Duval Times

Senator Rick Scott has joined Senator Tom Cotton and six other colleagues in urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate American higher education institutions with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The senators are seeking written responses on how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is addressing the potential threat posed by these connections.

The letter, co-signed by Senators Pete Ricketts, Eric Schmitt, Cynthia Lummis, Joni Ernst, Marsha Blackburn, and Thom Tillis, emphasizes the national security risks associated with undisclosed financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP. "Undisclosed and unmonitored financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP are glaring national security risks," the senators wrote. "Such relationships leave the U.S. vulnerable to intellectual property theft, improper influence, and even espionage. It is imperative that DOJ take additional steps to swiftly address this concern."

The letter references specific cases where U.S. universities have been implicated in illegal collaborations with the CCP. On July 16, 2024, the University of Maryland paid $500,000 to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act by failing to disclose funding from Chinese companies such as Alibaba. Similarly, on October 2, 2023, Stanford University paid $1.9 million for faculty ties with the CCP.

The senators requested answers to several questions by September 2, 2024:

1. Has there been an increase in False Claims Act violations by IHEs related to undisclosed funding from CCP-affiliated entities since January 1, 2020?

2. What is the current assessment of threats posed by CCP involvement in American education and federal research initiatives?

3. What measures does the DOJ take to mitigate CCP attempts to influence U.S. education?

4. How does the DOJ collaborate with other agencies like the Department of Defense to evaluate and mitigate these threats?