Gain-of-function research, which genetically alters an organism to enhance or introduce new biological abilities, was the primary source behind the lab leak theory regarding the origin of COVID-19, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology had previously received gain-of-function research funding from the U.S.
Trump’s proposed budget, released last week, cut $17 billion from the National Institutes of Health, citing poor oversight of gain-of-function research in Wuhan.
While Trump is in office, longer if the EO is codified, China and other nations will not receive congressional funding for such research.
But the Communist nation is working hard to secure other means of influence in the U.S. According to a report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) shared with The Free Press, foreign nations, including China, have poured $29 billion into U.S. universities in recent years.
Qatar and China are among the largest sources of funding.
Exact numbers are difficult to come by as many universities fail to report the figures as required by the Higher Education Act.
Trump’s EO is a good first step at fighting what appears to be a growing effort by China to gain influence in the U.S.
“It’s critical for us to do this, because we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past," Rep. Nathaniel Moran, a Texas Republican who serves on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said on Washington Watch Tuesday.
"It's abhorrent to think about the fact that our money here, American taxpayer money, actually found its way to the Wuhan lab and helped to support some of the research that then ultimately led to what we dealt with in the Coronavirus pandemic,” Moran said.
Moran told show host Tony Perkins the executive order should be codified, making it unlawful for Congress to financially support gain-of-function research overseas.
But he didn’t sound like such a measure would be part of the ongoing budget reconciliation process.
Republicans, with narrow majorities in the House and Senate, have the votes to pass legislation themselves provided they can avoid a Senate filibuster. The reconciliation process allows that path.
Reconciliation unlikely to address China influence
But the “one big beautiful bill” that Moran says is days from reality, not months, seems unlikely to include this particular item.
“We want to make sure that we are treading lightly when it comes to policy. We’re not involved in policymaking when it comes to reconciliation. Reconciliation is a matter of dollars and cents and reconciling our revenues with our expenditure. So, the Committee of Jurisdiction will have to take up whether or not they think this fits within that,” Moran said.
The NCRI study found that Qatar and China rank first and second in foreign donations to U.S. universities since reporting began in 1986. Qatar has contributed $6.3 billion, China $5.6 billion in that window.
Both ramped up their giving during Joe Biden’s presidential administration with China giving $2.3 billion, Qatar $2 billion from 2021-2024.
The University of California at Berkeley alone received $5.7 million Li Ka-Shing, a Hong Kong billionaire who is involved in the U.S.-China trade dispute over the Panama Canal, according to The Daily Caller. The contribution was reported as having come from Canada, where Li Ka-Shing has a foundation.
The school has received “hundreds of millions” of dollars from China, the report says.
In addition, China has aggressively pursued the purchase of U.S. farmland, its acquisitions jumping 30% in the latter years of Trump’s first term.
Department of Agriculture figures in 2021 showed China owned roughly 385,000 acres of agricultural land. U.S. companies with Chinese shareholders owned 190,000 acres. Chinese investors owned another 195,000 acres.
Moran said foreign contributions into U.S. universities totals roughly $57 billion since 1981.
“That’s concerning because when China and other adversaries have their money in our universities, particularly in our research institutions, what happens is they have access to those systems, to those data. They get the intellectual property resulting from a lot of that research. They get their people over here to be part of that research,” he said.
Too many campuses turn a blind eye to the source of such a valuable revenue stream.
“It absolutely is a national security issue,” Moran said.
Adding ‘teeth’ to existing law
The House in March passed H.R. 1048, The Deterrent Act, which aims to strengthen disclosure requirements for foreign gifts at institutions of higher learning and prohibits certain contracts with foreign entities and counties of concern.
The bill also introduces new reporting requirements for private institutions with significant endowments.
It passed with 241 votes, but there were 169 House members, mostly Democrats, who voted against it.
The Higher Education Act lacks “teeth,” Moran said, but The Deterrent Act adds that.
It still must pass the Senate.
“If you don't follow the reporting requirements, if you're not transparent, then there's going to be fines and potentially loss of Title IV funding for those colleges and universities that do not report those things in a timely manner and in a full manner,” Moran said.
