Thread by @Headsnipe011

Grassley Seeks More Information on Foreign Threats to U.S. Research Institutions

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grassley.senate.gov/news/news-rele…

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and senior member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) & the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (IG)...

requesting information about the threats posed by foreign actors seeking to steal U.S. intellectual property by exploiting U.S. research institutions and the vetting processes in place regarding researchers and public grants and...

the steps the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the DOJ and the HHS IG take to ensure the integrity of taxpayer-funded research.

“The threats to our academic institutions from foreign governments are well known. Our government must take all reasonable and necessary steps to protect the integrity of taxpayer-funded research. Those steps must include constant and efficient communication between NIH,

the Justice Department, and other relevant agencies.” Grassley wrote. “Congress also requires a clear understanding of what enforcement actions have been employed against such foreign agents and U.S. institutions where any conduct has occurred in violation of law or regulation.”

Specifically, Grassley is requesting information from DOJ regarding the FBI background check process for researchers, the steps federal law enforcement has taken to educate various government agencies and institutions of higher learning about the threat and...

a history of investigatory and prosecutorial steps taken by the department in the last five years.

Grassley is requesting information from the HHS IG regarding its role in ensuring the integrity of research and its investigative history with respect to foreign threats to research within the last five years.

In October 2018, Grassley initially wrote to National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeking information on this topic. Grassley held a hearing in December 2018 regarding Chinese threats to national security where he highlighted the foreign threat to taxpayer-funded research.

In that hearing, the FBI witness stated that China’s talent recruitment programs are effectively “brain gain programs” that “encourage theft of intellectual property from U.S. institutions.”

In January 2019, Grassley received a response from NIH, but it left many questions unanswered, including how much taxpayer money is dedicated to oversight functions within NIH and...

critical reporting mechanisms that would root out and stop waste, fraud and abuse and protect the integrity of taxpayer-funded research.

Grassley’s letter to DOJ can be found here and below and letter to the HHS IG can be found here and below.*

DoJ:
grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/…

HHS:
grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/…

*** *Not below. I have to do things. Sorry...***