The Protect Our Universities Act of 2019, authored by Indiana Representative Jim Banks, aims to specifically restrict students with past or current citizenship in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from participating or even accessing such projects. Should the students need to access the projects, they would have to apply for a waiver from the US Director of National Intelligence.
In 2018, the US government urged Confucius Institutes to register as foreign agents, fully disclosing their agenda and source of funding, in order to “increase transparency between foreign governments, universities and communities.” Confucius Institutes intend to “meet the educational goals of the university and align with the interests/resources of its local community.”
A US Senate investigation discovered that the CI would require school administrations to sign non-disclosure contract agreements regarding the scope and extent of Chinese intervention in the funded programmes.