United States Research Protection Act of 2025

Last action on Jul 22, 2025Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Order...

Summary

The United States Research Protection Act of 2025 would clarify existing restrictions on researchers who receive federal funding. Under the CHIPS and Science Act, researchers are already prohibited from participating in malign foreign talent recruitment programs, where foreign countries offer compensation or incentives for activities that create conflicts of interest, such as sharing proprietary information without authorization.

This bill would specify that these restrictions apply to programs sponsored by foreign countries of concern, specifically naming China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. It would also clarify that the restrictions cover both direct and indirect compensation or incentives from these countries. If enacted, the bill would strengthen protections for federally-funded research by making clearer which foreign recruitment programs are prohibited, potentially reducing the risk of sensitive research information being transferred to adversarial nations.

The bill has been approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and is now eligible for a floor vote in the Senate. However, it has not yet been passed into law.

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Apr 30, 2025

HearingSenateMeeting

Apr 30, 2025 · 14:00

Business meeting to consider S.29, to make daylight saving time permanent, S.191, to require the Secretary of Transportation to modify certain regulations relating to the requirements for commercial driver's license testing and commercial learner's permit holders, S.196, to improve online ticket sales and protect consumers, S.259, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign ownership, S.320, to authorize the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, S.580, to require the Secretary of Commerce to provide training and guidance relating to human rights abuses, including such abuses perpetrated against the Uyghur population by the Government of the People's Republic of China, S.606, to authorize the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to reimburse the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia, for costs directly associated with the removal and replacement of certain drinking water wells, S.688, to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing at its sources globally, S.725, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, S.769, to amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to clarify the definition of foreign country for purposes of malign foreign talent recruitment restriction, S.1003, to require the Federal Communications Commission to issue an order providing that a shark attack is an event for which a wireless emergency alert may be transmitted, S.1081, to require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to submit certain reports to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, S.1278, to require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to conduct a project to improve forecasts of coastal marine fog, S.1378, to enhance the use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of artificial intelligence for weather forecasting, S.1433, to reauthorize the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Act to promote the protection of the resources of the Northwest Straits, S.1437, to require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish a program to identify, evaluate, acquire, and disseminate commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery in order to satisfy the scientific, operational, and educational requirements of the Administration, S.1492, to require the Secretary of Commerce support the leadership of the United States with respect to the deployment, use, application, and competitiveness of blockchain technology, and the nominations of Olivia Trusty, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission, Jared Isaacman, of Pennsylvania, to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and routine lists in the Coast Guard.

Committee

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

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Summary

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation convened on April 30, 2025, for a business meeting to consider multiple pieces of legislation and nominations. The bills addressed diverse policy areas under the committee's jurisdiction, including transportation, communications, commerce, and science. Notable measures included S. 29, the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent; S. 191 on commercial driver's license testing requirements; S. 196 on online ticket sales consumer protections; and S. 1081, the Comprehensive NASA Reporting Act requiring NASA to submit reports to Congress. The committee also considered bills addressing foreign ownership in telecommunications, earthquake hazards reduction, human rights abuses including those against Uyghurs, fishing regulations, disaster communications, and weather forecasting improvements, among others. The committee also considered the nominations of Olivia Trusty of Maryland to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission and Jared Isaacman of Pennsylvania to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, along with routine Coast Guard nominations. No witnesses were listed for this business meeting, which was a procedural session focused on advancing bills and nominations for further consideration. As a business meeting rather than a hearing with testimony, this session represents a step in the legislative process but does not guarantee that any of these bills will advance to a floor vote. The committee's action would typically move these measures to the next stage of consideration, whether through markup sessions, floor debate, or other procedural steps.

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Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-45.

Jul 22, 2025

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-45.

Jul 22, 2025

United States Research Protection Act of 2025

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Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

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United States Research Protection Act of 2025

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Sponsors & Co-sponsors (5)

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Committees (1)

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

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