March 11 (legislative day, March 10), 2025
Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Lee, Ms. Collins, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Risch) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
To prohibit National Laboratories from admitting certain foreign nationals, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Guarding American Technology from Exploitation Act of 2025
or the GATE Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Prohibition on National Laboratories admitting certain foreign nationals
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Assignee
The term assignee means an individual who is seeking approval from, or has been approved by, a National Laboratory to access the premises, information, or technology of the National Laboratory for a period of more than 30 consecutive days.
(2) Covered foreign national
(A) In general
The term covered foreign national means a foreign national of any of the following countries:
(i)
The People’s Republic of China.
(ii)
The Russian Federation.
(iii)
The Islamic Republic of Iran.
(iv)
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
(v)
The Republic of Cuba.
(B) Exclusion
The term covered foreign national does not include an individual that is—
(i)
lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))); or
(ii)
a citizen of the United States.
(3) Foreign national
The term foreign national has the meaning given the term alien in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)).
(4) National Laboratory
The term National Laboratory has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(5) Senior counterintelligence official
The term senior counterintelligence official means—
(A)
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(B)
the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(C)
the Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(D)
the Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(6) Visitor
The term visitor means an individual who is seeking approval from, or has been approved by, a National Laboratory to access the premises, information, or technology of the National Laboratory for any period shorter than a period described in paragraph (1).
(b) Prohibition
(1) In general
Except as provided in paragraph (2), beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, a National Laboratory—
(A)
shall not admit as a visitor or assignee any covered foreign national; and
(B)
shall prohibit access to any visitor or assignee that is a covered foreign national and has sought or obtained approval to access the premises, information, or technology of the National Laboratory as of that date.
(2) Waiver
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a National Laboratory with respect to a covered foreign national if the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the Department of Energy and a senior counterintelligence official—
(A)
certifies that the benefits to the United States of admittance or access to the National Laboratory by the covered foreign national outweigh the national security and economic risks to the United States; and
(B)
issues to the National Laboratory, in writing, a waiver of paragraph (1) with respect to the covered foreign national.
(3) Notification to Congress
Not later than 30 days after the date on which a waiver is issued under paragraph (2), the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a notification describing the waiver, including—
(A)
the country of origin of the covered foreign national who is the subject of the waiver;
(B)
the date of the request by the covered foreign national for admission or access to the National Laboratory;
(C)
the date on which the decision to issue the waiver was made; and
(D)
the specific reasons for issuing the waiver.