Possible Certification Required for DOD Funding

U.S. officials have had a growing concern with certain nations using foreign talent and expert recruitment programs to access U.S. technology transfer through American universities. Progressive efforts by competing countries to capitalize on U.S. intellectual property through American universities’ research and development arena has become a national concern.

As a result, the House Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill includes an amendment that will affect all academic institutions that receive funding from the Department of Defense (DoD), including the University of Houston.

The proposed amendment requires DoD to implement a certification process that may restrict funding to an applicant seeking DoD funding for any educational or academic training or research if that applicant is unable to certify in writing that he/she has not (either in the past or present) participated in a foreign talent or expert recruitment program from China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.

This amendment also allows DoD to terminate present and future funding to those recipients who are not able to provide the required certification. This bill is not an absolute prohibition; it does provide flexibility by allowing DoD to terminate funding in some cases but does not require it to do so in all cases.

What is a foreign talent or expert recruitment program?

A foreign talent or expert recruitment program is a program developed by a foreign government to recruit top talent and experts back to its country. The goal is for the recruited individuals to utilize their skills and expertise to advance the country’s global technology presence in the world.

These expert or talent recruitment programs include the Thousand Talents Plan, Yangtze River Scholar Program, 111 Project, or other similar talent recruitment programs.

These experts and researchers come from around the world and once recruited, take their talents and information learned and obtained from the American Universities back to these countries.

What is the impact to UH?

UH receives DoD contracts. Therefore, the university must be able to certify that it knows who is or has participated in such talent recruitment programs from one of the four countries listed and can prevent distribution of the defense funding to those participants of the talent recruitment programs.

If an applicant is unable to certify to the above, he/she may face a loss of award/grant funding including termination of existing funding and/or barring the award of future funding to a current recipient.

What is the current status of the bill?

This bill, sponsored by Mike Gallagher (R-Wis), has received widespread bypartisan support since its inception. The concern by some legislators is that the bill is vague, excessively overbroad and lacks procedural clarity.

The bill has already passed in the house and the senate. Currently, legislators are work to modify the bill in a final form and, once approved, it will become law.

Questions?

For general questions or concerns, contact Sandy Ulmer, research contracts officer.

More information about the U.S.’s growing concern on this topic can be found in the FBI SPIN Report.