World News | US House Committee Urges Passage of SIRA Act, Citing Risks to Taxpayer-Funded Research
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has released a report urging Congress to strengthen safeguards against the alleged theft and misuse of American taxpayer-funded research by entities linked to China, calling for the passage of the Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries (SIRA) Act.
Washington, DC [US] October 14 (ANI): The US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has released a report urging Congress to strengthen safeguards against the alleged theft and misuse of American taxpayer-funded research by entities linked to China, calling for the passage of the Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries (SIRA) Act.
The report, titled How to Stop China’s Theft of America’s Taxpayer-Funded Research, was released by Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, a Republican from Michigan. According to the committee, the report draws on documentation from congressional investigations, federal enforcement actions and inspector general findings to challenge arguments against stricter research security measures.
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The report examines concerns that stronger safeguards could undermine academic freedom, restrict scientific innovation, increase administrative burdens or prove unnecessary because universities can police themselves. It argues that these objections do not outweigh the need for stronger accountability and protections for federally funded research.
“Congress must pass the SIRA Act to establish clear, consistent safeguards across the federal government and ensure American taxpayer dollars are not used to support research collaborations with entities our own government has identified as national security risks,” Moolenaar said, according to the committee's statement.
The proposed legislation would establish government-wide restrictions on federally funded research collaborations involving entities listed on US government restricted lists.
Beyond the SIRA Act, the committee's report recommends stronger monitoring after federal research grants are awarded, consistent security standards across government agencies, incentives for universities that voluntarily implement robust safeguards, and greater use of suspension and debarment authorities when supported by investigative findings.
In a related development, the committee announced the release of more than 700 pages of previously non-public, unclassified investigative records concerning research security cases examined by the National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General (NSF OIG).
According to the committee, the documents include investigative reports, suspension and debarment recommendations, correspondence, records relating to foreign employment and talent recruitment programmes, financial documents and federal grant disclosures.
The records detail cases involving allegedly undisclosed foreign appointments, compensation from institutions in the People's Republic of China (PRC), participation in Chinese talent recruitment programmes, conflicts of commitment and repeated failures to disclose information required by federal research funding agencies.
The committee said investigators identified certain foreign relationships and disclosure deficiencies that extended across multiple years, research awards and institutions.
According to the report, the release is intended to improve transparency surrounding federal research security investigations and enable researchers, universities, policymakers and taxpayers to independently examine the evidence behind the committee's recommendations.
The committee further argued that some of the documented violations cannot be adequately dismissed as administrative or paperwork errors, underscoring the need for more consistent disclosure requirements and oversight of federally funded research.
The report calls for a coordinated federal approach to research security, with stronger institutional accountability and safeguards intended to protect American scientific investments from potential national security risks. (ANI)
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