Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) expressed concerns to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) over its waiver plan that allows U.S. colleges to receive DOD grants while hosting Beijing-funded Confucius Institutes (CIs).
A section of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the congressman stated, bars U.S. institutions of higher education to host Confucius Institute programming after October 2023. Otherwise, colleges would lose eligibility for federal funding from the Defense Department. Banks said the provision of the legislation is the “removal of all CIs from U.S. campuses and to remove the espionage threat which CIs pose to DOD-sponsored research and development (R&D).”
“While the guidance imposes some restrictions on CIs for colleges to qualify for waivers, it also introduces significant loopholes and fails to take seriously the threat posed by CIs to national security,” Banks wrote.
Banks goes on to explain that “the waiver guidance also requires universities with CIs to report the foreign travel of any staff involved in R&D but does not require any foreign travel reporting for Confucius Institute employees. While the guidance restricts some Confucius Institute employees from accessing any federally funded scientific data, it does not restrict CI employees from accessing this research if they are also employees of the host university.”
Much of the new waiver plan was derived from a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, according to Banks. He criticized the move as “bowing to the wishes of academia and the scientific community to continue their deep ties with China, despite the growing threat of CCP propaganda and espionage.”
Banks also provided Austin with a list of questions regarding the DOD’s waiver guidelines, setting a deadline of May 10.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOD for comment.