A new measure aiming to slice federal funding to universities that maintain a relationship with Chinese-facilitated institutes has passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
H.R. 1516, also known as the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act, would block funds from the Department of Homeland Security from going to universities that host a Confucius Institute or other “Chinese entity of concern.”
Effectively, if the act is signed into law, any university that fosters a relationship with institutes operated by the Chinese government would be ineligible to receive DHS funding unless that relationship is terminated.
Confucius Institutes are some of the most blaring examples of Chinese infiltration of the American higher education system. For decades, they have played the role of the Chinese Communist Party’s catalyst to inject communist-sympathetic dogma into American institutions.
The new legislation, sponsored by Texas’ U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-11), seeks to push back against what U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) described as China’s “tentacles of influence.”
Of the 18 co-sponsors of the act, three are from Texas.
“Proud to be a cosponsor of the just-passed DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act,” U.S. Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-8) posted on X. “We must stop U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding institutions with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-23) was another co-sponsor of the act. He also stated that American tax dollars should not be funding institutions that have ties to the CCP.
“That’s why I cosponsored & voted for @RepPfluger’s DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act—glad to see this legislation pass in the House tonight,” he posted on X.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-10) was the third congressman from Texas to co-sponsor the new legislation—which will now proceed to the U.S. Senate.
If passed, the act will make its way to the president’s desk for final approval.