Protecting Higher Education from Foreign Threats Act

Protecting Higher Education from Foreign Threats Act

This bill prohibits an institution of higher education (IHE) from receiving federal funds for an award year in which the IHE employs an instructor who, while employed at the IHE and providing direct instruction to students, received funds from the Chinese Community Party. An IHE may regain eligibility for federal funds by demonstrating to the Department of Education that it no longer employs such instructor.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 455 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 455

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the awarding of 
     Federal funds to institutions of higher education that employ 
   instructors funded by the Chinese Communist Party, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 15, 2025

  Mr. Steube introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the awarding of 
     Federal funds to institutions of higher education that employ 
   instructors funded by the Chinese Communist Party, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Higher Education from 
Foreign Threats Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT OF INSTRUCTORS FUNDED BY THE CHINESE 
              COMMUNIST PARTY.

    Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 117 the following:

``SEC. 117A. PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT OF INSTRUCTORS FUNDED BY THE 
              CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY.

    ``(a) Restriction on Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, no institution of higher education shall be eligible 
to receive funds or any other form of financial assistance under any 
Federal program for an award year in which the institution employs an 
CCP-funded instructor.
    ``(b) Resumption of Eligibility.--An institution of higher 
education that loses eligibility to receive funds for an award year as 
described in subsection (a) may regain eligibility to receive such 
funds in a subsequent award year by demonstrating, to the satisfaction 
of the Secretary, that the institution no longer employs a CCP-funded 
instructor.
    ``(c) CCP-Funded Instructor Defined.--In this section, the term 
`CCP-funded instructor' means a professor, teacher, or any other 
individual who--
            ``(1) provides instruction directly to the students of an 
        institution of higher education; and
            ``(2) received funds, directly or indirectly, from the 
        Chinese Communist Party while employed by such institution.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by section 2 shall take effect 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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