H.R. 881 · 119th Congress

DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act

Introduced on Jan 31, 2025 by August Pfluger (R-TX-11). 5 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (May 8, 2025): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jan 31, 2025
Cosponsors
5
0 from the other party
Policy area
Education
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To establish Department of Homeland Security funding restrictions on institutions of higher education that have a relationship with Confucius Institutes, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Area studies and international education
  • Asia
  • China
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Higher education
  • International exchange and broadcasting

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Jan 31, 2025). Public domain.

DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act

This bill restricts funding to an institution of higher education (IHE) that has a relationship with a Confucius Institute, Thousand Talents Program, or Chinese entity of concern. The bill defines (1) Confucius Institute as a cultural institute funded by the Chinese government; (2) Thousand Talents Program as any technological or educational program funded or administered by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and (3) Chinese entity of concern as generally any university or college in China that is involved in China's military, police, or intelligence activities.

Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must ensure that an IHE that has awarded a contract to, entered into an agreement with, or received an in-kind donation or gift from a Confucius Institute, Thousand Talents Program, or Chinese entity of concern is ineligible to receive any funds from DHS, unless the IHE terminates the relationship. The IHE may regain eligibility for these funds upon termination of the relationship.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

August PflugerR-TX-11Sponsor

Republicans · 5

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Passage
    May 7, 2025· House· Passage· Passed 266–153

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 31, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Jan 31, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Jan 31, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
  4. Jan 31, 2025 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.
  5. Apr 9, 2025 · HouseSubcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Discharged
  6. Apr 9, 2025 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  7. Apr 9, 2025 · HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended).
  8. May 5, 2025Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 119-87.
  9. May 5, 2025 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 119-87.
  10. May 5, 2025 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 62.
  11. May 5, 2025 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 377 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 276 and H.R. 881. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 276 and H.R. 881 under a closed rule with one hour of debate and one motion to recommit on each bill.
  12. May 6, 2025 · HouseRule H. Res. 377 passed House.
  13. May 7, 2025 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 377. (consideration: CR H1891-1894)
  14. May 7, 2025 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 276 and H.R. 881. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 276 and H.R. 881 under a closed rule with one hour of debate and one motion to recommit on each bill.
  15. May 7, 2025 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 881.
  16. May 7, 2025 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  17. May 7, 2025 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate of H.R. 881, the Chair put the question on passage of the bill and by voice vote announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Pfluger demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  18. May 7, 2025 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1895-1896)
  19. May 7, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 266 - 153 (Roll no. 120). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H1891)House · Roll call 120
  20. May 7, 2025 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 266 - 153 (Roll no. 120). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H1891)House · Roll call 120
  21. May 7, 2025 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  22. May 8, 2025 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. FDD Action6 reports
    $1.3M reported (all issues)
  2. University of Michigan5 reports
    $760K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGANAI match · 100%
  3. American Civil Liberties Union1 report
    $640K reported (all issues)
  4. American Council on Education1 report
    $92.7K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION$5M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  5. BOSTON UNIVERSITY1 report
    $60K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: BOSTON UNIVERSITY, TRUSTEES OFAI match · 100%
  6. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY1 report
    $380K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$30.2M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  7. Stanford University1 report
    $180K reported (all issues)
  8. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS1 report
    $40K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS$2.9M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 99%

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.