CAMPUS Act
Latest action (5 Sep 2023): Introduced
What this bill does
The CAMPUS Act (S. 2726) would direct the Director of National Intelligence, working with the Secretary of Defense, to identify Chinese universities that support the People's Liberation Army or China's military-civil fusion strategy, and to report a list of these institutions to Congress annually. Once identified, entities that contract with these Chinese institutions could not receive Department of Defense research and development funds or be certified to store classified information, and their students or employees could be denied certain U.S. visas. The bill also bars K-12 schools from receiving federal education funds if they contract with entities based in China, and it lowers the reporting threshold for foreign gifts to U.S. colleges from $250,000 to $50,000.
The bill primarily affects U.S. universities, K-12 schools, defense contractors, and other entities with ties to Chinese institutions linked to the Chinese military, as well as students or staff at those Chinese institutions seeking U.S. visas. It separately expresses support for expanding Mandarin-language and Chinese cultural programming through partnerships with Taiwan and authorizes Department of Education grants for that purpose.
The bill was introduced by Senator James Lankford on September 5, 2023, and referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. It has not received a vote and, as a bill from the previous session, did not become law; it would need to be reintroduced and pass both chambers to take effect.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
Countering Adversarial and Malicious Partnerships at Universities and Schools Act of 2023 or CAMPUS Act
This bill limits certain interactions with Chinese entities. Specifically, the bill
• requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to identify institutions of higher education in China providing support to the People's Liberation Army;
• prohibits the Department of Defense from providing research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) funds to entities that maintain contracts with such identified Chinese institutions of higher education;
• prohibits the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency from granting eligibility to host or store classified information to those entities with an active research partnership with such identified Chinese institutions of higher education;
• authorizes the Department of State to deny entry visas to students and employees of such identified Chinese institutions of higher education;
• prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from providing funds for K-12 education to an elementary or secondary school that maintains a contract with entities in China;
• prohibits federal RDT&E funds from being provided to an entity that maintains a contract with such identified Chinese institutions of higher education or a Chinese entity on the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security in the Department of Commerce; and
Common questions
- What does S. 2726 do?
- The CAMPUS Act (S. 2726) would direct the Director of National Intelligence, working with the Secretary of Defense, to identify Chinese universities that support the People's Liberation Army or China's military-civil fusion strategy, and to report a list of these institutions to Congress annually. Once identified, entities that contract with these Chinese institutions could not receive Department of Defense research and development funds or be certified to store classified information, and their students or employees could be denied certain U.S. visas. The bill also bars K-12 schools from receiving federal education funds if they contract with entities based in China, and it lowers the reporting threshold for foreign gifts to U.S. colleges from $250,000 to $50,000. The bill primarily affects U.S. universities, K-12 schools, defense contractors, and other entities with ties to Chinese institutions linked to the Chinese military, as well as students or staff at those Chinese institutions seeking U.S. visas. It separately expresses support for expanding Mandarin-language and Chinese cultural programming through partnerships with Taiwan and authorizes Department of Education grants for that purpose. The bill was introduced by Senator James Lankford on September 5, 2023, and referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. It has not received a vote and, as a bill from the previous session, did not become law; it would need to be reintroduced and pass both chambers to take effect.
- Has S. 2726 become law?
- Not yet. As of 5 Sep 2023, S. 2726 is introduced.
- Who sponsored S. 2726?
- S. 2726 was sponsored by Sen. James Lankford [R-OK] (Republican-OK), with 0 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on S. 2726?
- Introduced (5 Sep 2023).
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