Ft Wayne Times

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Jim Banks, has successfully passed amendments to the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at protecting Department of Defense (DoD) research from espionage by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and countering malign influences.

“America’s foremost adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, has long pursued a malign agenda to weaken America from within,” said Chairman Banks. “We can no longer sit back and allow the CCP to subvert our institutions, influence American students, and steal the crown jewels of American innovation. We certainly cannot afford to unwittingly aid them via our own Department of Defense and your tax dollars. The CCP is counting on Congress to follow Joe Biden’s lead and be passive in protecting American interests. My amendments to the 2025 NDAA will ensure Congress leads the way to secure America against the China threat.”

The amendments introduced by Rep. Banks include:

- **Prohibition on DoD Funding for Universities with Agreements with China & Russia**: This amendment prohibits universities from receiving DoD funding if they have agreements with entities of concern in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. Universities must apply for a waiver to continue such programs, requiring all details of these programs to be publicized.

- **Post-Employment Prohibition for Investigators on DoD-Funded Research**: This measure prohibits participants in DoD-funded research on emerging and critical technologies from being employed by an entity of concern in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea for at least ten years.

- **Prohibition on DoD Funding of Fundamental Research with China**: This amendment bans DoD funding from going to researchers who conduct fundamental research in collaboration with CCP and Chinese military-tied organizations and schools.

Previously included provisions in the FY24 NDAA from Rep. Banks also targeted CCP activities. These included an amendment requiring project leads on DoD-funded research to disclose backgrounds of foreign researchers as a condition for receiving funding and an amendment banning DoD waivers for funding institutions hosting Confucius Institutes.