United States Research Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the passage of my legislation, the United States Research Protection Act. H.R. 1318 is a critical piece of legislation that seeks to protect the future of our Nation's scientific and technological advancement. The stakes could not be higher in this era of rapid global innovation and increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics.

I thank Chairman Babin for working with me to bring this important bipartisan legislation to the floor quickly. I also thank my colleague from Michigan, Congresswoman Stevens, for co-leading this bill with me.

I am proud that my very first bill to pass the House will protect crucial research done here in the United States from adversarial foreign actors seeking to exploit our research, talent, and resources for their own gain.

Everyone in this Chamber knows the growing threat from the Chinese Communist Party. This adversary has made no secret of its intentions to surpass the United States in key technological areas, from artificial intelligence to quantum computing to biotechnology.

In 2022, Congress passed the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act as part of the CHIPS and Science Act. That bill prohibited researchers who receive Federal funds from participating in malign foreign talent recruitment programs in which foreign countries incentivize or compensate researchers for activities that present a conflict of interest for the researcher or that are otherwise unauthorized.

The Science, Space, and Technology Committee has been conducting vigorous oversight of the implementation of the CHIPS Act and has found that complicated and confusing language in the bill was impeding the ability of American researchers and their institutions to protect taxpayer-funded research.

This ambiguity could also allow for loopholes, allowing malign foreign talent recruitment programs in our universities and other research labs to recruit researchers or access sensitive data, effectively funding breakthrough research for the Chinese Communist Party with American taxpayers' dollars.

China's government has embarked on an aggressive strategy to acquire critical American research and intellectual property. We have seen a troubling pattern of intellectual property theft, economic espionage, and illicit influence over academic institutions. These efforts are not just limited to the economic realm. They are a matter of national security.

The United States Research Protection Act updates and clarifies the definition of malign foreign talent recruitment programs to protect our national investments.

If we do not act now, we risk losing the technological edge that has kept our country secure, prosperous, and at the forefront of global innovation.

We have a responsibility to protect American research, safeguard our intellectual property, and ensure that the innovations of today will remain in the hands of those who work to benefit our Nation, not those who seek to undermine it.

By passing this bipartisan bill, H.R. 1318, we are making a strong commitment to future generations of Americans. We are telling them we will not stand idly by as American innovations are put at risk. We are telling the world that the United States will continue to lead in the global technological race, and we will do so on our terms.

I thank Chairman Babin for his leadership on this issue. He is a thoughtful and dedicated patriot who is making certain that our grandchildren are better off as a result of our efforts today.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support this bill.

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