I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3619 

To provide increased transparency and accountability regarding potential foreign influence in research and development programs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2021 

Mr. NORMAN (for himself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. 

DESJARLAIS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Mr. 

DUNCAN, and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide increased transparency and accountability regarding potential foreign influence in research and development programs, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Safeguarding United States Research Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS 

Sec. 101. Reporting exchange visitor change in field of study. 

Sec. 102. Reporting certain research program participation. 

Sec. 103. Review and revocation of certain nonimmigrant visas. 

Sec. 104. Annual report. 

TITLE II—FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARDS 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Disclosure of funding sources in applications for Federal research 

and development awards. 

1 TITLE I—IMMIGRATION 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 101. REPORTING EXCHANGE VISITOR CHANGE IN 

4 FIELD OF STUDY. 

5 With respect to a principal nonimmigrant exchange 

6 visitor admitted into the United States in the J–1 classi7 fication under section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immigration 

8 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J)) in order 

9 to study, the Secretary of State shall take such action as 

10 may be necessary to ensure that the applicable program 

11 sponsor is required to use the Student and Exchange Vis12 itor Information System to report any change to the non13 immigrant’s primary field of study. In carrying out this 

14 section, the Secretary of State shall take into account the 

15 record keeping and reporting requirements of the Sec16 retary of Homeland Security with regard to non17 immigrants admitted into the United States in the F–1 

18 and M–1 classifications under subparagraphs (F) and (M) 

19 of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)). 


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1 SEC. 102. REPORTING CERTAIN RESEARCH PROGRAM PAR2 TICIPATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a principal non4 immigrant admitted into the United States in the J–1 

5 classification under section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immigra6 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J)), in the 

7 F–1 classification under section 101(a)(15)(F) of such 

8 Act, or in the M–1 classification under section 

9 101(a)(15)(M) of such Act, the Secretary of State and the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such action as 

11 may be necessary to ensure that the applicable program 

12 sponsor or academic or nonacademic institution is re13 quired to use the Student and Exchange Visitor Informa14 tion System to report when the nonimmigrant is partici15 pating in a research program funded in whole or in part 

16 through a grant, contract, or other similar form of support 

17 provided by the Federal Government, as well as program 

18 identification information. 

19 (b) NOTIFICATIONS.— 

20 (1) SECRETARY.—In the case of a non21 immigrant described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

22 of Homeland Security shall notify the appropriate 

23 program manager at an Executive agency (as de24 fined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) 

25 if and when the Secretary obtains information that 

26 the nonimmigrant is participating in a research proVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619

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1 gram funded in whole or in part through a grant, 

2 contract, or other similar form of support provided 

3 by such agency prior to the commencement of that 

4 nonimmigrant’s participation and not later than 21 

5 days after authorizing such participation. 

6 (2) SPONSOR OR INSTITUTION.—In the case of 

7 a nonimmigrant described in subsection (a), the ap8 plicable program sponsor or academic or nonaca9 demic institution shall notify the appropriate pro10 gram manager at an Executive agency (as defined in 

11 section 105 of title 5, United States Code) if and 

12 when the sponsor or institution obtains information 

13 that the nonimmigrant is participating in a research 

14 program funded in whole or in part through a grant, 

15 contract, or other similar form of support provided 

16 by such agency prior to the commencement of that 

17 nonimmigrant’s participation and not later than 21 

18 days after authorizing such participation. 

19 SEC. 103. REVIEW AND REVOCATION OF CERTAIN NON20 IMMIGRANT VISAS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity shall have the authority to review and revoke a non23 immigrant visa granted under subparagraph (F), (J), or 

24 (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and NationVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619

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1 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) if, in consultation with 

2 the Attorney General, the Secretary finds that— 

3 (1) the visa holder has misrepresented his or 

4 her intention to pursue a certain program or field of 

5 study; 

6 (2) following a change to the nonimmigrant’s 

7 primary field of study as described under section 

8 101, that the new primary field of study would have 

9 triggered a higher level of scrutiny during the visa 

10 application process, and that the visa holder poses a 

11 risk to the homeland security of the United States, 

12 the national security of the United States, or re13 search integrity at their applicable program sponsor 

14 or institution; or 

15 (3) the visa holder’s enrollment in a research 

16 program funded in whole or in part through a grant, 

17 contract, or other similar form of support provided 

18 by the Federal Government poses a risk to the 

19 homeland security of the United States, the national 

20 security of the United States, or research integrity 

21 at their applicable program sponsor or institution. 

22 (b) NOTICE.—Thirty days before the commencement 

23 of a review under subsection (a), the Secretary of Home24 land Security shall provide the applicable program sponsor 

25 or institution with a notice containing the specific basis 


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1 of the forthcoming review. During this 30-day period, the 

2 program sponsor or institution may take corrective action 

3 to alleviate any concerns raised by the Secretary. At the 

4 conclusion of the 30-day period, the Secretary shall deter5 mine whether the program sponsor or institution has satis6 factorily addressed the concerns or a review remains nec7 essary. 

8 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be no adminis10 trative or judicial review of a determination to re11 voke a visa under this section except in accordance 

12 with this subsection. 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

14 (A) SINGLE LEVEL OF ADMINISTRATIVE

15 APPELLATE REVIEW.—The Secretary of Home16 land Security shall establish an appellate au17 thority to provide for a single level of adminis18 trative appellate review of such a determination. 

19 (B) STANDARD FOR REVIEW.—Such ad20 ministrative appellate review shall be based 

21 solely upon the administrative record estab22 lished at the time of the determination and 

23 upon such additional or newly discovered evi24 dence as may not have been available at the 

25 time of the determination. 


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1 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

2 (A) LIMITATION TO REVIEW OF RE3 MOVAL.—There shall be judicial review of a de4 termination to revoke a visa under this section 

5 only in the judicial review of an order of re6 moval under section 242 of the Immigration 

7 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252). 

8 (B) STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

9 Such judicial review shall be based solely upon 

10 the administrative record established at the 

11 time of the review by the appellate authority 

12 and the findings of fact and determinations 

13 contained in such record shall be conclusive un14 less the applicant can establish abuse of discre15 tion or that the findings are directly contrary to 

16 clear and convincing facts contained in the 

17 record considered as a whole. 

18 SEC. 104. ANNUAL REPORT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity shall require the Academic Institutions Subcommittee 

21 of the Homeland Security Advisory Council of the Depart22 ment of Homeland Security to provide an annual report 

23 to the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

24 Homeland Security, and the Committee on Foreign Af25 fairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 


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1 on the Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on Foreign 

3 Relations of the Senate, on— 

4 (1) the implementation and execution of any 

5 visa reviews and revocations undertaken under sec6 tion 103; 

7 (2) the number of alien students enrolled at 

8 academic or nonacademic institutions in the United 

9 States, disaggregated by— 

10 (A) program of study; 

11 (B) previous and current nationality; and 

12 (C) participation in a research program 

13 (which may or may not be classified) funded in 

14 whole or in part through a grant, contract, or 

15 other similar form of support provided by the 

16 Federal Government, differentiated by agency, 

17 sub-agency, and program; and 

18 (3) the number of alien students who have 

19 changed their field of study, including their original 

20 and subsequent field of study, disaggregated by the 

21 information described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 

22 and (C) of paragraph (2). 

23 (b) APPENDIX.—Each report under subsection (a) 

24 shall include an appendix containing any feedback pro25 vided on a voluntary basis by any program sponsor or inVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3619.IH H3619

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1 stitution affected by a visa review or revocation under2 taken under section 103. 

3 TITLE II—FEDERAL RESEARCH 

4 AND DEVELOPMENT AWARDS 

5 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) United States colleges and universities are 

8 required publicly to report foreign gifts and con9 tracts to the Department of Education. Codified at 

10 section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1011f), this mandate requires nearly all 

12 colleges and universities to report, twice each year, 

13 foreign gifts and contracts the value of which is 

14 $250,000 or more (considered alone or in combina15 tion with other gifts or contracts with a foreign 

16 source) and to disclose any foreign ownership or 

17 control to the Secretary of Education. 

18 (2) Congress applauds the Department of Edu19 cation for taking concrete steps to enforce section 

20 117, including the opening of 12 compliance inves21 tigations yielding important and actionable informa22 tion and catalyzed disclosure of $6,500,000,000 in 

23 previously unreported foreign money. 


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1 (3) On average, fewer than 300 of the approxi2 mately 6,000 United States colleges and universities 

3 report receiving foreign money each year. 

4 (4) It is in the interest of scientific and aca5 demic integrity that foreign funding is disclosed by 

6 the recipient. 

7 (5) Institutions have an obligation to comply 

8 with all applicable laws and regulations requiring 

9 disclosure of foreign funding. 

10 SEC. 102. DISCLOSURE OF FUNDING SOURCES IN APPLICA11 TIONS FOR FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVEL12 OPMENT AWARDS. 

13 Section 223 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry Na14 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 

15 (Public Law 116–283) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting be18 fore the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including a 

19 description of any in-kind contributions and a 

20 reasonable estimate of the value of such con21 tributions in dollars or man-hours, as applica22 ble’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub24 paragraph (B); and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) in the case of a covered individual 

4 who is employed by an institution subject to 

5 section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C 1011f), certify that the indi7 vidual has provided the institution with the in8 formation necessary to comply with such section 

9 and include, together with such certification, a 

10 statement acknowledging receipt of such infor11 mation signed by the head of the office respon12 sible for the institution’s compliance with such 

13 section; and’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (d)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘in-kind 

15 contributions requiring a commitment of time and 

16 directly supporting the individual’s research and de17 velopment efforts, such as the provision of office or 

18 laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, or 

19 students’’ and inserting ‘‘all in-kind contributions, 

20 regardless of whether such contributions are in21 tended for use on the project for which the research 

22 and development award is sought’’. 

Æ 


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