the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

This analysis was prepared by Venable, LLP, on behalf of AACOM.

Senate debate of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is ongoing. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has indicated that he may offer an amendment to the NDAA to incorporate the text of the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (S. 1260). S. 1260 authorizes over $250 billion to boost U.S. semiconductor production, scientific research, development of artificial intelligence, and space exploration in the face of growing economic, technological, and military competition from China. In addition, the bill includes several provisions that affect higher education. The Senate passed S. 1260 as a standalone bill on June 28, 2021. Below is a summary of higher education provisions in S. 1260 that are relevant to the osteopathic medical education community.

Directorate for Technology and Innovation

S. 1260 authorizes $29 billion over five years for a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation. From these funds, section 2104 establishes a University Technology Center Program to award grants through a competitive selection process for institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish university technology centers. These centers must be used to conduct multi-disciplinary, collaborative basic, and applied research in key technology focus areas.

Under section 2106, the Directorate is charged with providing scholarships, fellowships, and other student support to undergraduates, graduate fellows and trainees, and postdoctoral awards in key technology focus areas.

Section 2107 establishes a grant program to IHEs to demonstrate revolutionary technological advances in the key technology focus areas, including advances that expedite short-term technology deployment.

The initial list of key technology focus areas includes biotechnology, medical technology, genomics, and synthetic biology, among several other technology areas not relevant to AACOM.

Programs to Address the STEM Workforce

Section 2202 authorizes undergraduate scholarships (including at community colleges), graduate fellowships and traineeships, postdoctoral awards, and other grants to students and IHEs to increase the participation of populations that are underrepresented in STEM. The grants can also be used to encourage innovation in graduate and postdoctoral education, including through encouraging IHEs to offer graduate students, fellows, etc. opportunities to gain experience in STEM industries or with the government as part of their graduate training.

Research Security and Integrity Information Sharing Analysis Organization

Section 2302 creates a new Research Security and Integrity Information Sharing Analysis Organization (RSI–ISAO) to share information about threats from foreign entities with the academic community. Specifically, the RSI–ISAO will serve as a clearinghouse for information to help enable members and other entities in the research community to understand the context of their research and identify improper or illegal efforts by foreign entities to obtain research results, know how, materials, and intellectual property; develop a set of standard risk assessment frameworks and best practices to assess security risks; and provide training and support for faculty and staff at IHEs on topics relevant to research security risks and response.

Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act

Section 2507 of S. 1260 includes the RISE Act of 2021 (S. 289), which was introduced by Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The RISE Act would authorize nearly $25 billion in relief, administrative flexibilities, and financial support for research workforce—graduate students, postdocs, principal investigators, and technical support staff—and research institutions that have faced financial and other hardships from the disruption of their research activities due to COVID-19.

Restrictions on Federal Funding for Confucius Institutes

Section 2525 prohibits NSF funds to an IHE with a Confucius Institute (CI), unless that institution receives a waiver from the Department of Defense under previously passed language.

Section 6122 requires institutions with CIs to submit copies of their memorandums of understanding to ED for review, or lose access to non-Title IV funding

A CI means a cultural institute established as a partnership between a U.S. IHE and a Chinese IHE to promote and teach Chinese language and culture that is funding, directly or indirectly, by the Chinese government.

Fulbright-Hays Program

Section 3134 authorizes $105.5 million over five years for the Fulbright-Hays Program. The Fulbright-Hays Program—a Fulbright Program funded by an appropriation to ED—awards grants to individual U.S. K-14 pre-teachers, teachers and administrators, pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral faculty, as well as U.S. IHEs and organizations. Funding supports research and training efforts overseas, which focus on non-Western foreign languages and area studies.

Review of Foreign Gifts and Contracts to IHEs

Section 3138 mandates the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review all conditional gifts and contracts from foreign persons to U.S. IHEs over $1 million. This provision would also tie the CFIUS review process to the Education Department (ED) section 117 foreign gift reporting requirements. Section 5212 includes a conflicting provision that would prohibit CFIUS from reviewing foreign gifts to or contracts with IHES if the transaction is not covered under section 721(a)(4) of the Defense Production Act of 1950.

Disclosure of Foreign Gifts and Contracts at IHEs

Section 6124 includes a new section 124 to the Higher Education Act (HEA) that would require IHEs with research and development expenditures over $5 million to maintain databases of gifts and contracts from foreign entities to individual faculty and staff, and lowers the reporting threshold under HEA section 117, foreign gift reporting, from $250,000 to $50,000.

Additionally, IHEs funded by NSF would be required to annually submit final copies of any contracts or agreements between the institution or affiliated student or faculty groups that are directly or indirectly funded by the Chinese government.

Reauthorization of the HEA International Education Programs

Section 6121 reauthorizes the international and foreign language programs at ED under Title VI of the HEA. Title VI includes a variety of grants to IHEs and related entities to enhance instruction in foreign language and area and international studies, including:

Graduate and undergraduate language and area centers;
Fellowships for foreign language and area or international studies;
Language resource centers;
Technological innovation and corporation for foreign information access programs;
Programs to promote and enhance international business skills and education; and
The Institution for International Public Policy, which provides grants to minority-serving institutions to support the preparation of underrepresented minority students for international and foreign service careers.

Please contact AACOM Government Relations at aacomgr@aacom.org with questions or for further information.

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