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Prohibits Department of Defense (DoD) funding to colleges and universities that enter into contracts with designated foreign adversaries after January 1, 2027 unless the Secretary of Defense issues a waiver; requires institutions to submit unredacted contracts, designate a compliance officer, and face public disclosure of waivers. It also imposes a 10-year post‑employment restriction on principal investigators (PIs) of certain DoD‑funded research in Secretary‑designated “critical or emerging” technologies, barring paid work for specified foreign entities of concern unless the Secretary grants a waiver. The bill creates procedural rules for waiver requests and renewals, public posting and reporting of waivers, translation and certification requirements, timelines for terminating contracts if a partner becomes designated, and timelines for technology designations and waiver notifications to congressional defense committees.
The bill strengthens protection of DoD-funded research and increases transparency and oversight to reduce technology transfer risks, but it also threatens funding, researcher careers, institutional capacity, and international collaboration through long post‑employment restrictions, tight timelines, disclosure rules, and added compliance costs.
Taxpayers and the public: DoD-funded research and technologies will be better protected from transfer to hostile foreign actors through required vetting of foreign contracts and a 10‑year restriction on certain researchers' foreign employment, reducing national security risk.
Taxpayers, universities, and Congress: The bill increases transparency and oversight by requiring public disclosure of waivers/contract texts (with translations) and by making the DoD's list of critical technologies public and subject to committee notice for waivers.
Universities, students, and researchers: The bill preserves limited, case-by-case waivers so collaborations that demonstrably benefit students or U.S. economic/security interests can continue under controlled exceptions.
Universities, researchers, and students: Covered institutions that cannot obtain waivers — or whose foreign partners are later designated — risk losing DoD funding or facing abrupt project terminations, threatening research programs, jobs, and student opportunities.
Researchers and universities: Principal investigators face up to a 10‑year restriction on employment with certain foreign-affiliated employers, which can limit career opportunities and make it harder for universities to recruit or retain top talent for DoD-funded work.
Universities and taxpayers: New requirements to submit full unredacted contracts (with independent translations), designate compliance officers, and for DoD to track/enforce covered projects will increase administrative burdens and program overhead.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by James E. Banks · Last progress February 5, 2025