View all text of Subchapter I [§ 18911 - § 18912]
§ 18912. Research security
(a) DefinitionsIn this section:
(1) Country of risk
(A) In general
(B) DeterminationIn making a determination under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, shall take into consideration—
(i) the most recent World Wide Threat Assessment of the United States Intelligence Community, prepared by the Director of National Intelligence; and
(ii) the most recent National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States.
(2) Covered support
(3) Entity of concernThe term “entity of concern” means any entity, including a national, that is—
(A) identified under section 1237(b) of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; Public Law 105–261);
(B) identified under section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note; Public Law 116–283);
(C) on the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce and set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations;
(D) included in the list required by section 9(b)(3) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145; 134 Stat. 656); or
(E) identified by the Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and the applicable office that would provide, or is providing, covered support, as posing an unmanageable threat—
(i) to the national security of the United States; or
(ii) of theft or loss of United States intellectual property.
(4) National
(5) Secretary
(b) Science and technology risk assessment
(1) In general
(2) Content and implementationIn developing and using the tools and processes developed under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
(A) deploy risk-based approaches to evaluating, awarding, and managing certain research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities, including designations that will indicate the relative risk of activities;
(B) assess, to the extent practicable, ongoing high-risk activities;
(C) designate an officer or employee of the Department of Energy to be responsible for tracking and notifying recipients of any covered support of unmanageable threats to United States national security or of theft or loss of United States intellectual property posed by an entity of concern;
(D) consider requiring recipients of covered support to implement additional research security mitigations for higher-risk activities if appropriate; and
(E) support the development of research security training for recipients of covered support on the risks posed by entities of concern.
(3) Annual updates
(c) Entity of concern
(1) Prohibition
(2) Waiver of prohibition
(A) In general
(B) Notification to Congress
(3) Penalty
(A) Termination of support
(B) PenaltiesAn entity of concern or individual identified under subparagraph (A) shall be—
(i) prohibited from receiving or participating in covered support for a period of not less than 1 year but not more than 10 years, as determined by the Secretary; or
(ii) instead of the penalty described in clause (i), subject to any other penalties authorized under applicable law or regulations that the Secretary determines to be in the national interest.
(C) Notification to Congress
(4) CoordinationThe Secretary shall—
(A) share information about the unmanageable threats described in subsection (a)(3)(E) with other Federal agencies; and
(B) develop consistent approaches to identifying entities of concern.
(d) International agreements
(e) Report requiredNot later than 240 days after August 9, 2022, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that—
(1) describes—
(A) the tools and processes developed under subsection (b)(1) and any updates to those tools and processes; and
(B) if applicable, the science and technology risk matrix developed under that subsection and how that matrix has been applied;
(2) includes a mitigation plan for managing risks posed by countries of risk with respect to future or ongoing research and development activities of the Department of Energy; and
(3) defines critical research areas, designated by risk, as determined by the Secretary.
(Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title I, § 10114, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1469.)