Legislation is being introduced in Congress that would ban the Department of Justice from authorizing junior reserve officers’ training programs at any private schools with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Deterring Egregious State Infiltration of Schools’ Training (DESIST) Act on Tuesday, arguing that such legislation is necessary because of alleged attempts by the Chinese government to exert influence over students through educational institutions.
“The Chinese Communist Party wants to control everything Americans see, hear, and ultimately think. They have used Confucius Institutes to target college campuses across America, and I passed legislation in 2017 to deny Defense Department funding to schools that hosted Confucius Institutes, which ultimately got rid of most of them,” Cruz said in a press release.
“Today, they are using other methods to target the next generation of Americans, and the DESIST Act is an important step in continuing our effort to combat the CCP’s influence whenever it appears in our schools,” he added.
Confucius Institutes are a series of educational programs in the United States and other countries funded by China’s Ministry of Education. The National Association of Scholars (NAS) previously recommended in a report that all such institutes at U.S. schools be closed.
NAS quoted Li Changchun, a former head of propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party, who in 2009 reportedly referred to Confucius Institutes as “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.”
At an April meeting of the Texas State Board of Education, the issue of banning Confucius Institutes was raised by a board member, Julie Pickren (R-Pearland), who argued that such a ban would prevent “communism in our Texas public education.”
The proposal received some pushback from Keven Ellis (R-Lufkin).
“We can consider it, but I would really have to understand the purpose. I think if you excluded a certain group, there might be some discrimination that could be alleged,” Ellis said, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, Chinese investment firms have purchased private K-12 schools in the United States.
“Firms with direct ties with the CCP are buying up American private schools and it’s alarming our government has been supporting some of these schools financially. Our legislation would ensure that the American taxpayer will no longer foot the bill for JROTC programs controlled by Communist China,” said Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), per the press release.
Some version of the DESIST Act is expected to appear in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act later in the year, the Washington Examiner reported.
