Bill · S. 4424· Senate(119-S-4424)
A bill to amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to prohibit certain institutions of higher education from receiving research and development awards, and for other purposes.
- Introduced
- 4/28/2026
- Last activity
- 4/28/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Sponsored by
- Rick Scott
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill proposes an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. It aims to prohibit certain institutions of higher education from receiving research and development awards. This prohibition applies if the institution receives funds from a foreign source to carry out a specified task. The restriction lasts for a period of 5 years after the receipt of such funds. The bill defines various terms including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science. It also lists several specified foreign governments that trigger these restrictions.
Yes
Does this better protect the country from computer attacks?+3
The bill aims to protect sensitive national security research fields like quantum information science and artificial intelligence from foreign influence.
The opposite
Does this put more money into scientific research?-3
The bill may reduce the total amount of research funding available to institutions that have accepted funds from specified foreign governments.
Does this put more money into public schools?-2
The bill could negatively impact higher education institutions by restricting their access to federal research and development awards.
Would students be better off under this?-2
Potential restrictions on research funding may limit opportunities for students working in affected scientific fields.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
- Prevention of research and development award recipients receiving foreign funds for specific tasks (Section 1(a)): This provision prevents institutions of higher education from receiving a research and development award for 5 years if they have accepted funds from a foreign source for tasks related to national security or military applications like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or quantum information science.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Prohibition on research and development awards (Section 1(a)): Institutions of higher education may be barred from receiving research and development awards for 5 years after receiving funds from a foreign source for a specified task. This could impact those institutions if they receive funds from a specified foreign government, an entity established under such a government, or an entity where that government holds at least a 25 percent ownership interest.
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Broad definition of specified foreign government (Section 1(a)(7)): The list of governments includes the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Turkey, the Russian Federation, and the State of Qatar, as well as any other country the Secretary of State determines appropriate.
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Broad definition of specified task (Section 1(a)(7)): The restriction applies to research and development relating to a national security or military application, which includes artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding-3Increases Public School Funding-2
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Improves Cybersecurity Defense+3
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Students-2
- 4/28/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.