Washington, Feb. 11 -- Congressman Troy E. Nehls issued the following press release:
Congressman Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22) introduced the Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026, which would prohibit U.S. universities from selling the intellectual property (IP) rights of research conducted by the university, their staff, or students to the government of a hostile nation, like China, Russia, or Iran.
Currently, U.S. universities receive millions (https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/Sec117PublicRecordsCompleteFeb2025.xlsx) annually in gifts and contracts from foreign companies and governments. Among these foreign governments is China. Reporting (https://www.fdd.org/analy...