Federal research funding now blocked from foreign collaboration—with broad waiver loopholes
S. 4525 — Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries Act · Filed by Jim Banks (R-IN) · Introduced May 14, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits federal research funding from being used to collaborate with entities on U.S. government restricted lists (including Chinese military companies, sanctioned entities, and others designated for national security reasons). Federal agencies can grant case-by-case waivers if collaboration is necessary for national security or critical scientific purposes, and must report waivers to Congress within 30 days.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to restrict federal research funding from flowing to collaboration with foreign entities on government restricted lists, with national security as the stated rationale. It is a security-focused research governance measure, not a substantive research policy or appropriation.
What the text implies
- Waiver authority is broad and discretionary (agency heads decide case-by-case), creating potential for inconsistent enforcement across agencies and possible political influence on which collaborations are permitted.
- The definition of 'research collaboration' is expansive (including data sharing, co-authorship, personnel exchanges, and 'any other arrangement' determined by agency heads), meaning compliance burden may extend beyond direct joint projects to routine academic communication.
- Retroactive application is unclear—the bill does not specify whether existing collaborations or ongoing grants are grandfathered, potentially disrupting active research mid-stream.
- The restricted entity lists are dynamic and maintained by multiple agencies (Commerce, Treasury, State, Defense, FCC); researchers and institutions must monitor multiple lists continuously to maintain compliance.
- Universities and research institutions may face significant administrative and legal compliance costs to audit and police collaborations, potentially chilling legitimate international scientific exchange even where not legally prohibited.
Who it affects
The bill protects U.S. research integrity and national security by preventing federal funds from supporting collaboration with adversarial or sanctioned entities, while preserving legitimate scientific exchange through transparent waiver mechanisms. Citizens benefit from safeguarded research assets and clearer rules; the waiver-and-report structure maintains some flexibility for genuine scientific need.
Who stands to gain
- U.S. defense contractors and national security-focused research firms
- Domestic semiconductor and biotechnology companies (protected from foreign competition in federally
- Compliance and legal services firms (audit, monitoring, waiver documentation)
Named in the bill
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Department of Treasury, Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Laboratories, Entity List, Unverified List, Military End-User List, Denied Persons List, SDN List, Chinese military companies, Chinese academic institutions, Chinese semiconductor companies, Chinese, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFPLA) lists
Where it stands
- May 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- May 14, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
8 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,042,193 in lobbying spend. A filing names 18 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 88% of bills with at least one filing.
Jim Banks, the sponsor, reported $559,626 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Fdd Action — $240,000 on 1 filing
- Harvard University--president and Fellows of Harvard College — $210,000 on 1 filing
- New York University — $180,000 on 1 filing
- Stanford University — $130,000 on 1 filing
- Association of American Universities — $114,662 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 5, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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