McCaul Statement on the Biden Administration’s Withdrawal of a Proposed Rule on Confucius Institutes

Washington, DC – House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul released the following statement after the Biden administration withdrew a proposed rule requiring disclosure of relationships with Confucius Institutes. The Confucius Institutes are entities in U.S. colleges and schools which are funded and staffed by China’s Ministry of Education. The China Task Force Report highlighted threats posed by Chinese Communist Party influence in America’s education system.  

“By quietly backing away from the proposed rule without consulting Congress, the Biden administration is sending a concerning signal about its scrutiny of CCP influence in academia, and telling academic institutions that they don’t need to be transparent about their ties to China’s regime. It’s all the more disturbing because the education industry already fails to report billions of dollars of foreign gifts and contracts. I strongly urge the Biden Administration to stick to its promises to prioritize the CCP as our main national security challenge, including in the American education system.”  

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