Texas lawmakers will examine Tuesday whether colleges are doing enough to protect research from foreign adversaries, while Gov. Greg Abbott plans to unveil measures aimed at limiting foreign influence in education during a campaign event later that day.
The House Higher Education Committee’s agenda does not name a specific law. However, its focus on screening, reporting, oversight and the Higher Education Research Security Council closely tracks House Bill 127, which committee chair Rep. Terry M. Wilson, R-Georgetown, authored last year. The law created the new council and set safeguards for certain researchers, foreign gifts, academic partnerships and work-related travel.
Texas universities must screen foreign citizens who are not permanent residents, as well as people with certain work, training or institutional ties to a foreign adversary, before hiring them into research jobs or giving them access to research data, according to the law.
