No Hostile ONLOOKERS Act

Key Points

• This bill stops the U.S. intelligence community from spending money on research at National Laboratories if those labs allow people from countries of risk to visit or work there. The goal is to prevent foreign governments from stealing sensitive American technology or intelligence secrets through guest researchers.
• National Laboratories handle advanced energy and weapons research. Under this rule, these facilities would have to choose between receiving intelligence funding and hosting international visitors from specific countries that the government considers a security threat.
• An intelligence agency leader can bypass this rule only by proving to Congress that the specific research is safe from foreign spying. They must provide a written justification explaining why the work is necessary and how they will keep the information secure.

Impact Analysis

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