Senator Schmitt Introduces Protecting Higher Education from the Chinese Communist Party Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Eric Schmitt introduced The Protecting Higher Education from the Chinese Communist Party Act, which bans members of the Chinese Communist Party and their relatives from receiving student visas to American universities:

“The Chinese Communist Party remains our most significant adversary, both militarily and economically. It makes no sense for American universities to continue educating the children and other family members of CCP officials. These more than 100,000 admission slots should go to American students. If you are associated with a foreign organization that is actively working to undermine the United States, you should certainly not have the continued privilege of being educated on our college campuses. The Protecting Higher Education from the Chinese Communist Party Act fortunately puts an end to these special privileges,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.

BACKGROUND:

• For nearly two decades, the CCP has threatened our national security by using tools such as grants, sister school partnerships, “Confucius Classrooms”, and other state-sponsored programming to compromise the integrity of America’s K-12 educational system.

• The CCP’s covert and growing influence within the United States cannot be understated. Earlier this month, federal charges were brought againstLinda Sun, for allegedly working as a foreign agent secretly advancing Chinese interests in New York State. Sun had worked in the upper echelons of New York government for almost 15 years beforehand. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has long operated a number of ‘overseas police stations’ in Manhattan and elsewhere around the world. The State Department confirmed that China’s police station in Manhattan was closed last year in January, according to reporting from National Review. 
• Recently, China abruptly ended its decades long foreign adoption program, leaving hundreds of American families currently going through the adoption process searching for answers.
• Senator Schmitt has been at the forefront of the fight against Chinese espionage on American soil. 

1. Co-sponsored Senator Ted Cruz’s Protecting America from Spies (SPIES) Act and Protecting Military Installations and Ranges Act to prevent China and other foreign adversaries’ covert activities in the United States.
2. Sponsored an amendment to the Senate’s version of the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prohibit the Department of Defense (DoD) from contracting for online education services that could result in US citizens’ data falling under control of Communist China. 
3. Sent a letter to the Department of State demanding answers and information regarding the cyber-espionage operations allegedly conducted by China’s state-sponsored cyber-espionage group, Storm-0558, against State Department Information Systems

• According to the U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, the United States issued 105,000 visas to Chinese students in 2023, and there are currently 292,000 Chinese students currently studying at American colleges and universities. These visas disproportionately go to the most elite schools in the United States, such as Washington University in St. Louis whose student body is just over 17,000, with about 1/3 of the student body being foreign nationals and roughly 10% of the student body from mainland China. Missouri would benefit from 1.) protecting its universities’ research from theft by CCP agents, and 2.) protecting the free speech of non-CCP Chinese students on Missouri’s college campuses, who are often subject to monitoring by the CCP.

Read the bill text here.