Republicans introduce legislation to cut taxpayer funding of universities with ties to Russian and Chinese militias

Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced legislation Monday that would cut taxpayer funding of any college or university that maintains a partnership with the Chinese or Russian military.

“I am working to protect U.S. taxpayer dollars from benefitting adversarial militaries in Communist China or Russia,” Stefanik said in a press release. “[T]hese 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.”

[RELATED: Florida Rep. seeks to stop CCP from infiltrating American universities]

H.R. 7855, “Halting Academic Liaisons To (HALT) Our Adversaries Act,“ would require the Department of Defense to uncover all Russian and Chinese institutions of higher education that provide support to China’s People’s Liberation Army or Russian Armed Forces. Federal funding is then denied to U.S. colleges and universities that maintained relationships with said institutions. The Department of Defense keeps a list of these institutions.

Beginning in fiscal year 2024, institutions of higher education that host a Confucius Institute will also be ineligible to receive federal funding. These institutes are funded by the Chinese Communist Party and operate under the guise of Chinese language and culture education centers on American campuses. 

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo previously designated the program of a “foreign mission” of the People’s Republic of China and “part of the Chinese Communist Party’s global influence and propaganda apparatus.”

[RELATED: Lawmakers want DoD to cut ties with Confucius Institutes]

The legislation would also ensure that federal funding is denied to any U.S. institution of higher education that partners with a Chinese military company operating in the U.S. or any institution controlled by Communist China. 

“We have seen far too many examples of intellectual property theft and espionage to allow university partnerships with foreign adversaries,” Banks stated. “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.”

Campus Reform contacted all relevant parties. This article will be updated accordingly.

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