Cotton, Blackburn, Kustoff Unveil Bill to Restrict Chinese STEM Graduate Student Visas & Thousand Talents Participants

May 27, 2020

Washington, D.C. - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) today unveiled the SECURE CAMPUS Act, legislation that would prohibit Chinese nationals from receiving visas to the United States for graduate or post-graduate studies in STEM fields. The bill would also place restrictions on participants in Chinese foreign talent-recruitment programs, such as the Thousand Talents Program. Congressman David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) will introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

"The Chinese Communist Party has long used American universities to conduct espionage on the United States. What's worse is that their efforts exploit gaps in current law. It's time for that to end. The SECURE CAMPUS Act will protect our national security and maintain the integrity of the American research enterprise," said Senator Cotton.

"Beijing exploits student and research visas to steal science, technology, engineering and manufacturing secrets from U.S. academic and research institutions. We've fed China's innovation drought with American ingenuity and taxpayer dollars for too long; it's time to secure the U.S. research enterprise against the CCP's economic espionage," said Senator Blackburn.

"Student visas should be only for those who want to contribute to our research institutions and advance our national interests. Unfortunately, China's Communist Party has been exploiting our universities to spy and steal our technology for far too long. This bill will put an end to this abuse. I am proud to introduce this legislation with my friends Senator Cotton and Senator Blackburn that will help safeguard our nation's national security," said Congressman Kustoff.