WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) delivered the following remarks during a House Committee on Rules hearing considering his bill, H.R. 1516, the “DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.” 

Watch Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger’s remarks.

Chairman Burgess, Ranking Member McGovern – thank you for holding this hearing today on Rules Committee Print 118-46 to discuss my bill, H.R. 1516, the “DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.”

For years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), working through the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has executed sophisticated propaganda and espionage campaigns across the globe.  
 
Of particular concern is the CCP’s practice of exploiting the open and collaborative nature of American academia to conduct widespread industrial and military espionage inside the United States.  
 
Confucius Institutes were first established in America in 2004. These initiatives were marketed by the CCP as a mechanism to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.  However, it quickly became apparent that Confucius Institutes were an extension of the CCPs global influence apparatus, allowing it to impact the decisions of academic institutions, spy on activities inside the homeland, and promote Military-Civil Fusion programs.  
 
Military-Civil Fusion is the CCP’s aggressive national strategy to help the PRC develop the most technologically advanced military in the world by the year 2049, often through the theft of American intellectual property and trade secrets. 
 
The United States Government has rightly taken some successful action against this encroachment in the last several years.  The FY2021 NDAA prohibited DOD funding from going to institutions of higher education that host Confucius Institutes.  
 
The time is now for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take similar action.  
 
Under no circumstances should a school in the United States be allowed to receive DHS funding while tacitly accepting the CCP’s, money that comes with the price tag of fealty. 
 
The legislation we are discussing today, H.R. 1516, ensures that schools prioritize the security of their scientific research and technological development efforts above a paycheck from the CCP or entities affiliated with the CCP or PLA.  
 
Specifically, this legislation restricts DHS funding from going to universities who maintain relationships with entities connected to the CCP or support the PRC’s Military-Civil Fusion programs.  
 
This bill ensures taxpayer dollars are appropriately used and encourages universities to end relationships with partners who do not have America’s best interest in mind.  
 
More importantly, this bill ensures U.S. institutions are free of foreign malign influence, protects students and faculty who speak out against the CCP’s nefarious actions, and ensures universities and colleges remain safe from having research and development work stolen by the PRC.  
 
According to President Biden’s National Security Strategy, “The People’s Republic of China harbors the intention and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order in favor of one that tilts the global playing field to its benefit, even as the United States remains committed to managing the competition between our countries responsibly.”  
 
All of us in this room should be clear-eyed and united in combatting the greatest national security threat that our nation faces.  For these reasons, I hope that everyone here supports my legislation. 
 
I thank Chairman Green for bringing this bill up for markup, and all of my colleagues who have cosponsored my bill.  
 
Again, I would also like to thank Chairman Burgess for bringing this bill up for discussion today.

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