# H.R. 881 (119th): DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act

DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act This bill restricts funding to an institution of higher education (IHE) that has a relationship with a Confucius Institute, Thousand Talents Program, or Chinese entity of concern. The bill defines (1) Confucius Institute as a cultural institute funded by the Chinese government; (2) Thousand Talents Program as any technological or educational program funded or administered by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and (3) Chinese entity of concern as generally any university or college in China that is involved in China's military, police, or intelligence activities. Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must ensure that an IHE that has awarded a contract to, entered into an agreement with, or received an in-kind donation or gift from a Confucius Institute, Thousand Talents Program, or Chinese entity of concern is ineligible to receive any funds from DHS, unless the IHE terminates the relationship. The IHE may regain eligibility for these funds upon termination of the relationship.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: foreign_influence. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: foreign_policy. Category: war_peace. Lane tag: prudential.
Lane: higher_education. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: national_security. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 120: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill pursues a legitimate prudential goal, protecting federal funds and security from foreign-government-linked influence, and it uses a conditional, exit-based remedy rather than a direct moral wrong. It also raises ordinary concerns about broad association-based restrictions on academic institutions and about treating cultural programs as security threats. Because it combines a plausible civil good with real but prudential concerns, mixed is the appropriate classification rather than good or evil.
Theological note: The measure concerns the prudential duty of civil authority to guard national security and to limit foreign influence over institutions that receive public funds. It does not directly address the unborn, children, or the coercion of conscience, so its moral weight depends on whether the security concern is well founded and proportionate. Christians may reasonably disagree about how far such restrictions should reach into academic relationships.

## Recorded votes

Roll 120: On Passage. Yea 266 · Nay 153 · Other 14.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-881-119/