Republicans introduce bicameral SHEET Act to target foreign influence at colleges

In a challenge to supposed foreign adversarial influences on college campuses, U.S. Reps. Michelle Steele (R-CA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), along with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), introduced a bill last week that would empower removal proceedings against designated agents and increase scrutiny of gifts and contracts.

The new bicameral bill was designated the Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft (SHEET) Act. Its proponents openly called out the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in their approach, stating that organizations funded by the party – like the Confucius Institutes – have pursued espionage and influence through colleges and universities.

“The CCP is actively engaged in efforts to spy on American citizens across every industry, field, and institution, including our college campuses,” Steel said. “We must combat these threats wherever they arise. College campuses should be places that foster academic freedom and sound, unbiased research – values that the CCP seeks to undermine. The CCP is the greatest threat facing the United States today, and the continued presence of their Confucius Institutes on American campuses is very concerning. This legislation will ensure any bad actors seeking to infiltrate academia to influence our youth and spy on sensitive research projects are quickly and decisively expelled.”

In particular, the legislation would empower the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to designate foreign intelligence threats to higher education. It would also allow the Secretary of Homeland Security to engage in removal proceedings against those so deemed. In the process, it would also increase scrutiny of foreign gifts and contracts at institutions of higher education across the United States in a purported bid to increase transparency.

“Communist China’s active attempt to infiltrate our college campuses is a threat to national security,” Stefanik said. “As the Chinese Communist Party is actively spreading propaganda and engaging in intellectual property theft and various forms of espionage on American college campuses, I’m working to combat their malign activities. This legislation will remove hostile actors that are a foreign intelligence threat to higher education to protect the integrity of our academic institutions and safeguard the national security of the United States.”

After implementation, reports would also need to be annually filed with Congress detailing the impacts of foreign actors, the effects of implementation of the legislation, and the effects of designating foreign intelligence threats in higher education, among others.