[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 41 (Thursday, March 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1042-S1043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONCERNS OVER NATIONS FUNDING UNIVERSITY CAMPUS INSTITUTES IN THE 
                           UNITED STATES ACT

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want to talk a few minutes about the 
good people of China, about Confucius Institutes, and the Chinese 
Communist Party.
  I meant what I said when I referred to ``the good people of China.'' 
You visited China, Mr. President. The people of China are wonderful 
people. They are engaging. They are smart. They have a great sense of 
humor. They have built an extraordinary economy.
  I wish I could say the same about their authoritarian government, but 
I can't. The Communist Party of China is trying to not only swallow 
China, it is trying to swallow the world.
  We helped the Communist Party of China be admitted into the World 
Trade Organization. We were told that if we did, they would embrace 
free enterprise. We were told that the Communist Party of China would 
be a valuable participant in a stable world order. None of that has 
come to be the case.
  We know what the Communist Party of China has done to Hong Kong. We 
know what the Communist Party of China has done to the Uighurs. We know 
what the Communist Party of China has done to the wonderful, wonderful 
people of Tibet. But I did want to make that distinction between the 
authoritarian government of the Communist Party of China and the 
Chinese people.

[[Page S1043]]

  The Communist Party of China, being as aggressive as it is, has for a 
number of years reached out to our colleges and universities to 
establish what the Communist Party of China calls ``Confucius 
Institutes.'' And this was the pitch made by the government of China to 
our universities: ``We will give you bucket loads of money if you''--
our American universities--``will allow us to establish Confucius 
Institutes where we can explain our culture to the young people of 
America, where we can have a free exchange of ideas, and where we can 
help young Americans learn the Chinese language if they would like.''
  That sounds great. You know, I will take a dozen of those. But the 
Communist Party of China being the Communist Party of China, that is 
not how our Confucius Institutes have worked out.
  These institutes, run by the authoritarian Government of China, will 
not allow the free exchange of ideas. They will not allow anyone to 
talk about the Uighurs or the people of Tibet or Hong Kong or what 
happened at Tiananmen Square. They basically--``they'' meaning the 
Communist Party of China--have used these Confucius Institutes as 
propaganda arms of their government.
  Many of our universities have done the right thing. They have said: 
No, we stand for the free exchange of ideas, and if you are going to 
come on our campus and tell our people that there are things they can't 
talk about, then, respectfully, you need--you, the Confucius 
Institutes--to leave our campus.
  But some of the universities haven't done the right thing. I am not 
suggesting that--I am not cynical enough to suggest that it is all 
about the money, but you can't ignore the fact that I think the 
Communist Party of China has given our universities, through the 
years--don't hold me to this figure exactly--but about $150 million to 
set up these Confucius Institutes. Universities, you know, they build 
that money into their budget, so they are reluctant to see the 
Confucius Institutes leave--not all of our universities but some of 
them. I recognize the economic reality.
  I have a bill that would say to--we wouldn't get rid of Confucius 
Institutes. It will just tell our universities: You have to properly 
manage them. You can't allow the Confucius Institutes to stay on your 
campus if the Confucius Institutes will not allow for the free exchange 
of ideas.
  If kids--I shouldn't call them kids. If young people in our 
universities want to talk about Tibet, they get to talk about Tibet. 
And the bill would say that the universities have to take back control 
of these Confucius Institutes from the Communist Party of China; 
otherwise, they are not going to be eligible for Federal funds.
  My bill, once again, doesn't kick anybody off campus. It just says 
you have to--you, the Communist Party of China, have to do what you 
originally told us you were going to do.
  My bill has--our bill, because the Senate passed it twice. Twice this 
bill has passed the U.S. Senate, the last time with bipartisan support. 
We put the bill on the NDAA, and, Mr. President, you know how 
conference committees work with the NDAA. Sometimes it is a ferret fire 
drill, and there is a lot of confusion, and somehow the Confucius 
Institute bill got watered down to do nothing in the conference 
negotiations on the NDAA. I am not criticizing anybody, but it 
happened.
  So I am going to ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass 
the Confucius Institute Act for a third time, and I hope, in our new 
Congress, we can keep teeth in it in working with our colleagues, not 
only in the Senate but in the House.
  Toward that end, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the immediate consideration of S. 590, introduced earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 590) to establish limitations regarding 
     Confucius Institutes, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 590) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows

                                 S. 590

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Concerns Over Nations 
     Funding University Campus Institutes in the United States 
     Act'' or the ``CONFUCIUS Act''.

     SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES.

       (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Confucius 
     Institute'' means a cultural institute directly or indirectly 
     funded by the Government of the People's Republic of China.
       (b) Restrictions on Confucius Institutes.--An institution 
     of higher education or other postsecondary educational 
     institution (referred to in this section as an 
     ``institution'') shall not be eligible to receive Federal 
     funds from the Department of Education (except funds under 
     title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 
     et seq.) or other Department of Education funds that are 
     provided directly to students) unless the institution ensures 
     that any contract or agreement between the institution and a 
     Confucius Institute includes clear provisions that--
       (1) protect academic freedom at the institution;
       (2) prohibit the application of any foreign law on any 
     campus of the institution; and
       (3) grant full managerial authority of the Confucius 
     Institute to the institution, including full control over 
     what is being taught, the activities carried out, the 
     research grants that are made, and who is employed at the 
     Confucius Institute.

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