Congress Requests Briefings from Scientific Research Agencies on Safeguarding Against Foreign-Linked Compromised Research

On February 5, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Brian Babin (R-TX) and Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Rich McCormick (R-GA) sent letters to several agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), raising concerns about “falsified research” published from “paper mills” funded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In their letter to NSF, the Chairmen wrote:

“Such false research can negatively impact the scientific community and set back fundamental and critical research for years before it is identified. As a result, the credibility of NSF-funded research could be called into question, underscoring the need for heightened oversight and accountability.”

These agencies are directed to respond with a briefing on their oversight process so that the Committee can “assess research integrity risks” and “guard against foreign-linked compromised findings” before February 27.

This comes after Chairmen Babin and McCormick raised concerns that universities and research organizations have found federal guidelines on research security to be “confusing, inconsistent, or incomplete” during a related hearing on research security in December (see COSSA’s coverage). During the hearing, the Chairman urged several scientific research agencies, including NSF, NASA, and DOE, to coordinate a national response to improve research security guidelines across the U.S. scientific research enterprise.

Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on research security.