Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China and Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) participated in a public event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) on Capitol Hill to discuss how Congress, federal agencies, and universities have a responsibility to protect research security and promote transparency in U.S.-China research partnerships, talent programs, and funding disclosures. The event was moderated by Craig Singleton, China Program Director and Senior Fellow at FDD.

Today, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act that included a key provision of Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar’s bipartisan GUARD Act. The NDAA includes the GUARD Act’s requirement for the Pentagon to begin the process of determining whether Chinese robots should be banned nationwide.

“The legislation passed by the House today will defend our country against the Chinese Communist Party, which is the biggest threat we face. Including part of my bipartisan GUARD Act sends a clear sign that Congress is addressing the privacy and national security risks posted by Chinese robots,” said Moolenaar. “We cannot allow these robots to become predominate in our country and we need to support American innovation in robotics.”

Today, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar delivered his opening statement at the Select Committee’s hearing titled Protecting American Innovation: The Federal Research Security Enterprise.

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Good morning.

The United States leads the world in scientific discovery because we have built a research enterprise rooted in openness, innovation, and excellence. American taxpayers invest billions of dollars each year in fundamental research to advance national security, our economy, and human knowledge.

The discoveries made in our laboratories today have become the technologies that drive commercialization, sustain our industrial base, and protect our nation tomorrow.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a new research security policy that will prohibit NSF funds from being used to conduct research in collaboration with entities on U.S. government restricted party lists. The forthcoming policy also prohibits senior and key personnel on NSF awards from holding appointments or positions at, receiving research support from, or collaborating on NSF-funded research with these restricted entities.