Title: COVID–19 Vaccine Protection Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Act
This bill requires enhanced vetting of Chinese nationals in the United States on student or exchange visitor visas and temporarily stops the issuance of such visas to Chinese nationals.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall conduct comprehensive background checks on any Chinese national (unless the individual is enrolled in elementary or secondary school) residing in the United States on an F, M, or J visa to determine if the individual is a national security threat or attempting to illegally obtain COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine research.
When performing such background checks, DHS shall consult with the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
DHS shall complete all such background checks within 120 days of this bill's enactment and may extend the deadline by 60 days if necessary. The State Department may not issue F, M, or J visas to Chinese nationals until DHS has reported to Congress the completed results of the background checks.
DHS shall continuously vet any Chinese national holding an F, M, or J visa who has access to any COVID-19-related research, unless the individual is enrolled in elementary or secondary school.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3837 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3837

To require a thorough national security evaluation and clearance by the 
   Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the 
  Federal Bureau of Investigation of all Chinese student visa holders 
currently in the United States before issuing any new student visas to 
              nationals of the People's Republic of China.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2020

   Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. 
Ernst, Ms. McSally, Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require a thorough national security evaluation and clearance by the 
   Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the 
  Federal Bureau of Investigation of all Chinese student visa holders 
currently in the United States before issuing any new student visas to 
              nationals of the People's Republic of China.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On May 13, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
        (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 
        (CISA) announced that cyber actors and non-traditional 
        collectors affiliated with the People's Republic of China have 
        been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain 
        valuable intellectual property and public health data related 
        to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and 
        personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.
            (2) The potential theft of the data referred to in 
        paragraph (1) jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective, 
        and efficient treatment options.
            (3) The announcement referred to in paragraph (1) urged all 
        organizations conducting COVID-19-related research to maintain 
        dedicated cybersecurity and insider threat practices to prevent 
        surreptitious review or theft of COVID-19-related material.
            (4) According to the Institute of International Education, 
        369,548 Chinese nationals attended colleges, universities, and 
        professional schools during the 2018-19 academic year.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Continuous vetting.--The term ``continuous vetting'' 
        means--
                    (A) regular checks with the institutions or 
                organizations with which a nonimmigrant is affiliated;
                    (B) periodic interviews with colleagues or 
                superiors at such institutions or organizations; and
                    (C) any other examination that the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security considers necessary to make a 
                determination under section 4(d)(2).
            (3) Enhanced vetting.--The term ``enhanced vetting'' means 
        a comprehensive background check process developed by the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, the 
        Attorney General, the FBI Director, the Director of National 
        Intelligence, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 4. COVID-19-RELATED RESEARCH CYBERSECURITY REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the 
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Director of U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, shall complete a review, which shall consist of 
enhanced vetting of nationals of the People's Republic of China 
residing in the United States as nonimmigrants described in 
subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) (except for nonimmigrants 
who are enrolled at an elementary or secondary school) to determine if 
any such nonimmigrants are engaging in any attempt to illegally obtain 
information related to COVID-19 vaccine research or are otherwise a 
national security threat.
    (b) Extension.--If the Secretary of Homeland Security is unable to 
complete the review described in subsection (a) by the deadline set 
forth in such subsection, the Secretary shall--
            (1) complete such review not later than 60 days after the 
        deadlines set forth in subsection (a); and
            (2) before the deadline set forth in subsection (a), notify 
        the appropriate congressional committees of the reasons such 
        review could not be completed by the original deadline.
    (c) Continuous Vetting.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the agencies listed under subsection (a), shall 
conduct continuous vetting of all nonimmigrants residing in the United 
States who are--
            (1) described in subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) of section 
        101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101(a)(15));
            (2) not enrolled at an elementary or secondary school;
            (3) nationals of the People's Republic of China; and
            (4) engaged in, or have access to, research of any 
        potential COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 related material.
    (d) Report.--Upon the completion of the review required under this 
section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report to 
the appropriate congressional committees that--
            (1) contains the results of such review; and
            (2) indicates whether any of the Chinese nationals vetted 
        under subsection (a) pose a threat to the national security or 
        public health of the United States.

SEC. 5. TEMPORARY DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF STUDENT VISAS TO CHINESE 
              NATIONALS.

    During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act and ending on the date on which the Secretary of Homeland Security 
submits the report required under section 4(c), the Department of State 
may not issue, to a national of the People's Republic of China, any 
student visa to a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (F), (J), or 
(M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)).
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