WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa) recently introduced
legislation
along with his colleagues, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)
and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that would require U.S. schools and universities to
disclose their financial ties to the Chinese government including its Confucius
Institutes, which are a part of the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda arm, as
a condition of certification or recertification with the Student and Exchange
Visitor Program. This legislation would make law a proposed Trump
administration transparency rule that was withdrawn by the Biden
administration.
“I’ve
been raising concerns about Confucius Institutes and China’s propaganda efforts
for years. The communist regime poses a serious threat to U.S. research as well
as undue influence on our college campuses. Unfortunately, this new
Administration is not taking the threat seriously,” Grassley said. “This
legislation will shine a light on any funny business that the Chinese
government is trying to play on our campuses under the guise of Confucius
Institutes and any financial ties between our educational institutions and the
communist regime.”
“The
Chinese Communist Party must be exposed in their continued mission to influence
American schools,” Blackburn said. “Despite President Biden's
willingness to bend to Beijing’s demands, our legislation will codify a Trump
administration rule, forcing communist China to reveal their corrupt financial
influence on U.S. education.”
“The
Chinese Communist Party is stealing America’s technological innovation and
waging an aggressive propaganda campaign across the globe, including on
American soil on our college campuses,” Tillis said. “I am proud to work
with my colleagues on this legislation to reinstate transparency after
President Biden inexplicably withdrew the commonsense rule instituted by the
Trump Administration.”
In February, Grassley
expressed
concern about the Biden administration’s announced plans to withdraw a
Trump administration proposed transparency rule requiring schools and
universities to disclose their financial ties to Confucius Institutes. Grassley
outlined a lengthy record of congressional oversight and warnings from federal
officials about China’s use of Confucius Institutes to seed pro-China
sentiments in the United States.
Grassley has frequently warned of the risk
China poses to American education and research institutions. This
includes
pro-China propaganda, challenges
to academic freedom and
security of taxpayer-funded research and
intellectual property. In 2020,
Grassley encouraged all schools with an
active Confucius Institute to seek an FBI briefing on how China
uses the institutes to seed pro-China sentiments within U.S. academia. As a
result of those letters, the FBI held a teleconference with 44 schools.
On the call, the FBI echoed Grassley’s warning and discussed how China is
actively using its connections with U.S. research centers and potential cyber
intrusions to monitor America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and research
efforts to develop treatments.