Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7510

Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026

House Bill Would Bar Universities from Transferring Research to China, Russia Under PROTECT Act

Next up: A house committee

The bill is currently in the House Committee on Education and Workforce. It has not seen any action since February 2026, which means it has been stalled for four months. The committee must review the bill before it can move forward, but most bills do not receive a vote at this stage.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill stops U.S. universities, their teachers, and students from selling or giving their research and inventions to certain foreign governments. This includes things like patents, secret data, and new technology developed on campus.
The ban targets specific countries that the government considers a threat, including China, Russia, and Iran. It also covers any country that supports terrorism or is currently in a fight with the United States.
Schools that break these rules could face huge fines. If the research isn't a threat to national security, the fine is up to $500,000. If the research involves sensitive topics like energy or defense, the fine can jump to $5 million.
The government can also take away any money the university made from the illegal deal. The Secretary of State will have the final say on which countries are off-limits and how dangerous the research is.

EducationNational Security Foreign PolicyTechnology Digital

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works

Foreign researchers and graduate students on visas — particularly those from China, Russia, and Iran — could face heightened scrutiny and suspicion around their university research activities, even if they have no connection to those governments. The broad definition of 'covered research' (anything developed 'in whole or in part' by a university-affiliated person) could chill international academic collaborations and make it harder for visa holders to participate fully in research projects.

-2

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

-2

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 11, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Feb 11, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

2 articles

Export Compliance Daily·Feb 11

Bill Would Restrict University Exports of Intellectual Property

The PROTECT Act of 2026 targets the transfer of research and inventions from U.S. campuses to adversarial governments. Violations involving sensitive defense or energy research could result in fines up to $5 million, while non-security threats carry penalties up to $500,000.

Center

The Lion·Feb 11

Rep. Troy Nehls moves to prevent US universities from 'compromising the security of our nation'

The Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026 targets universities that sell research and inventions to adversarial nations, imposing fines up to $5 million for national security-related breaches.

Right

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 7510

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.