The proposed legislation, called the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, would expand the influence of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., also known as CFIUS, an interagency group that examines foreign transactions involving American businesses. It is chaired by the U.S. Treasury Secretary.
In addition to enabling CFIUS to review colleges’ foreign gifts and contracts worth $1 million or more that deal with technology research and production, the bill would also open the panel’s scrutiny to those that carry conditions, such as those that endow a professorship. The amounts in question could be a one-off or a combined $1 million or more received over two years from the same source and for the same purpose.
