DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act
This bill restricts funding to an institution of higher education (IHE) that has a relationship with a Confucius Institute (a cultural institute directly or indirectly funded by the Chinese government). It also requires certain disclosures related to Chinese entities of concern (generally, universities or colleges involved in China's military, police, or intelligence activities).
Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must ensure that an IHE that has awarded a contract to, entered into an agreement with, or received an in-kind donation or gift from a Confucius Institute is ineligible to receive specified funds from DHS, unless the IHE terminates the relationship. The IHE may regain eligibility for these funds upon termination of the relationship. DHS may waive this funding restriction, on a case-by-case basis and for a period of not more than one year, if it is in the national security interests of the United States.
Additionally, an IHE that has a relationship with a Chinese entity of concern and is seeking to receive or receives specified DHS funds must notify DHS about the relationship.
DHS must provide outreach and, upon request, technical assistance to IHEs related to compliance with this bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on December 19, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 12, 2024: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced it on March 9, 2023, and 18 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 18 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 9, 2023, 1281 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 728 days ago, on September 12, 2024.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers