2) Developing and implementing a uniform 

15 and regular reporting process for identifying persons 

16 participating in federally funded research and devel17 opment or that have access to nonpublic federally 

18 funded information, data, research findings, and re19 search and development grant proposals. 

20 ‘‘(3) Identifying or developing criteria, in ac21 cordance with subsection (c), for sharing and receiv22 ing information with respect to Federal research se23 curity risks in order to mitigate such risks with— 

24 ‘‘(A) members of the United States re25 search community; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) other persons participating in feder2 ally funded research and development. 

3 ‘‘(4) Identifying an appropriate Executive agen4 cy— 

5 ‘‘(A) to accept and protect information 

6 submitted by Executive agencies and non-Fed7 eral entities based on the processes established 

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

9 ‘‘(B) to facilitate the sharing of informa10 tion received under subparagraph (A) to sup11 port, as necessary and appropriate— 

12 ‘‘(i) oversight of federally funded re13 search and development; 

14 ‘‘(ii) criminal and civil investigations 

15 of misappropriated Federal funds, re16 sources, and information; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) counterintelligence investiga18 tions. 

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

20 agencies to provide— 

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

22 conducting Federal research security risk as23 sessments, activities to mitigate such risks, and 

24 oversight and investigations with respect to 

25 grants awarded by Executive agencies; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) common contract solutions to support 

2 enhanced information collection and sharing 

3 and the verification of the identities of persons 

4 participating in federally funded research and 

5 development. 

6 ‘‘(6) Identifying and issuing guidance, in ac7 cordance with subsection (d) and in coordination 

8 with the National Insider Threat Task Force estab9 lished by Executive Order 13587 (50 U.S.C. 3161 

10 note) for developing and implementing insider threat 

11 programs for Executive agencies to deter, detect, 

12 and mitigate insider threats, including the safe13 guarding of sensitive information from exploitation, 

14 compromise, or other unauthorized disclosure, taking 

15 into account risk levels and the distinct needs, mis16 sions, and systems of each such agency. 

17 ‘‘(7) Identifying and issuing guidance for devel18 oping compliance and oversight programs for Execu19 tive agencies to ensure that research and develop20 ment grant recipients accurately report conflicts of 

21 interest and conflicts of commitment in accordance 

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

23 an assessment of— 


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

2 sources and affiliations with foreign funding in3 stitutions or laboratories; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the impact of such support and affili5 ations on United States national security and 

6 economic interests. 

7 ‘‘(8) Assessing and making recommendations 

8 with respect to whether openly sharing certain types 

9 of federally funded research and development is in 

10 the economic and national security interests of the 

11 United States. 

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

13 United States research community, and other recipi14 ents of Federal research and development funding, 

15 to ensure that such institutions and recipients adopt 

16 existing best practices to reduce the risk of mis17 appropriation of research data. 

18 ‘‘(10) Identifying and issuing guidance on addi19 tional steps that may be necessary to address Fed20 eral research security risks arising in the course of 

21 Executive agencies providing shared services and 

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

23 ‘‘(11) Engaging with the United States re24 search community in performing the functions de25 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 spect to issues relating to Federal research security 

2 risks. 

3 ‘‘(12) Carrying out such other functions, as de4 termined by the Council, that are necessary to re5 duce Federal research security risks. 

6 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIFORM GRANT APPLI7 CATION PROCESS.—In developing the uniform application 

8 process for Federal research and development grants re9 quired under subsection (a)(1), the Council shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) ensure that the process— 

11 ‘‘(A) requires principal investigators, co12 principal investigators, and senior personnel as13 sociated with the proposed Federal research or 

14 development grant project— 

15 ‘‘(i) to disclose biographical informa16 tion, all affiliations, including any foreign 

17 military and foreign government-related or18 ganizations, and all current and pending 

19 support, including affiliations with foreign 

20 funding institutions or laboratories, and all 

21 support received from foreign sources; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) to certify the accuracy of the re23 quired disclosures under penalty of per24 jury; and 


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

2 form to assist in identifying fraud and ensuring 

3 the eligibility of applicants; 

4 ‘‘(2) design the process— 

5 ‘‘(A) to reduce the administrative burden 

6 on persons applying for Federal research and 

7 development funding; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to promote information sharing 

9 across the United States research community, 

10 while safeguarding sensitive information; and 

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

12 after the date of the enactment of the Safeguarding 

13 American Innovation Act. 

14 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION SHARING

15 CRITERIA.—In identifying or developing criteria and pro16 cedures for sharing information with respect to Federal 

17 research security risks under subsection (a)(3), the Coun18 cil shall ensure that such criteria address, at a min19 imum— 

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

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

22 mandated or voluntary; 

23 ‘‘(3) the circumstances under which it is appro24 priate for an Executive agency to rely on informa25 tion made available through such sharing in exerVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 cising the responsibilities and authorities of the 

2 agency under applicable laws relating to the award 

3 of grants; 

4 ‘‘(4) the procedures for protecting intellectual 

5 capital that may be present in such information; and 

6 ‘‘(5) appropriate privacy protections for persons 

7 involved in Federal research and development. 

8 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR INSIDER THREAT PRO9 GRAM GUIDANCE.—In identifying or developing guidance 

10 with respect to insider threat programs under subsection 

11 (a)(6), the Council shall ensure that such guidance pro12 vides for, at a minimum— 

13 ‘‘(1) such programs— 

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

15 threats; and 

16 ‘‘(B) to leverage counterintelligence, secu17 rity, information assurance, and other relevant 

18 functions and resources to identify and counter 

19 insider threats; 

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

21 to monitor and audit information for the detection 

22 and mitigation of insider threats, including 

23 through— 

24 ‘‘(A) monitoring user activity on computer 

25 networks controlled by Executive agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(B) providing employees of Executive 

2 agencies with awareness training with respect 

3 to insider threats and the responsibilities of em4 ployees to report such threats; 

5 ‘‘(C) gathering information for a central6 ized analysis, reporting, and response capa7 bility; and 

8 ‘‘(D) information sharing to aid in track9 ing the risk individuals may pose while moving 

10 across programs and affiliations; 

11 ‘‘(3) the development and implementation of 

12 policies and procedures under which the insider 

13 threat program of an Executive agency accesses, 

14 shares, and integrates information and data derived 

15 from offices within the agency; 

16 ‘‘(4) the designation of senior officials with au17 thority to provide management, accountability, and 

18 oversight of the insider threat program of an Execu19 tive agency and to make resource recommendations 

20 to the appropriate officials; and 

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

22 reflect the distinct needs, missions, and systems of 

23 each Executive agency. 


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

2 AND VULNERABILITIES IN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC

3 COOPERATION.— 

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

5 with the lead security advisor under section 

6 7902(c)(4), shall establish a process for informing 

7 members of the United States research community 

8 and the public, through the issuance of warnings de9 scribed in paragraph (2), of potential risks and 

10 vulnerabilities in international scientific cooperation 

11 that may undermine the integrity and security of the 

12 United States research community or place at risk 

13 any federally funded research and development. 

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

15 paragraph shall include, to the extent the Council 

16 considers appropriate, a description of— 

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

18 local governments, research institutions, or uni19 versities of a foreign country— 

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

21 research and development by the United 

22 States research community; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) to misappropriate scientific 

24 knowledge resulting from federally funded 

25 research and development; 


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1 ‘‘(B) efforts by strategic competitors to ex2 ploit the research enterprise of a foreign coun3 try that may place at risk— 

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

5 foreign country; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) federally funded research and de7 velopment; and 

8 ‘‘(C) practices within the research enter9 prise of a foreign country that do not adhere to 

10 the United States scientific values of openness, 

11 transparency, reciprocity, integrity, and merit12 based competition. 

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

14 interagency working group established under section 1746 

15 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

16 2020 (Public Law 116–92) shall be a working group under 

17 the Council performing duties authorized under such sec18 tion and as directed by the Council. The Council may also 

19 establish a program office and any committees, working 

20 groups, or other constituent bodies the Council deems ap21 propriate, in its sole and unreviewable discretion, to carry 

22 out its functions. 

23 ‘‘(g) EXCLUSION ORDERS.—To reduce Federal re24 search security risk, the Interagency Suspension and DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 barment Committee shall provide quarterly reports to the 

2 Council that detail— 

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

4 Council Members related to Federal research secu5 rity that may result, or have resulted, in agency pre6 notice letters, suspensions, proposed debarments, 

7 and debarments; 

8 ‘‘(2) Federal agencies’ performance and compli9 ance with interagency suspensions and debarments; 

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

11 Debarment Committee to mitigate Federal research 

12 security risk; 

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

14 policy on suspensions and debarments; and 

15 ‘‘(5) other current suspension and debarment 

16 related issues. 

17 ‘‘§ 7904. Strategic plan 

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

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

20 develop a strategic plan for addressing Federal research 

21 security risks and for managing such risks, that in22 cludes— 

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

24 section 7903(a), including a threshold and require25 ments for sharing relevant information about such 


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1 risks with all Executive agencies and, as appro2 priate, with other Federal entities, foreign govern3 ments, and non-Federal entities; 

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

5 addressing such risks; 

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

7 practices and procedures, and an identification of 

8 available resources, for Executive agencies to assess 

9 and mitigate such risks; 

10 ‘‘(4) recommendations for any legislative, regu11 latory, or other policy changes to improve efforts to 

12 address such risks; 

13 ‘‘(5) recommendations for any legislative, regu14 latory, or other policy changes to incentivize the 

15 adoption of best practices for avoiding and miti16 gating Federal research security risks by the United 

17 States research community and key United States 

18 foreign research partners; 

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

20 new policies or procedures on existing Federal grant 

21 processes, regulations, and disclosures of conflicts of 

22 interest and conflicts of commitment; 

23 ‘‘(7) a plan for engaging with Executive agen24 cies, the private sector, and other nongovernmental 

25 stakeholders to address such risks and share inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 mation between Executive agencies, the private sec2 tor, and nongovernmental stakeholders; and 

3 ‘‘(8) a plan for identification, assessment, miti4 gation, and vetting of Federal research security 

5 risks. 

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

7 calendar days after completion of the strategic plan re8 quired by subsection (a), the Chairperson of the Council 

9 shall submit the plan to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees. 

11 ‘‘§ 7905. Annual report 

12 ‘‘Not later than December 15 of each year, the Chair13 person of the Council shall submit a report to the appro14 priate congressional committees that describes— 

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

16 preceding fiscal year; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the progress made toward implementing 

18 the strategic plan required under section 7904 after 

19 such plan has been submitted to Congress. 

20 ‘‘§ 7906. Requirements for Executive agencies 

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

22 agency on the Council shall be responsible for— 

23 ‘‘(1) assessing Federal research security risks 

24 posed by persons participating in federally funded 

25 research and development; 


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1 ‘‘(2) avoiding or mitigating such risks, as ap2 propriate and consistent with the standards, guide3 lines, requirements, and practices identified by the 

4 Council under section 7903(a); 

5 ‘‘(3) prioritizing Federal research security risk 

6 assessments conducted under paragraph (1) based 

7 on the applicability and relevance of the research 

8 and development to the national security and eco9 nomic competitiveness of the United States; and 

10 ‘‘(4) ensuring that all agency initiatives impact11 ing federally funded research grant making policy 

12 and management to protect the national and eco13 nomic security interests of the United States are in14 tegrated with the activities of the Council. 

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

16 an Executive agency for assessing Federal research secu17 rity risk described in subsection (a) includes— 

18 ‘‘(1) developing an overall Federal research se19 curity risk management strategy and implementation 

20 plan and policies and processes to guide and govern 

21 Federal research security risk management activities 

22 by the Executive agency; 

23 ‘‘(2) integrating Federal research security risk 

24 management practices throughout the lifecycle of the 

25 grant programs of the Executive agency; 


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1 ‘‘(3) sharing relevant information with other 

2 Executive agencies, as determined appropriate by 

3 the Council in a manner consistent with section 

4 7903; and 

5 ‘‘(4) reporting on the effectiveness of the Fed6 eral research security risk management strategy of 

7 the Executive agency consistent with guidance issued 

8 by the Office of Management and Budget and the 

9 Council.’’. 

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

11 at the beginning of title 31, United States Code, is amend12 ed by inserting after the item relating to chapter 77 the 

13 following new item: 

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

14 SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION FRAUD. 

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

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘§ 1041. Federal grant application fraud 

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

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

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

22 section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

24 grant’— 


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

2 agency; 

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

4 non-Federal entity to carry out a Federal grant 

5 program; and 

6 ‘‘(C) does not include— 

7 ‘‘(i) direct United States Government 

8 cash assistance to an individual; 

9 ‘‘(ii) a subsidy; 

10 ‘‘(iii) a loan; 

11 ‘‘(iv) a loan guarantee; or 

12 ‘‘(v) insurance. 

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

14 term ‘Federal grant application’ means an applica15 tion for a Federal grant. 

16 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN COMPENSATION.—The term ‘for17 eign compensation’ means a title, monetary com18 pensation, access to a laboratory or other resource, 

19 or other benefit received from— 

20 ‘‘(A) a foreign government; 

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

22 ‘‘(C) a foreign public enterprise. 

23 ‘‘(5) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘for24 eign government’ includes a person acting or pur25 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 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS 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 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS 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 

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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,’’. 

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

13 ‘‘Safeguarding American Innovation Act’’. 

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

15 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Federal Research Security Council. 

Sec. 4. Federal grant application fraud. 

Sec. 5. Restricting the acquisition 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. 

16 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Fed19 eral science agency’’ means any Federal department 

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1 search and development funds were appropriated for 

2 fiscal year 2020. 

3 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘research and 

5 development’’ means all research activities, both 

6 basic and applied, and all development activi7 ties. 

8 (B) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘‘develop9 ment’’ means experimental development. 

10 (C) EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 

11 term ‘‘experimental development’’ means creative 

12 and systematic work, drawing upon knowledge 

13 gained from research and practical experience, 

14 which— 

15 (i) is directed toward the production of 

16 new products or processes or improving ex17 isting products or processes; and 

18 (ii) like research, will result in gaining 

19 additional knowledge. 

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

21 (i) means a systematic study directed 

22 toward fuller scientific knowledge or under23 standing of the subject studied; and 


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1 (ii) includes activities involving the 

2 training of individuals in research tech3 niques if such activities— 

4 (I) utilize the same facilities as 

5 other research and development activi6 ties; and 

7 (II) are not included in the in8 struction function. 

9 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RESEARCH SECURITY COUNCIL. 

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

11 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘CHAPTER 79—FEDERAL RESEARCH 

13 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. 

14 ‘‘§ 7901. Definitions 

15 ‘‘In this chapter: 

16 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional commit18 tees’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

20 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

22 and Transportation of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

2 the Senate; 

3 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

4 the Senate; 

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

6 the Senate; 

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

8 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

9 ‘‘(G) the Committee on Oversight and Re10 form of the House of Representatives; 

11 ‘‘(H) the Committee on Homeland Security 

12 of the House of Representatives; 

13 ‘‘(I) the Committee on Energy and Com14 merce of the House of Representatives; 

15 ‘‘(J) the Permanent Select Committee on 

16 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

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

18 the House of Representatives; 

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

20 the House of Representatives; and 

21 ‘‘(M) the Committee on Education and 

22 Labor of the House of Representatives. 

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

24 Federal Research Security Council established under 

25 section 7902(a). 


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1 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘Executive 

2 agency’ has the meaning given that term in section 

3 105 of title 5. 

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

5 term ‘Federal research security risk’ means the risk 

6 posed by malign state actors and other persons to the 

7 security and integrity of research and development 

8 conducted using grants awarded by Executive agen9 cies. 

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

11 person with authorized access to any United States 

12 Government resource, including personnel, facilities, 

13 information, research, equipment, networks, or sys14 tems. 

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

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

17 or her authorized access (wittingly or unwittingly) to 

18 harm the national and economic security of the 

19 United States or negatively affect the integrity of a 

20 Federal agency’s normal processes, including dam21 aging the United States through espionage, sabotage, 

22 unauthorized disclosure of national security informa23 tion or non-public information, or through the loss or 

24 degradation of departmental resources, capabilities, 

25 and functions. 


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1 ‘‘(7) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘research and 

3 development’ means all research activities, both 

4 basic and applied, and all development activi5 ties. 

6 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘develop7 ment’ means experimental development. 

8 ‘‘(C) EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 

9 term ‘experimental development’ means creative 

10 and systematic work, drawing upon knowledge 

11 gained from research and practical experience, 

12 which— 

13 ‘‘(i) is directed toward the production 

14 of new products or processes or improving 

15 existing products or processes; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) like research, will result in gain17 ing additional knowledge. 

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

19 ‘‘(i) means a systematic study directed 

20 toward fuller scientific knowledge or under21 standing of the subject studied; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) includes activities involving the 

23 training of individuals in research tech24 niques if such activities— 


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1 ‘‘(I) utilize the same facilities as 

2 other research and development activi3 ties; and 

4 ‘‘(II) are not included in the in5 struction function. 

6 ‘‘(8) UNITED STATES RESEARCH COMMUNITY.— 

7 The term ‘United States research community’ 

8 means— 

9 ‘‘(A) research and development centers of 

10 Executive agencies; 

11 ‘‘(B) private research and development cen12 ters in the United States, including for-profit 

13 and nonprofit research institutes; 

14 ‘‘(C) research and development centers at 

15 institutions of higher education (as defined in 

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

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 

18 ‘‘(D) research and development centers of 

19 States, United States territories, Indian tribes, 

20 and municipalities; 

21 ‘‘(E) government-owned, contractor-operated 

22 United States Government research and develop23 ment centers; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) any person conducting federally fund2 ed research or receiving Federal research grant 

3 funding. 

4 ‘‘§ 7902. Federal Research Security Council establish5 ment and membership 

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

7 Office of Management and Budget, a Federal Research Se8 curity Council, which shall develop federally funded re9 search and development grant making policy and manage10 ment guidance to protect the national and economic secu11 rity interests of the United States. 

12 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following agencies shall 

14 be represented on the Council: 

15 ‘‘(A) The Office of Management and Budget. 

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

17 Policy. 

18 ‘‘(C) The Department of Defense. 

19 ‘‘(D) The Department of Homeland Secu20 rity. 

21 ‘‘(E) The Office of the Director of National 

22 Intelligence, including the National Counterintel23 ligence and Security Center. 

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

25 the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The Department of Energy. 

2 ‘‘(H) The Department of Commerce, includ3 ing the National Institute of Standards and 

4 Technology. 

5 ‘‘(I) The Department of Health and Human 

6 Services, including the National Institutes of 

7 Health. 

8 ‘‘(J) The Department of State. 

9 ‘‘(K) The Department of Transportation. 

10 ‘‘(L) The National Aeronautics and Space 

11 Administration. 

12 ‘‘(M) The National Science Foundation. 

13 ‘‘(N) The Department of Education. 

14 ‘‘(O) The Small Business Administration. 

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

16 Integrity and Efficiency. 

17 ‘‘(Q) Other Executive agencies, as deter18 mined by the Chairperson of the Council. 

19 ‘‘(2) LEAD REPRESENTATIVES.— 

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

21 days after the date of the enactment of this chap22 ter, the head of each agency represented on the 

23 Council shall designate a representative of that 

24 agency as the lead representative of the agency 

25 on the Council. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FUNCTIONS.—The lead representative 

2 of an agency designated under subparagraph (A) 

3 shall ensure that appropriate personnel, includ4 ing leadership and subject matter experts of the 

5 agency, are aware of the business of the Council. 

6 ‘‘(c) CHAIRPERSON.— 

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

8 after the date of the enactment of this chapter, the Di9 rector of the Office of Management and Budget shall 

10 designate a senior-level official from the Office of 

11 Management and Budget to serve as the Chairperson 

12 of the Council. 

13 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Chairperson shall per14 form functions that include— 

15 ‘‘(A) subject to subsection (d), developing a 

16 schedule for meetings of the Council; 

17 ‘‘(B) designating Executive agencies to be 

18 represented on the Council under subsection 

19 (b)(1)(Q); 

20 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the lead rep21 resentative of each agency represented on the 

22 Council, developing a charter for the Council; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) not later than 7 days after completion 

2 of the charter, submitting the charter to the ap3 propriate congressional committees. 

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

5 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall be 

6 the lead science advisor to the Chairperson for pur7 poses of this chapter. 

8 ‘‘(4) LEAD SECURITY ADVISOR.—The Director of 

9 the National Counterintelligence and Security Center 

10 shall be the lead security advisor to the Chairperson 

11 for purposes of this chapter. 

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

13 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this chapter 

14 and not less frequently than quarterly thereafter. 

15 ‘‘§ 7903. Functions and authorities 

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

17 shall consider the missions and responsibilities of Council 

18 members in determining the lead agencies for Council func19 tions. The Council shall perform the following functions: 

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

21 Executive agencies that award research and develop22 ment grants, a uniform application process for grants 

23 in accordance with subsection (b). 

24 ‘‘(2) Developing and implementing a uniform 

25 and regular reporting process for identifying persons 


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1 participating in federally funded research and devel2 opment or that have access to nonpublic federally 

3 funded information, data, research findings, and re4 search and development grant proposals. 

5 ‘‘(3) Identifying or developing criteria, in ac6 cordance with subsection (c), for sharing and receiv7 ing information with respect to Federal research secu8 rity risks in order to mitigate such risks with— 

9 ‘‘(A) members of the United States research 

10 community; and 

11 ‘‘(B) other persons participating in feder12 ally funded research and development. 

13 ‘‘(4) Identifying an appropriate Executive agen14 cy— 

15 ‘‘(A) to accept and protect information sub16 mitted by Executive agencies and non-Federal 

17 entities based on the processes established under 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

19 ‘‘(B) to facilitate the sharing of information 

20 received under subparagraph (A) to support, as 

21 necessary and appropriate— 

22 ‘‘(i) oversight of federally funded re23 search and development; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) criminal and civil investigations 

2 of misappropriated Federal funds, resources, 

3 and information; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) counterintelligence investiga5 tions. 

6 ‘‘(5) Identifying, as appropriate, Executive agen7 cies to provide— 

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

9 conducting Federal research security risk assess10 ments, activities to mitigate such risks, and over11 sight and investigations with respect to grants 

12 awarded by Executive agencies; and 

13 ‘‘(B) common contract solutions to support 

14 enhanced information collection and sharing and 

15 the verification of the identities of persons par16 ticipating in federally funded research and devel17 opment. 

18 ‘‘(6) Identifying and issuing guidance, in ac19 cordance with subsection (d) and in coordination 

20 with the National Insider Threat Task Force estab21 lished by Executive Order 13587 (50 U.S.C. 3161 

22 note) for developing and implementing insider threat 

23 programs for Executive agencies to deter, detect, and 

24 mitigate insider threats, including the safeguarding of 

25 sensitive information from exploitation, compromise, 


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1 or other unauthorized disclosure, taking into account 

2 risk levels and the distinct needs, missions, and sys3 tems of each such agency. 

4 ‘‘(7) Identifying and issuing guidance for devel5 oping compliance and oversight programs for Execu6 tive agencies to ensure that research and development 

7 grant recipients accurately report conflicts of interest 

8 and conflicts of commitment in accordance with sub9 section (b)(1). Such programs shall include an assess10 ment of— 

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

12 sources and affiliations with foreign funding in13 stitutions or laboratories; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the impact of such support and affili15 ations on United States national security and 

16 economic interests. 

17 ‘‘(8) Assessing and making recommendations 

18 with respect to whether openly sharing certain types 

19 of federally funded research and development is in the 

20 economic and national security interests of the United 

21 States. 

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

23 United States research community, and other recipi24 ents of Federal research and development funding, to 

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1 isting best practices to reduce the risk of misappro2 priation of research data. 

3 ‘‘(10) Identifying and issuing guidance on addi4 tional steps that may be necessary to address Federal 

5 research security risks arising in the course of Execu6 tive agencies providing shared services and common 

7 contract solutions under paragraph (5)(B). 

8 ‘‘(11) Engaging with the United States research 

9 community in performing the functions described in 

10 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and with respect to 

11 issues relating to Federal research security risks. 

12 ‘‘(12) Carrying out such other functions, as de13 termined by the Council, that are necessary to reduce 

14 Federal research security risks. 

15 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIFORM GRANT APPLICA16 TION PROCESS.—In developing the uniform application 

17 process for Federal research and development grants re18 quired under subsection (a)(1), the Council shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) ensure that the process— 

20 ‘‘(A) requires principal investigators, co21 principal investigators, and senior personnel as22 sociated with the proposed Federal research or 

23 development grant project— 

24 ‘‘(i) to disclose biographical informa25 tion, all affiliations, including any foreign 


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1 military, foreign government-related organi2 zations, and foreign-funded institutions, 

3 and all current and pending support, in4 cluding from foreign institutions, foreign 

5 governments, or foreign laboratories, and all 

6 support received from foreign sources; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) to certify the accuracy of the re8 quired disclosures under penalty of perjury; 

9 and 

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

11 form to assist in identifying fraud and ensuring 

12 the eligibility of applicants; 

13 ‘‘(2) design the process— 

14 ‘‘(A) to reduce the administrative burden on 

15 persons applying for Federal research and devel16 opment funding; and 

17 ‘‘(B) to promote information sharing across 

18 the United States research community, while 

19 safeguarding sensitive information; and 

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

21 after the date of the enactment of the Safeguarding 

22 American Innovation Act. 

23 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION SHARING CRI24 TERIA.—In identifying or developing criteria and proce25 dures for sharing information with respect to Federal reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 search security risks under subsection (a)(3), the Council 

2 shall ensure that such criteria address, at a minimum— 

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

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

5 mandated or voluntary; 

6 ‘‘(3) the circumstances under which it is appro7 priate for an Executive agency to rely on information 

8 made available through such sharing in exercising the 

9 responsibilities and authorities of the agency under 

10 applicable laws relating to the award of grants; 

11 ‘‘(4) the procedures for protecting intellectual 

12 capital that may be present in such information; and 

13 ‘‘(5) appropriate privacy protections for persons 

14 involved in Federal research and development. 

15 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR INSIDER THREAT PROGRAM

16 GUIDANCE.—In identifying or developing guidance with re17 spect to insider threat programs under subsection (a)(6), 

18 the Council shall ensure that such guidance provides for, 

19 at a minimum— 

20 ‘‘(1) such programs— 

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

22 threats; and 

23 ‘‘(B) to leverage counterintelligence, secu24 rity, information assurance, and other relevant 


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1 functions and resources to identify and counter 

2 insider threats; and 

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

4 to monitor and audit information for the detection 

5 and mitigation of insider threats, including 

6 through— 

7 ‘‘(A) monitoring user activity on computer 

8 networks controlled by Executive agencies; 

9 ‘‘(B) providing employees of Executive 

10 agencies with awareness training with respect to 

11 insider threats and the responsibilities of em12 ployees to report such threats; 

13 ‘‘(C) gathering information for a centralized 

14 analysis, reporting, and response capability; and 

15 ‘‘(D) information sharing to aid in tracking 

16 the risk individuals may pose while moving 

17 across programs and affiliations; 

18 ‘‘(3) the development and implementation of 

19 policies and procedures under which the insider 

20 threat program of an Executive agency accesses, 

21 shares, and integrates information and data derived 

22 from offices within the agency; 

23 ‘‘(4) the designation of senior officials with au24 thority to provide management, accountability, and 

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1 tive agency and to make resource recommendations to 

2 the appropriate officials; and 

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

4 reflect the distinct needs, missions, and systems of 

5 each Executive agency. 

6 ‘‘(e) ISSUANCE OF WARNINGS RELATING TO RISKS AND

7 VULNERABILITIES IN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CO8 OPERATION.— 

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

10 with the lead security advisor under section 

11 7902(c)(4), shall establish a process for informing 

12 members of the United States research community 

13 and the public, through the issuance of warnings de14 scribed in paragraph (2), of potential risks and 

15 vulnerabilities in international scientific cooperation 

16 that may undermine the integrity and security of the 

17 United States research community or place at risk 

18 any federally funded research and development. 

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

20 paragraph shall include, to the extent the Council 

21 considers appropriate, a description of— 

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

23 local governments, research institutions, or uni24 versities of a foreign country— 


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

2 research and development by the United 

3 States research community; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) to misappropriate scientific 

5 knowledge resulting from federally funded 

6 research and development; 

7 ‘‘(B) efforts by strategic competitors to ex8 ploit the research enterprise of a foreign country 

9 that may place at risk— 

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

11 foreign country; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) federally funded research and de13 velopment; and 

14 ‘‘(C) practices within the research enterprise 

15 of a foreign country that do not adhere to the 

16 United States scientific values of openness, 

17 transparency, reciprocity, integrity, and merit18 based competition. 

19 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM OFFICE AND COMMITTEES.—The inter20 agency working group established under section 1746 of the 

21 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 

22 (Public Law 116–92) shall be a working group under the 

23 Council performing duties authorized under such section 

24 and as directed by the Council. The Council shall use any 

25 findings or work product, existing or forthcoming, by such 


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1 working group. The Council may also establish a program 

2 office and any committees, working groups, or other con3 stituent bodies the Council deems appropriate, in its sole 

4 and unreviewable discretion, to carry out its functions. 

5 ‘‘(g) EXCLUSION ORDERS.—To reduce Federal re6 search security risk, the Interagency Suspension and Debar7 ment Committee shall provide quarterly reports to the 

8 Council that detail— 

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

10 Council Members related to Federal research security 

11 that may result, or have resulted, in agency pre-notice 

12 letters, suspensions, proposed debarments, and 

13 debarments; 

14 ‘‘(2) Federal agencies’ performance and compli15 ance with interagency suspensions and debarments; 

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

17 Debarment Committee to mitigate Federal research 

18 security risk; 

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

20 policy on suspensions and debarments; and 

21 ‘‘(5) other current suspension and debarment re22 lated issues. 

23 ‘‘§ 7904. Strategic plan 

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

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1 velop a strategic plan for addressing Federal research secu2 rity risks and for managing such risks, that includes— 

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

4 section 7903(a), including a threshold and require5 ments for sharing relevant information about such 

6 risks with all Executive agencies and, as appropriate, 

7 with other Federal entities, foreign governments, and 

8 non-Federal entities; 

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

10 addressing such risks; 

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

12 practices and procedures, and an identification of 

13 available resources, for Executive agencies to assess 

14 and mitigate such risks; 

15 ‘‘(4) recommendations for any legislative, regu16 latory, or other policy changes to improve efforts to 

17 address such risks; 

18 ‘‘(5) recommendations for any legislative, regu19 latory, or other policy changes to incentivize the 

20 adoption of best practices for avoiding and mitigating 

21 Federal research security risks by the United States 

22 research community and key United States foreign re23 search partners; 

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

25 new policies or procedures on existing Federal grant 


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1 processes, regulations, and disclosures of conflicts of 

2 interest and conflicts of commitment; 

3 ‘‘(7) a plan for engaging with Executive agen4 cies, the private sector, and other nongovernmental 

5 stakeholders to address such risks and share informa6 tion between Executive agencies, the private sector, 

7 and nongovernmental stakeholders; and 

8 ‘‘(8) a plan for identification, assessment, miti9 gation, and vetting of Federal research security risks. 

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

11 calendar days after completion of the strategic plan re12 quired by subsection (a), the Chairperson of the Council 

13 shall submit the plan to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees. 

15 ‘‘§ 7905. Annual report 

16 ‘‘Not later than December 15 of each year, the Chair17 person of the Council shall submit a report to the appro18 priate congressional committees that describes— 

19 ‘‘(1) the activities of the Council during the pre20 ceding fiscal year; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the progress made toward implementing the 

22 strategic plan required under section 7904 after such 

23 plan has been submitted to Congress. 


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1 ‘‘§ 7906. Requirements for Executive agencies 

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

3 on the Council shall be responsible for— 

4 ‘‘(1) assessing Federal research security risks 

5 posed by persons participating in federally funded re6 search and development; 

7 ‘‘(2) avoiding or mitigating such risks, as appro8 priate and consistent with the standards, guidelines, 

9 requirements, and practices identified by the Council 

10 under section 7903(a); 

11 ‘‘(3) prioritizing Federal research security risk 

12 assessments conducted under paragraph (1) based on 

13 the applicability and relevance of the research and de14 velopment to the national security and economic com15 petitiveness of the United States; and 

16 ‘‘(4) ensuring that all agency initiatives impact17 ing Federally funded research grant making policy 

18 and management to protect the national and eco19 nomic security interests of the United States are inte20 grated with the activities of the Council. 

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

22 Executive agency for assessing Federal research security 

23 risk described in subsection (a) includes— 

24 ‘‘(1) developing an overall Federal research secu25 rity risk management strategy and implementation 

26 plan and policies and processes to guide and govern 


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1 Federal research security risk management activities 

2 by the Executive agency; 

3 ‘‘(2) integrating Federal research security risk 

4 management practices throughout the lifecycle of the 

5 grant programs of the Executive agency; 

6 ‘‘(3) sharing relevant information with other Ex7 ecutive agencies, as determined appropriate by the 

8 Council in a manner consistent with section 7903; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(4) reporting on the effectiveness of the Federal 

11 research security risk management strategy of the Ex12 ecutive agency consistent with guidance issued by the 

13 Office of Management and Budget and the Council.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters at 

15 the beginning of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

16 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 77 the fol17 lowing new item: 

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

18 SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION FRAUD. 

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

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 1041. Federal grant application fraud 

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

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

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

25 section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 


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

2 grant’— 

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

4 agency; 

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

6 non-Federal entity to carry out a Federal grant 

7 program; and 

8 ‘‘(C) does not include— 

9 ‘‘(i) direct United States Government 

10 cash assistance to an individual; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a subsidy; 

12 ‘‘(iii) a loan; 

13 ‘‘(iv) a loan guarantee; or 

14 ‘‘(v) insurance. 

15 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION.—The term 

16 ‘Federal grant application’ means an application for 

17 a Federal grant. 

18 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN COMPENSATION.—The term ‘for19 eign compensation’ means a title, monetary com20 pensation, access to a laboratory or other resource, or 

21 other benefit received from— 

22 ‘‘(A) a foreign government; 

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

24 ‘‘(C) a foreign public enterprise. 


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1 ‘‘(5) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘foreign 

2 government’ includes a person acting or purporting to 

3 act on behalf of— 

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

5 bureau, subnational administrative entity, or 

6 military of a foreign country; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a foreign government or a person pur8 porting to act as a foreign government, regard9 less of whether the United States recognizes the 

10 government. 

11 ‘‘(6) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION.—The 

12 term ‘foreign government institution’ means a foreign 

13 entity owned by, subject to the control of, or subject 

14 to regulation by a foreign government. 

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

16 ‘foreign public enterprise’ means an enterprise over 

17 which a foreign government directly or indirectly ex18 ercises a dominant influence. 

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

20 ‘law enforcement agency’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means a Federal, State, local, or Trib22 al law enforcement agency; and 

23 ‘‘(B) includes— 

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

25 an establishment (as defined in section 12 


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1 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

2 U.S.C. App.)) or a designated Federal enti3 ty (as defined in section 8G(a) of the In4 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

5 App.)); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Office of Inspector General, or 

7 similar office, of a State or unit of local 

8 government. 

9 ‘‘(9) OUTSIDE COMPENSATION.—The term ‘out10 side compensation’ means any compensation, re11 source, or support regardless of monetary value made 

12 available to the applicant in support of or related to 

13 any research endeavor, including, but not limited to, 

14 a title, research grant, cooperative agreement, con15 tract, institutional award, access to a laboratory, or 

16 other resource, including, but not limited to, mate17 rials, travel compensation, or work incentives. 

18 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any indi19 vidual to knowingly— 

20 ‘‘(1) prepare or submit a Federal grant applica21 tion that fails to disclose the receipt of any outside 

22 compensation, including foreign compensation, by the 

23 individual; 


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1 ‘‘(2) forge, counterfeit, or otherwise falsify a doc2 ument for the purpose of obtaining a Federal grant; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(3) prepare, submit, or assist in the prepara5 tion or submission of a Federal grant application or 

6 document in connection with a Federal grant appli7 cation that— 

8 ‘‘(A) contains a false statement; 

9 ‘‘(B) contains a material misrepresentation; 

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

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

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

13 activity— 

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

15 authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence ac16 tivity of— 

17 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency; or 

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

19 ‘‘(2) authorized under chapter 224. 

20 ‘‘(d) PENALTY.—Any individual who violates sub21 section (b)— 

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

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

24 ‘‘(2) shall be prohibited from receiving a Federal 

25 grant during the 5-year period beginning on the date 


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1 on which a sentence is imposed on the individual 

2 under paragraph (1).’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

4 chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

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

6 SEC. 5. RESTRICTING THE ACQUISITION OF GOODS, TECH7 NOLOGIES, AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION TO 

8 CERTAIN ALIENS. 

9 (a) GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 

10 212(a)(3)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

12 ‘‘(i) any activity— 

13 ‘‘(I) to violate any law of the 

14 United States relating to espionage or 

15 sabotage; 

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

17 prohibiting the export from the United 

18 States of goods, technologies, or sen19 sitive information; or 

20 ‘‘(III) to acquire export-controlled 

21 goods, technologies, or sensitive infor22 mation (notwithstanding any exclu23 sions for items not normally subject to 

24 export controls) if the Secretary of 

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1 tion of those goods, technologies, or sen2 sitive information by a category of 

3 aliens that includes such alien would 

4 be contrary to an articulable national 

5 security (including economic security) 

6 interest of the United States;’’. 

7 (b) DETERMINING FACTORS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing criteria for de9 termining whether an alien is included in a category 

10 of aliens that may be inadmissible under section 

11 212(a)(3)(A)(i)(III) of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act, as amended by subsection (a), officials of 

13 the Department of State shall— 

14 (A) seek advice and assistance from officials 

15 at the Office of the Director of National Intel16 ligence, the Office of Science and Technology Pol17 icy, the Department of Health and Human Serv18 ices, the Department of Defense, the Department 

19 of Homeland Security, the Department of En20 ergy, the Department of Commerce, and other 

21 appropriate Federal agencies; 

22 (B) consider factors such as the alien’s past 

23 or likely employment or cooperation with— 


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1 (i) foreign military and security re2 lated organizations that are adversarial to 

3 the United States; 

4 (ii) foreign institutions involved in the 

5 theft of United States research; 

6 (iii) entities involved in export control 

7 violations or the theft of intellectual prop8 erty; and 

9 (iv) a government that seeks to under10 mine the integrity and security of the 

11 United States research community; and 

12 (C) weigh the proportionality of risk for the 

13 factors listed in subparagraph (B). 

14 (2) MACHINE-READABLE DOCUMENTS.—Not later 

15 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act, the Secretary of State shall— 

17 (A) use a machine-readable visa application 

18 form; and 

19 (B) make available documents submitted in 

20 support of a visa application in a machine read21 able format to assist in— 

22 (i) identifying fraud; 

23 (ii) conducting lawful law enforcement 

24 activities; and 


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1 (iii) determining the eligibility of ap2 plicants for a visa under the Immigration 

3 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

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

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu6 ally thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with 

7 the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Of8 fice of Science and Technology Policy, the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary 

10 of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of 

11 other appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit a report 

12 to Congress that identifies— 

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

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

15 apply; and 

16 (2) the number of individuals determined to be 

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

18 including the nationality of each such individual. 

19 (d) CLASSIFICATION OF ANNUAL REPORT.—Each an20 nual report required under subsection (c) shall be sub21 mitted, to the extent practicable, in an unclassified form, 

22 but may be accompanied by a classified appendix detailing 

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

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

25 State determines that such action— 


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1 (1) is in the national security and economic se2 curity interests of the United States; or 

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

4 Act. 

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

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit 

7 a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov8 ernmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Select 

10 Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on 

11 Foreign Relations of the Senate; the Committee on Over12 sight and Reform of the House of Representatives, the Com13 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa14 tives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

15 of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on In16 telligence of the House of Representatives, and the Com17 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

18 that— 

19 (1) describes how supplementary documents pro20 vided by a visa applicant in support of a visa appli21 cation are stored and shared by the Department of 

22 State with authorized Federal agencies; 

23 (2) identifies the sections of a visa application 

24 that are machine-readable and the sections that are 

25 not machine-readable; 


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1 (3) provides cost estimates, including personnel 

2 costs and a cost-benefit analysis for adopting different 

3 technologies, including optical character recognition, 

4 for— 

5 (A) making every element of a visa applica6 tion, and documents submitted in support of a 

7 visa application, machine-readable; and 

8 (B) ensuring that such system— 

9 (i) protects personally-identifiable in10 formation; and 

11 (ii) permits the sharing of visa infor12 mation with Federal agencies in accordance 

13 with existing law; and 

14 (4) includes an estimated timeline for completing 

15 the implementation of subsection (b)(2). 

16 SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EX17 CHANGE PROGRAMS. 

18 Section 102(b)(5) of the Mutual Educational and Cul19 tural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(5)) is 

20 amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting 

21 the following: ‘‘by developing exchange programs for foreign 

22 researchers and scientists, while protecting technologies reg23 ulated by export control laws important to the national se24 curity and economic interests of the United States, includ25 ing requiring sponsors— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to disclose to the Department of State 

2 whether an exchange visitor, as a primary part 

3 of his or her exchange program, will have re4 leased to them controlled technology or technical 

5 data regulated by export control laws at sponsor 

6 organizations through research activities, lec7 tures, course work, sponsor employees, officers, 

8 agents, third parties at which the sponsor places 

9 the exchange visitor, volunteers, or other individ10 uals or entities associated with a sponsor’s ad11 ministration of the exchange visitor program; 

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

13 of State that establishes appropriate program 

14 safeguards to prevent the unauthorized release of 

15 controlled technology or technical data regulated 

16 by export control laws at sponsor organizations 

17 or through their employees, officers, agents, third 

18 parties, volunteers, or other individuals or enti19 ties associated with a sponsor’s administration 

20 of the exchange visitor program; and 

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

22 the Secretary of State, that programs that will 

23 release controlled technology or technical data to 

24 an exchange visitor at the sponsor organization 

25 through exchange visitor programs have received 


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1 appropriate authorization from the Department 

2 of State, the Department of Commerce, other cog3 nizant Federal agency before the sponsor releases 

4 controlled technology or technical data;’’. 

5 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO DISCLOSURES OF FOREIGN 

6 GIFTS. 

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

8 U.S.C. 1011f) is amended— 

9 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE REPORT.— 

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

13 disclosure report with the Secretary not later than 

14 March 31 occurring after— 

15 ‘‘(A) the calendar year in which a foreign 

16 source gains ownership of, or control over, the 

17 institution; or 

18 ‘‘(B) the calendar year in which the institu19 tion receives a gift from, or enters into a con20 tract with, a foreign source, the value of which 

21 is $50,000 or more, considered alone or in com22 bination with all other gifts from or contracts 

23 with that foreign source within a calendar year. 

24 ‘‘(2) REVISIONS; UPDATES.—The Secretary shall 

25 permit institutions to revise and update disclosure reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3997.RS S3997

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1 ports previously filed to ensure accuracy, compliance, 

2 and the ability to cure.’’; 

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

5 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report to the Sec6 retary required by this section shall contain the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) For gifts received from or contracts entered 

8 into with a foreign source other than a foreign gov9 ernment, the aggregate dollar amount of such gifts 

10 and contracts attributable to a particular country 

11 and the legal or formal name of the foreign source. 

12 The country to which a gift is attributable is the 

13 country of citizenship, or if unknown, the principal 

14 residence for a foreign source who is a natural person, 

15 and the country of incorporation, or if unknown, the 

16 principal place of business, for a foreign source which 

17 is a legal entity. 

18 ‘‘(2) For gifts received from or contracts entered 

19 into with a foreign government, the aggregate amount 

20 of such gifts and contracts received from each foreign 

21 government. 

22 ‘‘(3) In the case of an institution which is owned 

23 or controlled by a foreign source, the identity of the 

24 foreign source, the date on which the foreign source 

25 assumed ownership or control, and any changes in 


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1 program or structure resulting from the change in 

2 ownership or control. 

3 ‘‘(4) An assurance that the institution will 

4 maintain true copies of gift and contract agreements 

5 subject to the disclosure requirements under this sec6 tion for at least the duration of the agreement. 

7 ‘‘(5) An assurance that the institution will 

8 produce true copies of gift and contract agreements 

9 subject to the disclosure requirements under this sec10 tion upon request of the Secretary during a compli11 ance audit or other institutional investigation.’’; 

12 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol13 lows: 

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

15 after receiving a disclosure report under this section, the 

16 Secretary shall make such report electronically available to 

17 the public for downloading on a searchable database under 

18 which institutions can be individually identified and com19 pared.’’; 

20 (4) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(3) FINES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may im24 pose a fine on any institution that repeatedly 

25 fails to file a disclosure report for a receipt of a 


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1 gift from or contract with a foreign source in ac2 cordance with subsection (a) in an amount that 

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

4 or contract with the foreign source. 

5 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF REPEATEDLY FAILS.— 

6 In this paragraph, the term ‘repeatedly fails’ 

7 means that the institution failed to file a disclo8 sure report for a receipt of a gift from or con9 tract with a foreign source in 3 consecutive 

10 years.’’; 

11 (5) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.— 

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

15 the date of enactment of the Safeguarding American 

16 Innovation Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations 

17 to carry out this section using the negotiated rule18 making procedure set forth in section 492(b). 

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

20 to paragraph (1) shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) incorporate instructions for— 

22 ‘‘(i) reporting structured gifts and con23 tracts; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) reporting contracts that balances 

25 the need for transparency, while protecting 


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1 the proprietary information of institutes of 

2 higher education; and 

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

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

5 (6) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

6 (i); 

7 (7) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol8 lowing: 

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

10 and related fees and expenses payment to an institution by, 

11 or a scholarship from, a foreign source made on behalf of 

12 a student enrolled at such institution shall not be considered 

13 a gift from or contract with a foreign source under this 

14 section.’’; and 

15 (8) in subsection (i), as redesignated— 

16 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or prop17 erty’’ and inserting ‘‘, property, human re18 sources, or staff, including staff salaries’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (5)(B), by inserting ‘‘in20 stitutes, instructional programs,’’ after ‘‘cen21 ters,’’. 


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Calendar No. 620 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3997 

[Report No. 116–317] 

A BILL 

United States scientific and research enterprise. 

To strengthen the security and integrity of the 

DECEMBER 14, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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