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Rep. Norman Leads Charge to Secure U.S. Colleges and Universities from Foreign Threats

Washington, D.C., September 30, 2020 | Austin Livingston (803-833-0030)
In response to a bi-partisan charge led by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is now taking action to help secure our nation’s colleges and universities from foreign threats.

In February 2020, Rep. Norman and Rep. Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led 51 members of Congress in a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf expressing concern over the closure of the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (“HSAAC”). The following month, Reps. Norman and Krishnamoorthi petitioned the DHS Appropriations Subcommittee to reinstate the Council. And in April, they introduced H.R. 6588, the “Homeland Security Higher Education Advisory Council Act,” which would require that DHS re-establish the HSAAC.
 

While this endeavor is working its way through the appropriations process in the House and Senate, DHS Acting Secretary Wolf announced in August the creation of a new “Academic Institutions Subcommittee,” which will fall under the under the umbrella of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (“HSAC”). This subcommittee will be charged, in part, with:
 
A. Warning U.S. academic institutions about the dangers of foreign adversaries and their endeavors to compromise our intellectual property and national secrets;
 
B. Help secure research to help protect hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded projects that are targets for theft by foreign adversaries; and
 
C. Monitoring foreign students who violate and overstay their visas.

Much of the world’s groundbreaking research and scientific discovery takes place at U.S. colleges and universities. As such, our academic institutions are presumed to be high-value targets for malicious activities by foreign adversaries. At the top of that list is China.
 
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, “We have now reached the point where the FBI is opening a new China-related counterintelligence case about every 10 hours.” Many of these cases are found in academia, where China uses overt tools to steal and compromise research through bribery, blackmail, and hacking. Other efforts appear more benign, like the Confucius Institutes or talent recruitment programs like “Thousand Talents Program” which seeks to siphon American innovation to China — including expensive, taxpayer-funded research.
 
The DHS Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council played an important role in helping to expose hostile foreign intelligence operations within our academic institutions. Unfortunately, the HSAAC has been dormant in recent years, leaving DHS without reliable information on matters within our academic institutions that could affect national security.
 
Congressman Norman applauds President Trump the DHS Acting Secretary Wolf for establishing this new Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) Academic Subcommittee, which will ultimately resume many of the critical efforts of the original Council. The following statement was issued by Rep. Norman:
 
“Openness, transparency, and collaboration are the hallmarks of the American academic tradition. It is these very strengths that are being exploited by economic and military competitors, most notably China. While more needs be done to include key stakeholders in policy deliberations at the DHS, I am encouraged by recent progress.
 
Protecting academia means protecting our homeland. That is why we need collaboration between the DHS and higher education. I want to thank Rep. Krishnamoorthi for his leadership and assistance with this important, bi-partisan effort.”