“The Chinese Communist Party has made nests for its propaganda on college campuses all over our country. . . . It’s time to end Communist China’s deceitful attacks on democratic freedoms by giving power back to American students and educators.”
WASHINGTON – Today the Senate passed the Concerns Over Nations Funding University Campus Institutes in the United States (CONFUCIUS) Act by unanimous consent. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the legislation in March 2019 to address concerns about Confucius Institutes’ suppressing free speech on American college campuses. Sens. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) cosponsored the legislation.
“The Chinese Communist Party has made nests for its propaganda on college campuses all over our country. Confucius Institutes are threatening academic liberty and free speech without shame, and too many American schools have fallen victim to the political con. It’s time to end Communist China’s deceitful attacks on democratic freedoms by giving power back to American students and educators,” said Kennedy.
At universities across the U.S., the Chinese government is waging an influence war through its Confucius Institutes. Though ostensibly designed to promote cultural studies on college campuses, Confucius Institutes receive direct funding from the Chinese government.
The CONFUCIUS Act reduces the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on U.S. colleges and universities by granting full managerial authority of Confucius Institutes to the universities that host them.
Specifically, the CONFUCIUS Act provides that Confucius Institutes must:
- Protect academic freedom on the campus where the Confucius Institute is located,
- Prohibit the application of any foreign law on any campus of the institution, and
- Grant full control over what a Confucius Institute teaches, the activities it carries out, the research grants it gives, and the individuals it employs to the college or university on which it is located.
This bill would prohibit federal government funding to colleges and universities that host Confucius Institutes and are not in compliance with the above provisions. The funding prohibition would only apply to funding directed to the college or university and would not include funding disbursed to students, such as Pell Grants.
Video of Kennedy’s unanimous consent request is available here.
Background:
- According to the nonpartisan National Association of Scholars, there are at least 72 Confucius Institutes at colleges and universities in the U.S.
- This May, the College Republican National Committee and the College Democrats of America wrote a joint letter calling for the “immediate and permanent closure of all Confucius Institutes in the United States” due to their “concerns over the present state of academic freedom” and “the continued exploitation of liberal, democratic academic institutions by authoritarians.”
- These institutes can threaten universities by withholding funding in order to achieve their objectives, such as regulating speech the Chinese government opposes. Universities forced to choose between losing funding or upholding free speech are often tempted to yield to an institution funded by a foreign government over the interests of free speech. This allows foreign governments like China’s Communist Party to exert influence (such as prohibiting the Dalai Lama from speaking on a campus) and even apply Chinese Communist laws on U.S. soil.
“Severe tornadoes ripped through several facilities on Louisiana Tech’s campus last year, and this FEMA grant will help make necessary repairs on behalf of students.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced a $9,847,869 FEMA grant to support tornado-related repairs to J.C. Love Field at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
“Severe tornadoes ripped through several facilities on Louisiana Tech’s campus last year, and this FEMA grant will help make necessary repairs on behalf of students,” said Kennedy.
On June 3, 2019, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration as a result of severe tornado damage in northern Louisiana. This funding is provided under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
“The existing cap arbitrarily siphons money away from conservation in oil-producing states. This cap isn’t smart, sustainable or fair. The commonsense solution here is eliminating the cap on oil revenues for Gulf states.”
WASHINGTON—Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), has introduced the Offshore Cap Parity Act to eliminate the arbitrary, misguided cap on the amount of revenue Gulf states can receive from oil and gas drilling off their coasts.
The states direct much of this revenue to coastal conservation and restoration efforts. Currently, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) limits the dollar amount of revenue that Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama can collectively receive to $375 million per year, though total revenues for the Gulf topped $5 billion in 2019.
“Louisianians have tirelessly supported America’s path to energy independence, and we depend on GOMESA funds to conserve and restore our storm-battered coastline.
“The existing cap arbitrarily siphons money away from conservation in oil-producing states. This cap isn’t smart, sustainable or fair. The commonsense solution here is eliminating the cap on oil revenues for Gulf states,” said Kennedy.
Text of the Offshore Cap Parity Act is available here.
Background:
Under GOMESA, federal revenues from the offshore energy production of Gulf states are divided into three portions. The federal government returns 37.5 percent of this revenue to Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. The Land and Water Conservation Fund receives 12.5 percent of offshore revenue and directs most of that money to landlocked states. The final 50 percent of Gulf oil and gas revenue goes to the U.S. Treasury.
The GOMESA cap limits the dollar value of Gulf states’ 37.5 percent revenue share to $375 million, meaning the states receive no benefit when the energy sector peaks and revenues surpass the cap. Conversely, the Mineral Leasing Act ensures that states with onshore drilling operations receive 50 percent of their revenues, while there is no cap on how much money that share includes.
States with onshore energy production typically aren’t required to spend that money on environmental priorities. Louisiana constitutionally dedicates revenues from offshore energy production to pay for its coastal conservation and restoration projects.
“Louisiana deserves quality education and health care, and this HHS funding will support key services and research to help our communities flourish.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $2,507,961 from the Department of Health and Human Services to support education, health services and research programs in Louisiana.
“Louisiana deserves quality education and health care, and this HHS funding will support key services and research to help our communities flourish,” said Kennedy.
Projects supported by this funding include:
- $1,103,941 to Allen Action Agency, Inc. for the Head Start program.
- $1,057,780 to Louisiana Primary Care Associations, Inc. for state and regional primary care services.
- $218,440 to Tulane University to help improve antiretroviral therapy adherence and viral suppression in people affected by violence and living with HIV.
- $127,800 to Xavier University to explore the protein structural features that regulate myoglobin proton transfer.
- $930,098 to support laptop computers, tablets, network upgrades and software licenses at Access Health Louisiana in Kenner.
- $561,131 to support tablets, phones, mobile hotspots and remote monitoring equipment at Community Health Systems in Zachary.
- $271,850 to support a telemedicine cart and tablet computers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
- $240,390 to support a telemetry video system, tablets, desktop computers and telemedicine devices at DeSoto Regional Health System in Mansfield.
“Livingston Parish schools are still feeling the impact of the 2016 floods, and this FEMA grant will help the school board repair damages to multiple schools and their resources.”
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced $40,563,208 in FEMA grants to support flood-related repairs to the Denham Springs Elementary School and Southside Elementary and Junior High Schools in Livingston Parish.
“Livingston Parish schools are still feeling the impact of the 2016 floods, and this FEMA grant will help the school board repair damages to multiple schools and their resources,” said Kennedy.
As a result of severe flooding, a major disaster was declared in Louisiana on August 14, 2016. This funding is provided under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
“When Hurricanes Irma and Maria dealt the Virgin Islands heavy blows in 2017, Louisianians raced down to help our neighbors rebuild. . . . Now, the bills are way past due, and Louisiana companies are going under as a result. When these companies buckle, Louisiana jobs vanish with them. . . . These businesses must be made whole, and every party involved must answer to Congress for the harm done to our workers and businesses.”
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that he intends to issue a formal call for an investigation into why companies in Louisiana and other states haven’t been paid many months after performing hurricane recovery work in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“When Hurricanes Irma and Maria dealt the Virgin Islands heavy blows in 2017, Louisianians raced down to help our neighbors rebuild. These Louisiana companies are disaster recovery experts and operated in good faith. They paid salaries and living expenses on the promise that FEMA, prime contractors such as AECOM and the government of the Virgin Islands would fulfill their obligations. Those promises were broken.
“Now, the bills are way past due, and Louisiana companies are going under as a result. When these companies buckle, Louisiana jobs vanish with them. There’s no time for delay: These businesses must be made whole, and every party involved must answer to Congress for the harm done to our workers and businesses,” said Kennedy.
Several Louisiana companies, and numerous other Gulf states’ companies, performed hundreds of millions of dollars in recovery work in the Virgin Islands following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. More than two years after the storms, those companies are still owed approximately $200 million.
The investigation should, believes Kennedy, include FEMA, the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, AECOM, TSG, Witt O’Brien’s and other prime contractors or entities that were involved.
Kennedy is currently working with the relevant Senate committees to determine jurisdiction and venue for the investigation and related hearings and will be issuing a formal call in the coming weeks.
“Throughout this pandemic, nursing homes have faced unparalleled challenges while looking after America’s most vulnerable people. This HHS funding will give these health care professionals key resources to protect seniors and each other.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $98,475,000 in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in Louisiana.
“Throughout this pandemic, nursing homes have faced unparalleled challenges while looking after America’s most vulnerable people. This HHS funding will give these health care professionals key resources to protect seniors and each other,” said Kennedy.
This funding is provided under the authority of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. These resources could help nursing homes increase labor, expand testing, obtain personal protective equipment and cover other expenses directly related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Additional information about this funding is available here.
“South Louisiana has experienced significant flooding in recent years, and these FEMA grants will help fund critical elevation projects to protect homes from future disasters.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $5,755,890 in FEMA grants to support residential elevation projects in Tangipahoa and Orleans Parishes.
“South Louisiana has experienced significant flooding in recent years, and these FEMA grants will help fund critical elevation projects to protect homes from future disasters,” said Kennedy.
This funding is authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act. In New Orleans, structures located inside of the hurricane storm damage reduction system will be elevated one foot above the base flood elevation, while structures located outside of the system will be elevated by two feet. In Tangipahoa Parish, the resources will support elevating eleven flood-prone residential structures that have repeatedly suffered extensive loss.
