The House of Representatives approved a $733
billion defense policy bill on Friday that includes provisions targeted
at stemming perceived academic espionage at U.S. research universities.
The FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA), which passed with no Republican support, defies President
Trump’s veto threat by including a clampdown on funding for his wall on
the Mexican border and $17 billion less in overall funding for the
military. As Reuters
reported, Republican opposition to the bill sets the stage for a stiff
fight over its provisions that could threaten Congress’ record of
passing the NDAA annually for nearly six decades.
Given the heightened concern in Congress over
security and foreign influence at higher education
institutions—specifically around China—lawmakers used the bill as a
vehicle to approve several measures that have been floating around in
recent months.
The bill includes the Securing American Science and Technology Act
(SASTA) of 2019, a measure that addresses academic espionage at higher
education institutions and which ACE and others in the higher education
community have endorsed. It also includes a requirement for the
Secretary of Defense and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence to develop a list of foreign entities that the director
determines pose a threat of research espionage.
Among the other provisions of interest to
higher education is an amendment that would increase funding for Chinese
language instruction in the National Security Education Program and
require that students participating in NSEP study abroad programs be
trained to recognize and report foreign recruitment activity.
On a separate note, an amendment was approved
to require the Department of Defense (DOD) to list each institution
that receives funds from the DOD tuition assistance program on a public
website, and then audit any for-profit colleges that do not clear
federal financial responsibility standards. The amendment was offered by
Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL), a former secretary of health and human
services and president of the University of Miami.
The Senate approved its NDAA bill
last month, and the conference process to negotiate a final measure
should begin soon. Among the key differences between the House and
Senate bills, the Senate’s provides $750 billion for the Pentagon and
does not include provisions designed to limit the president’s power to
shift military funds for use in building the wall or to deploy troops to
work on the border.
The goal is to pass final legislation in early fall.