U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce and Michael Rulli, who represent the Mahoning Valley, introduced a bill in the House to prohibit public schools from accepting funds or entering into contracts with the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party or individuals or entities with ties to either.

The bill also would require schools to notify the U.S. Department of Education of any foreign funds or contracts they have.

Joyce, R-Bainbridge, represents all of Trumbull County while Rulli, R-Salem, represents all of Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

Joyce was a lead sponsor on a similar bill introduced Sept. 19, 2023. It was sent to the House Education and Workforce Committee, where it was amended June 13, 2024, and approved by a 23-16 vote. It was sent to the House on July 5, but no vote was taken.

“American classrooms and what is taught in them should be guided by Americans, not by foreign influences,” Joyce said. “The Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to interfere with our curriculum and students is a direct threat to our national security that must be addressed.”

There are uncertainties about actual Chinese influence in public schools.

In 2018, Congress restricted federal funding to colleges with Confucius Institutes, which were tied to China and partially funded by the country. An October 2023 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office showed that after the federal funding restriction, Confucius Institutes at universities dropped from about 100 to fewer than five.

The institutes were supposed to promote Chinese language and culture, but had faced accusations of posing national security threats.

The Parents Defending Education, a right-wing organization, contended in a July 2023 report that 143 school districts in the country had Confucius Classrooms, with ties to China, with at least seven still active.

Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee said in July that its staff was unable to locate credible evidence to support the claims from the Parents Defending Education.

Republicans on the committee said the bill will help “ensure that the Chinese government does not take advantage of local school districts.”

The Chinese Communist Party is accused by Republican officials of using Confucius Classrooms as a “soft-power effort to influence policies” in America through language and cultural programs.

The Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems (CLASS) Act, sponsored by Joyce and Rulli, would cut all federal funding to public schools that accept money from China, the nation’s communist party or those with ties to either.

The Chinese Communist Party “has a clear agenda to infiltrate American classrooms and manipulate curricula,” Rulli said. “This bill ensures that no school district in Ohio – or anywhere else in the country – falls prey to the CCP influence.”

Joyce said: “Protecting our children is a top priority and this legislation is a vital step in preventing the CCP’s influence from spreading through the American education system.”

OTHER BILLS

Meanwhile, Joyce reintroduced the Higher Education Accountability Tax (HEAT) Act for the third time.

The bill targets Ivy League schools and other private universities by increasing the tax levied on their endowment profits from 1.4% to 10%.

It also would increase the number of universities that have to pay the tax by expanding the threshold to all private colleges and universities with an endowment valued at $250,000 from the current $500,000. Those with endowments of at least $500,000 have to pay the 1.4% tax.

Joyce’s proposal would increase the tax rate to 20% on endowments of universities that raise the net price-increase for schools that increase tuition by more than the rate of inflation.

Joyce introduced the bill Sept. 11, 2022. It was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee, where it never had a hearing. The same thing happened after Joyce reintroduced the bill on Aug. 9, 2024.

Joyce said: “Institutions are making record profits and exacerbating the student debt crisis with rising tuition costs. Instead of pushing students to take out more loans in response to inflation and rising tuition costs, we should look to the elite universities that are profiting off their students rather than working to make education more affordable.”

Rulli introduced the Beat Bad Bureaucrats Act, which he said will safeguard Social Security benefits against garnishments by the Small Business Administration.

Rulli’s office said since October, his casework team has heard from as many as three constituents a week that they’ve received letters from the SBA notifying them that their Social Security benefits would be garnished because of supposed past-due COVID-era Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Rulli’s office said in each case the loans were fraudulently obtained using stolen identities and the senior citizens only became aware of the issue after getting the letter.

Garnishments begin just 30 days after the letters are sent, and even when a member of Congress gets involved, it takes much longer than 30 days to prove identity theft, according to Rulli’s office.

Rulli’s bill would mandate the SBA include information on reporting identity theft with all garnishment letters, prohibit the administration from initiating garnishments upon receipt of an identity theft report and require the SBA to immediately cease garnishments when identity theft is reported.

Rulli said: “This legislation is about standing up for vulnerable Americans, ensuring they aren’t penalized for crimes they didn’t commit. These do-nothing bureaucrats would rather starve senior citizens than investigate their own ineptitude.”