Dhs Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. PFLUGER. Madam Chair, I thank the chair for bringing this bill to the floor, H.R. 1516, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.
Members have to ask ourselves: Why are we here? I will point back to last Congress, in the 117th Congress, where we had H.R. 7779, which was a bill that we actually worked together on in the Committee on Homeland Security, under the chairman, my friend from Mississippi.
It was never actually brought to the floor. I am not sure why it wasn't brought to the floor. That is why we are here today, because we are serious about protecting our country.
In the NDAA, it went to the Rules Committee, and they voted it down. That is why we are here. We are here because we didn't get a chance to actually get serious about our Nation's most serious threat, the Chinese Communist Party, which is using every tool at their disposal to undermine our interests by using malign activity.
For years, they have done this in conjunction with the People's Liberation Army. They have exploited the open and collaborative nature of our society of academia to conduct widespread industrial and military espionage inside the United States.
Starting in 2004, various academic institutions across the country organized Confucius Institutes as a way to promote Chinese language and culture, to support Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges on campus. However, it quickly became apparent that these institutes were nothing more than a Trojan horse acting as an extension of CCP's global influence apparatus.
These institutions and operations have allowed the CCP to develop and have an immense impact on the decisions made by academic institutions and enable individuals to spy for the CCP on activities across the country and promote the CCP's aggressive national strategy, most commonly known as the Military-Civil Fusion, to help the People's Republic of China develop the most technologically advanced military in the world by 2049.
Thankfully, our society has woken up to these dangers, and now we, as Congress, are taking steps to correct that course.
In fiscal year '21, the National Defense Authorization Act prohibited DOD funding from going to institutions of higher education that host Confucius Institutes, and it is time for DHS to do the same. If DOD has done that, why are we treating DHS any different for their funding?
We must make every effort to protect Americans' tax dollars from being used to fund the CCP's nefarious activities.
The legislation we are discussing today, H.R. 1516, ensures that schools prioritize the security of their scientific research and technological development efforts above a paycheck from the CCP or entities affiliated with the PLA.
Specifically, this legislation restricts DHS funding from going to universities who maintain relationships with entities connected to the CCP or support the People's Republic of China Military-Civil Fusion program.
This bill safeguards our American taxpayer dollars. It safeguards our society. More importantly, this is a bill that guarantees that U.S. institutions are free from the CCP's malign influence, protects students and faculty who speak out against the CCP's nefarious activities.
Let's think about the research papers that are written that actually tell the truth about what is going on inside mainland China. This protects those students to be able to have the ability to write those things.
Many of my colleagues today might argue that this bill is not the same bill passed out of committee last Congress. They are correct. It is far stronger than the last bill.
Since the beginning of Congress, we have seen multiple instances of the dangers the CCP poses to the United States. In fact, we have a China select committee to just investigate those differences. The threat landscape has changed. Instead of a strategy of appeasement that has been offered by this administration, let's have a strategy of strength that deters action that would undermine our national security.
I really don't understand the pushback on this for technical reasons. Get with the program and let's get behind the security of this United States.
We need to think about the surveillance balloon that was flown across the continental United States. We worked in good faith last Congress and that bill was never brought to the floor. This Congress, when the people have given us the responsibility for the security of this country, we are going to take action.
There will be individuals who bring up the fact that there are only five known Confucius Institutes left in the United States and that they are no longer a threat. That is simply untrue.
The CCP has worked to rebrand their educational efforts and are operating in full force on college campuses across the United States. There is little to no transparency from universities in what type of assistance they receive from the PRC. Data collected by the Department of Education shows that universities in the United States have collected over $3.8 billion from entities connected to the PRC and the CCP.
Some will argue that this bill is too restrictive. According to GAO, the Secretary of Defense has never issued a waiver. It has never been necessary to issue a waiver. That is why we are taking a strong stance at this time with regards to DHS funding. We cannot allow any of these malign activities or actions to continue to undermine the United States. You are either going to take a step in support of the strength of the United States and pushback on the CCP and rightfully identify that they want to undermine us in every single area: militarily, informationwise, diplomatically, and economically, or you are going to be on the side of somebody else's security.
I know where I stand.
Madam Chair, I thank Chairman Green for bringing this bill up for markup. I especially thank staff member, Chase Sauvage, in particular, who has done an amazing job of not letting this issue go and maintains a strong stance.
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