Senator Tom Cotton seeks ban on foreign nationals in agriculture research
WASHINGTON (KNWA/KFTA) — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has introduced the Biothreat Prevention Act, legislation that would ban federal funding to any lab or university conducting agricultural research involving nationals from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea.
'Foreign terrorists that seek to poison and destroy America's food supply should not have access to American labs and universities,' said Senator Cotton.
This comes after two Chinese researchers were charged with smuggling a fungus known to be a 'potential agroterrorism weapon' into the U.S.
The bill is designed to limit potential threats to U.S. agriculture by restricting foreign nationals from working on sensitive or federally funded agricultural research projects.
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In 2020, a University of Arkansas professor was arrested for wire fraud and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI after receiving a grant from NASA. Multiple case studies across the United States can be found on a Virginia Tech research page.
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