Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN), senior members of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, introduced the Halting Academic Liaisons To (HALT) our Adversaries Act to ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars do not contribute to the advancement or modernization of the militaries of Communist China or the Russian Federation.
“I am working to protect U.S. taxpayer dollars from benefitting adversarial militaries in Communist China or Russia,” Congresswoman Stefanik stated. “Make no mistake: these are our foreign adversaries, and my legislation will halt taxpayer funds going to colleges and universities who in any way contribute to the military capabilities of Communist China and Russia. The threat posed by Communist China and Russia continues to grow as they enhance their capabilities and engage in malign activities around the world. I will continue to ensure the U.S. taxpayer dollars do not supplement those efforts and that we continue to maintain our military superiority.”
“We have seen far too many examples of intellectual property theft and espionage to allow university partnerships with foreign adversaries. The cutting-edge research being done at schools like Purdue in my home state of Indiana gives our defense industry an unmatched advantage that we cannot risk exposing to China and other bad actors," stated Congressman Banks.
“This critical legislation prevents universities receiving taxpayer funds from doing business with Russia or China. Doing so will help protect critical US investments in research that could make it into the hands of US adversaries," stated Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Action.
First, this legislation would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to identify Chinese and Russian universities providing support to the People’s Liberation Army or Russian Armed Forces and add those entities to a DoD list of malign actors. Then, it would prohibit federal funding to U.S. colleges and universities that maintain relationships with these universities engaged in a host of adversarial activities.
Second, this legislation would prohibit the Intelligence Community from providing funding to any U.S. college or university that maintains a partnership with a Chinese military company operating in the U.S., or with any Chinese university that maintains a partnership with a CCP-aligned company.
Third, this legislation would prohibit U.S. institutions of higher education from receiving federal funding if these colleges or universities maintain partnerships with any entity controlled by Communist China.
Read more about the bill here.
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