DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this entire Republican majority has been one gigantic, complete, total failure, a complete mess from day one with the majority in charge. It is an embarrassment.

We have 8 weeks left in the 118th Congress to do our legislative work, and instead of doing something to make life better for anyone or, hell, even the bare minimum, by stopping a government shutdown, we are considering a no-good stopgap resolution that extends funding into 2025.

My colleagues have to love this: The gentleman from New York is on the floor today trying to convince everyone to vote for the bill when Republicans cannot even convince their own Members to vote for it. Seriously, every minute I look at my phone, I see another Republican defecting.

Mr. Speaker, the Republican manager is wasting his time debating me. He needs to be debating his Republican friends who are coming out against the bill in droves. Clearly, the majority doesn't have the votes for this awful plan, so why are we wasting time here in this House on a bill that has no chance whatsoever of ever becoming law?

Mr. Speaker, this is embarrassing for the Republican side of the aisle. It is mid-September. Republicans said the majority would get all 12 separate appropriation bills done before we left for the August break. That is yet another broken promise, among a long list from Speaker Johnson, to add onto all the broken promises from Speaker McCarthy before him.

House Republicans are once again showing their deep disrespect for the veteran community by proposing a 6-month CR that shortchanges the VA Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund by $12 billion. That is morally reprehensible and just plain cruel. These are our veterans who we are talking about. How the hell can Republicans turn their backs on our veterans?

To be clear, this is the Republican playbook: a big promise, and it gets broken. Republicans promised we will have a robust, effective appropriations process, and it gets broken. Republicans promised to continue supporting our veterans, and it gets broken.

Now we are headed into another potential shutdown, all because Members on the other side of the aisle want to play political games. To make matters worse, Mr. Speaker, Republicans have jammed the SAVE Act onto the CR because why not mix up government funding with more ridiculous conspiracy theories about voter fraud?

I know why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to bring this bill to the floor. Republicans are worried the majority won't win in November without pushing conspiracy theories.

Mr. Speaker, let's set something straight: Noncitizens cannot vote in Federal elections. Let me repeat that: Noncitizens cannot vote in Federal elections. If they vote, it is illegal. It is a crime.

Guess what? They have done studies. Even conservative institutes say there is no evidence that noncitizens voted illegally in large enough numbers to shift the outcome of any election.

We all know what this is about. It is not about voter fraud. This is part of their Project 2025 plan to undermine the vote count and take total control of the government.

Mr. Speaker, the majority wants power whether Republicans win or lose at the ballot box, and so my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will claim voter fraud, whatever happens, the facts be damned.

Do Republicans really want to talk about the threat of voter fraud?

Let me remind the American people: The only ones committing voter fraud in an attempt to overthrow an election are Republicans. We have seen this movie before. Following Trump's loss in the 2020 election, he and his cronies allegedly conspired to overturn the will of the American people by submitting fake electors to falsely certify that Trump won the election. He didn't win the election. He lost the election.

What did those efforts get them: Dozens of people across four States have been indicted over this election fraud scheme.

Republicans want to talk about the threat of voter fraud. Give me a break. Republicans are the threat.

This horrible CR will never become law the way it is structured. We are really just here wasting more time after House Republicans failed to do what they should have done months ago.

This rule before us today would also bring to the floor five bills that Republicans claim will target China, five bills that are actually weak on China, five ineffective bills that don't get the job done and don't represent a real attempt to actually address some of the very serious concerns we have about the PRC.

Mr. Speaker, I have been a critic of China's human rights record for decades, longer than some of my colleagues have been in Congress. Hell, I was sanctioned by the Chinese Government in July. I can't travel to China. My wife can't travel to China. My son can't travel to China. My daughter can't travel to China. I can't even converse with any Chinese officials.

I have written strong, effective bills that would hold the PRC accountable, and so they don't like me. They sanction me, and I wear that sanction as a badge of honor.

Let me be clear: These bills that the gentleman referred to are not about taking a strong stance against China. They are poorly written, weak bills that don't get the job done. It is like they are written for a press release. I am sorry. That is because they are meant for a press release and not about serious legislating.

Believe it or not, we can strengthen our national security. We can stand up to China on human rights, and we can support our veterans and make sure they get the care that they need.

We can fund the government. We can do all of that and more if we work together. That is what people want. They want us to behave like adults. Sadly, Republican leadership is more interested in sound bites and FOX News headlines heading into November than they are about governing.

I say they would rather put politics ahead of progress but, Mr. Speaker, Project 2025 isn't just politics. It is weird. It is shameful. It is deeply dystopian. It is dangerous stuff.

Americans are tired of this garbage, and I think they are about to make some very different choices starting November.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It is unbelievable. All we heard last night and all we are hearing now on the House floor from the other side is that it is the Senate's fault. That is the reason why House Republicans aren't doing their job and that is why they are pushing this misguided CR is because of Senate Democrats. We heard that again today.

Guess what: Even Republican Senators hate this CR plan.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include a link to an article in the Record from NewsNation titled, ``House GOP government funding plan gets chilly reception from Senate Republicans.''

The link is: https://www.newsnationnow.com/the-hill/ house-gop-government-funding-plan-gets-chilly-reception-from-senate- republicans/ Mr. Speaker, their own Republican colleagues are worried that this ``measure requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote could complicate the stopgap funding bill's path,'' and that this ``comes dangerously close to risking a shutdown.''

Here is an idea: If Republicans are so serious about the CR, maybe they should have done some work to shore up support within their own party.

However, let me just talk about how Republicans feel about this CR.

Tom Massie on the Rules Committee tweeted: ``I am voting Hell No on the `continuing resolution and the other matter act' this week. I don't care which bright shiny object is attached to it, or which fake fight we start and won't finish.''

The gentleman from New York decided to talk about national security. Here is another news flash for the gentleman: The top Republican national security expert in the House, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, says he is a ``no'' on the CR. He says it is bad for the Pentagon. He hopes other HASC members will vote ``no'' too.

That is your top guy on national security. He is voting ``no.''

It is reported from Melanie Zanona that ``Representative Cory Mills says he has informed the whip team that he is a no on the 6-month CR plus SAVE Act. Also says there are `quite a few' other Republicans who are against it who haven't said so publicly yet.''

Matt Rosendale tweets: ``1 year later, the same old theatrics by the D.C. cartel. I have never voted for a CR, and I never intend to.''

John Bresnahan reports that Representative Jim Banks is a ``no'' on the CR.

Jordain Carney reports that Representative Burchett says he is currently a ``no'' on the CR plus SAVE plan. He says there are many, many others that want to vote no.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a no on everything, so she is no on this, as well.

I have to be honest with the gentleman, your problem isn't House Democrats or Senate Democrats; your problem is House Republicans. You can't even get consensus amongst your own Members of your own party.

This is ridiculous that we are here debating this rule to bring up a CR that is going nowhere fast.

Last night in the Rules Committee, Representative Massie said: ``This SAVE Act isn't going to save anything.''

Representative Massie, as everybody knows, is a prominent leader in the Republican caucus. He says, and particularly because ``it ain't never going to become law. It's a false promise to get all the Republicans half pregnant. Then you're going to get fully pregnant by the end of September when you vote for this CR. . . . '' That is not going to have--``I hate to break it to you, and I'm not telling you anything special. I hate to break it to the Republicans, you ain't getting the SAVE Act.''

Then he concludes by saying: But ``This is political theater,'' folks. I have to tell you, it is bad political theater, and it is pathetic.

Here we are at this late day approaching a government shutdown and we get this garbage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

My God, the Republicans must be really afraid of losing the November election if the conspiracy theories are already starting up this early.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from the Cato Institute titled: ``Noncitizens Don't Illegally Vote in Detectable Numbers.''

Mr. Speaker, at a press conference on the SAVE Act, the Speaker of the House said: ``We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in Federal elections, but it has not been something that is easily provable. We don't have that number.''

Mr. Speaker, this body legislates based on facts, not on intuition or conspiracy theories. Maybe it is time for House Republicans to get serious about their jobs and stop making laws based off their absurd conspiracy theories.

Again, I say to the gentleman after that little rant that maybe he needs to be talking to his Republican Members, who all have basically said that the inclusion of the SAVE Act on this horrific CR is basically a gimmick. It is a gimmick to get people to look someplace else and not look at the fact that Republicans are not doing their job.

If we want to talk about an insult to our men and women in uniform, then I hope that they will join with me in defeating the previous question. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to include $12 billion that our Nation's veterans need for their healthcare, $12 billion that the House Republicans decided, intentionally, to leave out of their partisan continuing resolution.

Mr. Speaker, with this unserious and unacceptable continuing resolution, Republicans are not only risking disaster assistance and domestic investments, but they are also shortchanging veterans and jeopardizing their care.

An additional $12 billion is needed before the new year to maintain medical care for veterans. That is just a fact.

The House Republican bill does not include a single dollar of the $12 billion needed, shortchanging veterans and jeopardizing the medical services they need and have earned.

Mr. Speaker, our veterans deserve our support. It is our responsibility to provide the care that they have earned. This inadequate continuing resolution does not meet the moment, which is why I am giving my Republican colleagues the chance now to do the right thing and include the funding for our veterans in this continuing resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include the text of my amendment in the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, there were lots of things that were left out of this CR, and the Republicans came up with a manager's amendment to try to address that, but they left out the $12 billion for our veterans.

They left out $12 billion for our veterans. I don't understand that. There is no explanation for that. It is so wrong.

To discuss our proposal, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Oh, my God. I don't even know where to begin, to be honest with you. There is just so much there.

First of all, let me read from a letter that the Secretary of Defense sent to all of us here in Congress. He said: ``A 6-month CR would set us significantly behind in meeting our pacing challenge highlighted in our National Defense Strategy, the People's Republic of China. The PRC is the only global competitor with both the intent and capability to change the international order. The PRC does not operate under CRs. Our ability to execute our strategy is contingent upon our ability to innovate and modernize to meet this challenge, which cannot happen under a CR. Asking the Department to compete with the PRC, let alone manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy CR, ties our hands behind our back while expecting us to be agile and to accelerate progress.'' That is what the Secretary of Defense sent to Congress.

Republicans are here with a bunch of fake anti-China bills that will never become law, but what they are actually doing is hurting our national security.

This approach, their CR, is hurting our national security. It is not just the Secretary of Defense saying that. As I said earlier, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has said it, and that is why he is opposing the Republican CR, so let's get that straight.

The other thing is, on the SAVE Act, it is true that a military ID alone is not sufficient to meet the criteria of the SAVE Act. Is that how we thank the men and women who serve our country?

In fact, many Americans don't have the kind of identification required to be able to comply with the SAVE Act, but that is even beside the point because, as Republican after Republican has said, this is a gimmick. This is going nowhere. This is just a sound bite during an election. This is not real. This is all theater. That is not me saying it. It is Republican after Republican saying that.

In terms of helping our veterans, let me tell you, Republicans keep talking about the $112 billion in the bill for VA care, but guess what? These dollars were already provided in last year's bill.

Both VA and OMB say that these dollars are insufficient and that they need an additional $12 billion or our veterans' care will be affected. That is what has been said to Republicans and Democrats over and over again.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides zero additional dedicated funding for vets with toxic exposures. Zero. I don't understand why, when you are trying to fix some of the omissions in the manager's amendment that was put in in the Rules Committee, this could not have been added. These are our veterans. These are people who have served our country. These are people who have been exposed to toxic chemicals who are battling with all kinds of illnesses and diseases.

The least we can do is make sure the funding is there so they can get adequate healthcare. This bill provides none of that $12 billion. I don't understand what my Republican friends are thinking.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, we have 3 weeks left to ensure that our government doesn't shut down. Instead of working with Democrats to keep the government open, what we have here is an awful, cynical, partisan continuing resolution that has exactly zero chance of becoming law. Hell, as I said earlier, it may not even pass the Republican-controlled Congress.

It is like Republicans won't even try to get the job done. They have passed 4 appropriations bills out of 12. That is it, and they want a trophy for that. I mean, it is pathetic how little work has been done in this House.

Again, they have sent a grand total of four appropriations bills to the Senate, although listening to them last night at the Rules Committee, you would think they had completed all their work and everything is wonderful. Imagine thinking 30 percent was a passing grade. It is pathetic.

At the end of the day, the Republican majority has failed the American people, and the Republican majority has failed the American people miserably. They want to condition keeping our government open on a Project 2025 pipe dream to disenfranchise millions of Americans at the ballot box. Let me be clear, the SAVE Act is not about targeting undocumented immigrants. It is about suppressing the vote of millions of American citizens.

Again, I point out what happened in the last election. The person who shall not be named by name lost but didn't want to accept the loss and instructed people to go out there and to submit fraudulent electors to try to stoke all these conspiracy theories.

Multiple people are now under indictment for trying to overturn the legitimate results of the last election. The threat to our democracy, the threat to our election integrity, is the Republicans.

My friends are willing to rip $12 billion away from our sick veterans all to play political games. What is wrong with them, Mr. Speaker? They are pursuing poorly written, bad bills that are soft on China when we could be doing the real work, teaming up across the aisle to strengthen our national security. It is a joke. It is a joke. It is embarrassing. All they bring to the table is destruction, disruption, dysfunction, and the dystopian Project 2025. Every measure before us today is a bad deal.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can help our veterans. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule and on the underlying bills.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do better. If the government shuts down because of their dysfunction, real people in this country get hurt. We need to come together and get our work done. Enough of this partisan garbage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1516. While I support the spirit of Mr. Pfluger's bill, which seeks to help address the threat posed by the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, I cannot support this bill as it is presently written.

H.R. 1516 is fatally flawed. This bill denies critical homeland security funding to U.S. universities, puts American students at risk, and harms our national security.

H.R. 1516 would prohibit any DHS funding from going to any U.S. university that has any relationship with virtually any Chinese university. That means no FEMA funding, no disaster preparedness funding, and no terrorism prevention funding. In fact, this bill is totally divorced from the very real concerns we all have when it comes to Chinese espionage and national security.

In all likelihood, universities across this country will have to shut down student exchange programs, deny students study-abroad opportunities, and stop hosting guest lectures, panel events, or sporting events with Chinese universities if this poorly written, overbroad bill becomes law.

For example, under this bill, Colgate University, located in the district of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Williams), would be prohibited from receiving FEMA grants simply because Colgate has a program that gives students an opportunity to get firsthand experience abroad while being hosted by a university in Shanghai.

The same goes for Cal State Fullerton, located in the district of the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Steel). Cal State Fullerton pioneered international partnerships with Chinese universities back in 1984 so that students could collaborate on educational and cultural exchanges.

Because of these bilateral agreements with partner institutions in China, this bill would prohibit DHS from helping students or CSU Fullerton if an earthquake strikes Orange County.

What about Niagara University, where Mr. Langworthy went to college? Niagara signed an exchange agreement for MBA students from a university in China, which is the world's second largest economy. Would Niagara University be prohibited from receiving FEMA grants if a major blizzard or flood sweeps through Niagara County? Under H.R. 1516, the answer is yes.

SUNY Binghamton, located in the district of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro), has an exchange program with a Chinese university so that SUNY Binghamton students can learn the Chinese language, a critical foreign language for the military and for business leaders.

Because of that exchange program, SUNY Binghamton would be denied funding and contracts for something as basic as DHS renting a room to host a hiring event or as serious as DHS providing help responding to a flood.

The same goes for Valdosta State University, located in the district of the gentleman of Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott). Since Valdosta State has a Chinese exchange program in urban planning and land resource management, it would lose any shot at DHS funding for research, hurricane preparedness, or terrorism prevention.

Supporting this bill also means that the University of Iowa, located in the district of the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), would be cut off from DHS funding to help it prepare for a tornado or acts of violence just because Iowa has an informal requirement that its Chinese majors study abroad in China and because Iowa has programs housed at universities in China.

It also means that Hofstra University, located in the district of the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito), would not be able to apply for FEMA grants because Hofstra has a dual-degree program with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in China.

I could go on listing how this bill, as it is written, could hurt universities and students in each of our districts. The bottom line is that this bill is not just absurd; it is cruel.

H.R. 1516 is so poorly written that neither its author, Mr. Pfluger, nor Committee on Homeland Security's chairman, Mark Green, were able to answer even the most basic questions about the bill during our committee markup.

Democratic Members pointed out at markup that the definition of ``relationship,'' which triggers the funding prohibition in this bill, would incorporate all sorts of agreements, including student exchange programs and other cultural programs that help American students.

Mr. Pfluger, the bill's author, told members of our committee that the type of relationship is very important. You have rightly pointed that out. It is a monetary relationship.

Well, that is not what the bill says. It says that any institution of higher education that ``has a relationship with a Confucius Institute or Chinese entity of concern is ineligible to receive any funds from the Department of Homeland Security.''

If the bill's sponsor meant monetary relationship, the word ``monetary'' would be in the definition.

Then there is this overbroad term, ``Chinese entity of concern.'' During the markup, the bill's sponsor said something about DHS works with the university to deem an entity of concern.

Well, DHS does not deem entities of concern, so I don't know where that idea came from. Chairman Green tried to clean up the definition by saying, as I understand it, by the definition, it would only be those with ties to the military. Once again, that is not what the bill says.

Madam Chair, I cannot support a bill drafted so poorly that even its author and committee chairman do not know what it bans and do not know what it allows. I especially cannot support a bill that does all the damage I just described.

It is not just that this bill was poorly drafted. This bill has been mismanaged from the start. The bill's sponsor rejected bipartisan language agreed to by the Homeland Security Committee last Congress and reverted to the same bad language the committee had to fix in 2022.

Then the committee chairman reported the wrong text out of the committee, and not a single Republican noticed for 9 months. That is why the bill on the Union Calendar is not the same one in the Rules Committee print now under consideration.

Madam Chair, if we were voting on the language the Republicans actually reported out of committee, the language all of our committee staff probably read when the committee went to congress.gov, we would be having a different conversation.

I oppose H.R. 1516 because it is a poorly written and mismanaged bill that demonstrates a lack of seriousness among Republicans when it comes to the bipartisan desire to address the threat posed by the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, this bill does not provide the Secretary of Homeland Security authority to issue a waiver from funding restrictions if it is in the interest of America's national security.

Without this waiver, we just cannot get behind this bill. We need to allow the experts, those at DHS, to determine what is in the best interest of our national security. This waiver was part of this bill when it was reported out of committee last Congress and supported by Democrats. Its absence in this bill today is a fatal flaw.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner) to discuss better versions of this bill.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, this bill does not ban China from influencing our institutions of higher education. It just makes universities choose between relationships with Chinese universities and the Department of Homeland Security funding.

This bill will not stop China's practice of exploiting the open and collaborative nature of American academia to conduct industrial and military espionage. I know that this is something that the sponsor of this bill, Mr. Pfluger, cares about because those are his words. Unfortunately, this bill does not get us there.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, we should not be on the floor today on this fatally flawed bill. Congressional Democrats recognize threats posed by China and the Chinese Communist Party. In fact, we worked with Republicans last Congress to craft a bipartisan bill on this very issue.

Instead, today, House Republicans have decided to reject their own past work and try to make up for their do-nothing Congress with this absurd and extreme measure rammed through just ahead of an election, despite multiple procedural and policy errors.

Governing by theme without any thought to very real negative outcomes in no way makes policy.

This bill would deny all Department of Homeland Security funds to all U.S. colleges and universities with any relationship whatsoever to practically any Chinese university.

This bill's author and my Homeland Security Republican colleagues did no factfinding. They could not answer questions about the bill during markup. They repeatedly said the bill does not do things that the bill says it does. If this bill's author doesn't know what the bill does, then how can he expect it to become law?

This whole thing is a cruel disservice to American universities, academics, and students. It puts them and DHS in horrible positions.

In addition to forcing American colleges and universities with any relationship with any Chinese university to choose between that relationship and DHS funds for disaster relief or terrorism prevention, this bill does not provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with any strategic flexibility to

waive the funding prohibition when in the national security interests of the United States.

This House previously granted the Secretary of Defense a similar waiver on a bipartisan basis, but congressional Republicans do not think the Homeland Security Secretary should be given the same authority.

Mr. Chair, the Committee on Homeland Security has not produced a single law this Congress. In contrast to a proud record of bipartisan cooperation and legislating over the last 20 years, House Republicans have turned our committee, which I have served on from its beginning, into a partisan press release factory and done nothing to make the homeland more secure.

I repeat: We have not passed or produced a single law this Congress.

H.R. 1516 is another sad example of the extreme MAGA Republican failure to deliver for the American people.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to reject this flawed, extreme partisan messaging bill and vote ``no'' on H.R. 1516, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record President Biden's Statement of Administration Policy opposed to H.R. 1516.

Statement of Administration Policy

H.R. 1516--DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese

Entities of Concern Act--Rep. Pfluger, R-TX, and 18 cosponsors

The Administration supports the intent of H.R. 1516, the

DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities

of Concern Act, which would prohibit institutions of higher

education that have relationships with certain institutes

funded by the government of the People's Republic of China

(PRC) or located in the PRC from receiving Department of

Homeland Security (DHS) funds. The Administration appreciates

Congress's efforts to ensure that DHS funding is made

available only to partners that advance U.S. interests,

homeland security, and democratic norms. However, there may

be more appropriate ways to prevent DHS funding from being

directed toward academic institutions that are vulnerable to

the PRC's increasing monetary influence. The Administration

looks forward to working with Congress to refine this bill as

it moves through the legislative process.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to Mr. Cline's amendment. This amendment is impractical and infeasible, like the bill he is trying to amend.

This amendment will require the Department of Homeland Security to identify and report on any U.S. college or university that has any relationship with a Chinese entity of concern.

The Republican author of H.R. 1516 and the Homeland Security Committee Republicans who rammed this partisan bill through committee should have done a little factfinding before bringing this bill to the floor. Had they done so, then Mr. Cline would not be asking for this impractical amendment because his colleagues would have been able to tell him which universities in the United States have a relationship with a Confucius Institute or Chinese entity of concern.

The problem at the heart of this amendment is the Republicans' made- up, overbroad definition of ``Chinese entity of concern.'' It requires a multipart test to identify Chinese universities that participate in military-civil fusion, the Chinese defense industrial base, and receiving funding from the Chinese Communist Party.

I agree that those sorts of relationships between Chinese universities and the Chinese Communist Party are a

problem, but the term ``Chinese entity of concern'' goes way past actual security risks and deems every Chinese university a threat without regard to actual national security concerns.

For example, it encompasses any university in China that provides any support to the police. As a result, if a university in China were to provide support for a criminal investigation, such as a crime against a U.S. study-abroad student, suddenly the university in China would qualify as a Chinese entity of concern.

Even American university campuses located in China would be deemed a Chinese entity of concern if they were to provide any sort of support to the police in China. If an American student at an American university's branch in China gets stabbed, that branch campus would become a Chinese entity of concern if it as much as provided translation services to the police to catch the perpetrator. This is absurd.

This amendment would drain DHS resources and require DHS to dedicate teams of staff to gain considerable insight into internal Chinese Government functions in order to identify which of China's 3,000 universities are an entity of concern. DHS has acknowledged that this would be a struggle.

If that wasn't enough, DHS would then have to figure out which universities it provides funds to have a relationship with the Chinese university that meets the entity of concern definition. Those relationships would include perfectly innocent and valuable agreements, including student exchange programs and other cultural programs that help American students get a well-rounded education.

H.R. 1516 is already poorly drafted and fatally flawed, so it is not surprising we are adding impractical into the mix with this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1430 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1430 provides for consideration of six measures: H.R. 1398, H.R. 1425, H.R. 1516, H.R. 7980, H.R. 9456, and

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

In case my colleague on the other side of the aisle has a case of amnesia, earlier this year, 195 Democrats proudly voted ``no'' on the passage of H.R. 8580, the fiscal year 2025 Military Construction- Veterans Affairs appropriations bill.

This legislation includes $337.4 billion for the VA, $75.5 million above President Biden's own budget requests and $30.2 billion more than the fiscal year 2024 levels. It allocates $112.6 billion for medical care for our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, 195 House Democrats, including my colleague from Massachusetts, voted ``no'' on this bill, with Senate Democrats refusing to even bring up the bill on the floor.

Every day they delay is a day that veterans across America are left wondering if their healthcare, their benefits, and their essential services will be there next year. This is simply unacceptable.

Senator Chuck Schumer could bring this bill forward tomorrow. We could get this done for our veterans tomorrow, but, instead, Senate Democrats have decided to play politics with the lives of our Nation's heroes, labeling this vital funding as dead on arrival and offering no alternative while the clock ticks down.

Mr. Speaker, it is time that my Democratic colleagues across the aisle stop playing politics in this Chamber and in the upper Chamber prioritize what really matters. Veterans across this Nation depend on the services provided by the VA. Let's stop the hysteria and the political games.

Let's pass this continuing resolution, avoid a shutdown, and continue our work to fully fund the VA. Our veterans have given everything for us, and I am asking my colleagues to give them the support that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, we heard a lot of fiction there. We have heard false and frankly ridiculous claims that the SAVE Act makes it harder for certain Americans, including our servicemembers, to vote.

If my Democratic colleagues took the time to actually read the bill, they would see that under the SAVE Act, servicemembers can show their passport, birth certificate, military ID, record of service, or any combination of these other options as proof of citizenship.

There is absolutely nothing in this legislation that restricts or complicates voting for our servicemen and -women. To suggest otherwise is just patently false, but it is also insulting. It implies that those who serve our country, those who risk their lives to defend our freedoms, are somehow less capable of meeting these simple and straightforward requirements.

Mr. Speaker, our servicemen and -women deserve better. They sacrifice for our Nation, and we owe it to them and to all Americans to uphold the integrity of our elections by enforcing the laws of our land. Instead, Democrats across the country are unwilling to do so.

Take my own State, New York. A noncitizen can register to vote without a Social Security number, without an ID. Before coming to Congress, I fought against New York City's outrageous attempts to allow noncitizens, including illegal aliens, to vote in local elections.

In the face of what States like New York are doing, what the District of Columbia has tried to do, and with millions of illegal aliens flooding into our country under the Biden-Harris administration, we need these safeguards in place today.

Just last month, the State of Texas announced it had removed 6,500 noncitizens from their voter rolls, with nearly 2,000 of those noncitizens recorded to have a voter history. Virginia also removed 6,000 noncitizens from their voter rolls.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot take the issue of voter fraud lightly. We cannot rely on the honor system, as much as the other side of the aisle thinks it is A-OK to not require a photo ID in this country to vote.

We can't take the honor system for our Federal elections, especially when we have millions and millions of illegal immigrants residing in this country and thousands of noncitizens registered to vote across this country.

Make no mistake, the flood at our southern border, the 10 million encounters at our southern border, isn't by accident. It was at the stroke of 94 separate executive actions with Joe Biden's pen, with Kamala Harris cackling in the background, that this has happened.

Bet your bottom dollar that if somehow, by some miraculous effort, they have the White House, the Senate, and the House next year, they are going to get to work lickety-split on the biggest amnesty plan this country has ever had. They will all be voters, mark my words.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to reiterate the fact. It is very simple. House Republicans have passed their Veterans appropriations bill. We passed it above the request of President Biden or whoever is drafting the President's requests at this hour.

The people who have had a lot to say in this Chamber today, they all decided to vote ``no.'' They voted ``no'' for our veterans' healthcare. They voted ``no'' for opportunities to expand veteran benefits.

They did it for politics. They did it because it wasn't their idea. This House Republican majority has funded the VA above and beyond President Biden's request for the last 2 fiscal years, and we are very proud of that fact, and we will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues across the aisle have expressed outrage over the inclusion of the SAVE Act in today's continuing resolution, but let's be clear: The American people overwhelmingly disagree with their position.

According to a 2022 YouGov poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans support requiring proof of citizenship to vote in elections, and even more telling, 48 percent of Democrats--yes, Democrats--agree that proof of U.S. citizenship should be required.

In 2022, a Gallup poll further underscored that 79 percent of Americans favor photo identification requirements to vote, and that includes 53 percent of Democratic voters.

Just this year, the Pew Research Center found that 81 percent of Americans want all voters to show government-issued photo identification to cast a vote, and 69 percent of Democrats back this commonsense safeguard. Why won't they? That is the question. What are they afraid of to require someone to prove who they say that they are?

These aren't poison pills. This isn't partisanship. They are overwhelmingly bipartisan views shared by a vast majority of commonsense Americans.

Yet, my colleagues would rather cater to a fringe element in this country within their party than listen to the clear will of the American people. Instead of supporting reasonable safeguards to protect our elections and prevent foreign interference, they continue to block widely supported measures. They claim to be defenders against foreign interference in our election, yet today, they turn their back on protecting the sanctity of the vote.

The numbers don't lie, though. Under the Biden-Harris administration, at least 4.6 million illegal aliens have been released into our country, with 1.8 million got-aways. We don't know where they are. We don't know who they are. We don't know why they are here. Those are just the ones that we are aware of.

With millions of illegal immigrants, including violent criminals, now residing in the United States, we cannot afford to ignore the critical need to ensure that only American citizens decide the future of our Nation.

This isn't just about policy. It is a moral imperative to protect the foundational rights of American citizens.

It is time for our Democratic colleagues to put aside their partisanship and listen to 81 percent of the American people who support this and stop

threatening a shutdown over commonsense election safeguards.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

These accusations, Mr. Speaker, are not just dishonest, they are a pathetic act of desperation. In their scramble to smear Republicans, they have dug up some obscure policy document that was never endorsed by President Trump, or any House Republican for that matter.

Now they have thrown everything they can against the wall, hoping to scare the American people with their usual tactics of lies, deception, and paranoia. This, Mr. Speaker, is the Democratic playbook for 2024. When you are failing, manufacture some more fear.

The reality is stark. Democrats are in complete disarray. They are heading into November on a runaway train. Mr. Speaker, it would be laughable if their policies didn't have such dire impact on the American people.

Now, in a desperate, flailing attempt to distract from their catastrophic record of the last 3\1/2\ years, they are trying to shift the focus away from the wreckage they have left in their wake. Their policies have bankrupted this country, emboldened our enemies, thrown our borders wide open, and crushed the American people under the weight of skyrocketing costs and economic insecurity.

Here is the thing, Mr. Speaker: Americans are just smarter than that. No matter how much they try to spread their undiagnosed cases of Trump derangement syndrome, no matter how many obscure documents they try to pin on House Republicans, they can't run from their abject record of failure. The American people see it. They feel it every day at the gas pump, at the grocery store, when they are

paying their insurance bill, when they are trying to buy a new car, when a young family is trying to get into their first home. In their wallets, in their communities, in the safety of their communities, they feel it. Democrats can't hide from the disaster they have created, and no amount of finger-pointing is going to change that.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made it clear that they would rather play political games as we work to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. They would rather hoot and holler about spending levels in one department than vote for a commonsense appropriations bill or to create a stopgap so that we can continue our work and make sure that we don't have a shutdown. They would rather stand in full-blown opposition to straightforward provisions that would deter voter fraud and ensure our elections are fair, free, and protected as a fundamental right of real American citizens.

My colleagues would also like to stand before us today and oppose commonsense legislation that ensures that we put America first in our dealings with our greatest adversary, China, and any entity or international organization that is connected or subservient to the Chinese Communist Party.

We must do what the Biden-Harris administration has time and time again refused to do in its policies toward China--put the interests and the needs and the security of the American people absolutely first.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the rule before us today.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1516.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today, I rise in support of Congressman Pfluger's bill, H.R. 1516, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.

We all know that the Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to undermine the United States and our allies as they attempt to reshape the world order. Proving this point is the extent the CCP is willing to go to expand its intelligence and influence apparatus.

In the past 2 years, we have seen the CCP fly a spy balloon across the continental United States. We have seen troves of data collected from CCP-aligned mobile applications. Also, recently, we have learned of an aide to the Governor of New York who acted covertly with her husband to advance the agenda of the CCP within the New York State capital.

One of our Nation's most glaring vulnerabilities is the CCP's attempt to influence our Nation's educational system. It should concern every American that billions of dollars from the CCP are flowing into our K- 12 classrooms and institutions of higher education.

Originally established to promote Chinese language and culture, Confucius Institutes have increasingly come under scrutiny for their ability to influence and control the narrative around critical issues affecting our Nation's interests. These organizations have helped the CCP advance their strategic goals and gain valuable intelligence on the United States.

Congress has taken steps to address this issue, but more remains to be done. The legislation that we are here to debate today is a critical step in stopping the CCP's reach into the American educational system by prohibiting DHS dollars from going to institutes of higher education if these institutes maintain a relationship with a Confucius Institute or a Chinese entity of concern.

H.R. 1516 is delivering on our promise to the American people that House Republicans will do everything in our power to counter the growing threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. This bill protects American values by safeguarding our institutions, promoting transparency, and ensuring our academic environment remains a space for free and independent thought.

I also thank Congressman Pfluger for his work on this legislation, and I look forward to today's debate and encourage all my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), my good friend.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Moolenaar).

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Steel).

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, today, we heard varying opinions on what our Nation must do to secure our universities from the CCP's malign influence. H.R. 1516 is one of the strongest bills the House has considered to counter the threats posed by the CCP on our educational system.

This legislation safeguards taxpayers' hard-earned dollars from going to our Nation's top adversary. It undermines the CCP's influence apparatus that has been used to sway public opinion and protects the critical research and development taking place at our universities across the country.

To those who claim that this bill will do more harm than good or that this bill is overly broad, I disagree with those assertions and argue that this bill instead sends a clear message to the CCP that their interference will not be tolerated on our college campuses.

I hope that we have a strong bipartisan vote today to demonstrate that we can work together in addressing threats from America's greatest adversary.

Mr. Chair, I thank Congressman Pfluger for offering this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, as we look to the basis of the amendment, we see that this amendment deals with election interference, something that I believe both parties share concerns about.

We know that in less than 60 days people from across this great land will go to the polls, and they will select our next President. They will determine which party controls the majority here in this Chamber as well as which party controls the majority in the United States Senate.

I have great concerns that China and our other adversaries across the globe will use this opportunity to try to sow dissent among the American public, that they will try to pit Americans versus Americans on their disinformation platform, that they will be pushing across traditional and across more than not social media.

I believe that this is why it is so important that we do everything within our power to protect our election integrity, whether it be to stop the influence of China, Russia, Iran, any of our adversaries, but also to do what we can to protect our election by ensuring that only United States citizens vote in our election.

We know that many of our municipalities and some of our States have opened up elections, both on State and, many times, on municipal levels, to allowing non-United States citizens to vote in those elections. That is why I support the effort of Speaker Johnson to attach the SAVE Act to a continuing resolution, to make sure that those individuals show proof of citizenship when they register.

Mr. Chair, I support the basis of this amendment. I support election integrity. I support us doing all that we can to ensure that those who are voting actually should be allowed to vote. However, I support the basis of this amendment, which stands for the principle that our foreign adversaries, particularly those such as, in this case, China, be prevented from interfering in our elections.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Madam Chair, I thank the chair for bringing this bill to the floor, H.R. 1516, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.

Members have to ask ourselves: Why are we here? I will point back to last Congress, in the 117th Congress, where we had H.R. 7779, which was a bill that we actually worked together on in the Committee on Homeland Security, under the chairman, my friend from Mississippi.

It was never actually brought to the floor. I am not sure why it wasn't brought to the floor. That is why we are here today, because we are serious about protecting our country.

In the NDAA, it went to the Rules Committee, and they voted it down. That is why we are here. We are here because we didn't get a chance to actually get serious about our Nation's most serious threat, the Chinese Communist Party, which is using every tool at their disposal to undermine our interests by using malign activity.

For years, they have done this in conjunction with the People's Liberation Army. They have exploited the open and collaborative nature of our society of academia to conduct widespread industrial and military espionage inside the United States.

Starting in 2004, various academic institutions across the country organized Confucius Institutes as a way to promote Chinese language and culture, to support Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges on campus. However, it quickly became apparent that these institutes were nothing more than a Trojan horse acting as an extension of CCP's global influence apparatus.

These institutions and operations have allowed the CCP to develop and have an immense impact on the decisions made by academic institutions and enable individuals to spy for the CCP on activities across the country and promote the CCP's aggressive national strategy, most commonly known as the Military-Civil Fusion, to help the People's Republic of China develop the most technologically advanced military in the world by 2049.

Thankfully, our society has woken up to these dangers, and now we, as Congress, are taking steps to correct that course.

In fiscal year '21, the National Defense Authorization Act prohibited DOD funding from going to institutions of higher education that host Confucius Institutes, and it is time for DHS to do the same. If DOD has done that, why are we treating DHS any different for their funding?

We must make every effort to protect Americans' tax dollars from being used to fund the CCP's nefarious activities.

The legislation we are discussing today, H.R. 1516, ensures that schools prioritize the security of their scientific research and technological development efforts above a paycheck from the CCP or entities affiliated with the PLA.

Specifically, this legislation restricts DHS funding from going to universities who maintain relationships with entities connected to the CCP or support the People's Republic of China Military-Civil Fusion program.

This bill safeguards our American taxpayer dollars. It safeguards our society. More importantly, this is a bill that guarantees that U.S. institutions are free from the CCP's malign influence, protects students and faculty who speak out against the CCP's nefarious activities.

Let's think about the research papers that are written that actually tell the truth about what is going on inside mainland China. This protects those students to be able to have the ability to write those things.

Many of my colleagues today might argue that this bill is not the same bill passed out of committee last Congress. They are correct. It is far stronger than the last bill.

Since the beginning of Congress, we have seen multiple instances of the dangers the CCP poses to the United States. In fact, we have a China select committee to just investigate those differences. The threat landscape has changed. Instead of a strategy of appeasement that has been offered by this administration, let's have a strategy of strength that deters action that would undermine our national security.

I really don't understand the pushback on this for technical reasons. Get with the program and let's get behind the security of this United States.

We need to think about the surveillance balloon that was flown across the continental United States. We worked in good faith last Congress and that bill was never brought to the floor. This Congress, when the people have given us the responsibility for the security of this country, we are going to take action.

There will be individuals who bring up the fact that there are only five known Confucius Institutes left in the United States and that they are no longer a threat. That is simply untrue.

The CCP has worked to rebrand their educational efforts and are operating in full force on college campuses across the United States. There is little to no transparency from universities in what type of assistance they receive from the PRC. Data collected by the Department of Education shows that universities in the United States have collected over $3.8 billion from entities connected to the PRC and the