WASHINGTON – A significant military budget bill making its way through Congress features provisions aimed at preventing taxpayer money from benefiting foreign adversaries like Russia and China.
The first amendment, introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), tightens restrictions on research funding from academic institutions linked to nations deemed hostile to the U.S.
It specifically bans financial support for “Academic and Research Institutions of the People’s Republic of China” and the “Russian Federation.”
The second measure restricts Pentagon funding for “research, development, testing, evaluation, or training in animal research facilities owned or controlled by foreign enemies or located in foreign nations.”
That said, exemptions can be made if the Secretary of Defense believes such exceptions align with “the national security interests of the United States,” along with a necessary justification to Congress.
“It’s outrageous that I had to fight for years to stop funding labs in foreign adversaries and questionable experiments by Chinese scientists with American defense dollars,” Ernst stated in a release. “I’m pleased to see a victory for common sense, taxpayers, and our citizens.”
However, she emphasized that the struggle isn’t over and aims to ensure that no taxpayer money is squandered on supporting adversarial research or unethical animal experimentation.
If this legislation passes and receives the president’s signature, it will be put into effect in 2026.
The ongoing risks associated with pathogen research could lead to increased transmissibility or infectiousness.
A report from June 2024 by the Department of Defense Directorate indicated that the Pentagon lacked awareness about the extent of funds directed toward foreign research on pathogens.
Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, significant financial resources—amounting to millions—were funneled into the influential Virus Institute in Wuhan, as confirmed by officials from the National Institutes of Health from 2014 to 2023.
The Defense Directorate’s report found that at least $15.5 million was allocated to seven major grants for research that could enhance pathogens and potentially lead to pandemics in China or elsewhere.
These funds are integral to the Pentagon’s ongoing ban on such research, classified as “aggressive biological research.”
Ernst remarked to a news outlet that Washington hasn’t learned lessons from the pandemic, asserting that without her push for auditing DOD expenditures, these taxpayer funds would have been wasted on adversaries.
The report revealed that the Pentagon was not tracking funding with sufficient detail to ascertain whether it supported research initiatives in China or other countries; defense officials claimed none of the experiments involved “strengthening” viruses.
Collaboration between Ernst and a watchdog group uncovered that from 2018 to 2023, over $1.3 billion was spent by the U.S. government on various research initiatives involving Russian and Chinese entities.
Another monitoring body, White Coat Waste, has urged federal agencies to halt funding for animal testing abroad. “For the sake of national security and animal welfare, we must cease sending taxpayer money to hostile foreign labs,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
Mace emphasized the urgency to end this taxpayer-funded irresponsibility, referring to numerous issues that have already arisen from the Wuhan Lab, which utilized U.S. funding.
Ernst also warned about a report from the Senate Intelligence Committee revealing that around 40,000 foreign nationals—more than 8,000 from China and Russia—gained access to facilities, sensitive information, or technology tied to the Energy Institute in 2023.
Additional alarming reports this year have raised doubts about foreign encroachments on American research initiatives.
A recent investigation from a student publication pointed out that spies from the Chinese Communist Party have established connections at a prestigious university on the West Coast.
