Chairmen Green, Pfluger Applaud House Passage of Legislation to Counter CCP’s Malign Influence on American Higher Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) released the following statement applauding the House of Representatives' passage of Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger's (R-TX) "DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act":
"I applaud the passage of Chairman Pfluger's bill to protect our campuses from the propaganda and espionage used by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate academia and undermine our sovereignty. Beijing's sinister ambitions cannot be overlooked, excused, or ignored--especially at our institutions of higher education and research. I urge the Senate to take up and pass this crucial bill to protect American innovation and rightly restrict federal funding to colleges or universities that maintain any links with CCP."
Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger said:
"The Chinese Community Party is utilizing Confucius Institutes to infiltrate American university campuses and engage in espionage, steal intellectual property, intimidate Chinese dissidents, promote communist propaganda, and funnel sensitive information back to the People's Liberation Army. This bill protects students and universities while ensuring that American dollars are not enabling foreign malign influence."
Background:
H.R. 1516, the "DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act," restricts DHS funding to an institution of higher education (IHE) that has a relationship with a Chinese entity of concern or Confucius Institute. A Confucius Institute is a cultural institute directly or indirectly funded by the Chinese government. The CCP uses Confucius Institutes and similar programs to spread their program, steal intellectual property and research from universities, recruit spies and conduct surveillance within the homeland, and harass and target dissidents of the CCP.
In a May 2023 hearing on the CCP's threats to the homeland, Jill Murphy, the deputy assistant director of counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), confirmed for Chairman Pfluger that these institutes were likely being used to steal American research, and achieve other strategic goals of the CCP.

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