House Passes Rep. Kennedy’s U.S Research Protection Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2025)— The United States House of Representatives passed the United States Research Protection Act today, led by Representative Mike Kennedy (R-UT-03) and Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the House, and introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Senate. This critical legislation aims to strengthen the security and integrity of America’s innovation sector. It amends a key provision of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, focusing on bolstering research security. The bill clarifies what qualifies as a malign foreign talent program and ensures that there are no loopholes that could allow adversarial nations to exploit American research and technology for their own benefit.
“The U.S Research Protection Act is my first bill that has passed in the House and I feel it sets the tone for what I want to prioritize during my time in Congress—safeguarding our nation's property and interests. By closing these critical loopholes, the United States Research Protection Act ensures that our technological advancements remain secure from foreign exploitation. It also reaffirms a commitment to protecting American taxpayers by ensuring that their investments in research and development are not used to subsidize the capabilities of our strategic competitors, such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said Representative Kennedy
“Securing our research enterprise is vital to maintaining our nation’s competitive edge in the mid-21st century. The CHIPS and Science Act, which I helped author, laid a strong foundation for research security to protect American innovation. Today’s passage of the U.S. Research Protection Act strengthens that foundation by providing much-needed clarity to ensure our agencies, institutions, and researchers can effectively protect our nation against adversarial threats. I appreciate Representative Kennedy’s leadership on this critical issue and look forward to working with the Senate to get this bipartisan bill signed into law," said Representative Haley Stevens
“In a world where competition turns into hostility all too often, we must do everything in our power to safeguard American ingenuity against bad actor nations,” said Senator John Cornyn. “This legislation will place even more restrictions on academic programs involving countries of concern to ensure American scientific research is protected.”
“To maintain our leadership in science and technology, we must strengthen federal research agencies and universities’ ability to identify foreign threats and protect our institutions from malign actors and governments. The United States Research Protection Act removes any confusion and draws a clear line in the sand on what constitutes a malign foreign talent program. This legislation safeguards American research and prevents U.S. tax dollars from reaching adversaries like the CCP—I hope to see it signed into law soon,” said Chairman Brian Babin