[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                     ACADEMIC FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK: 
                      LOOSENING THE CCP'S GRIP ON
                          AMERICA'S CLASSROOMS

=======================================================================


                                HEARING

                               Before The

                   SUBCOMMITTEE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD,  
                   ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY EDUCATION

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE  
                               WORKFORCE 
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________



           HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-22

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
  
  

  
              
               
               [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
               
               
  
  


        Available via: edworkforce.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov 
                                 ______

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

55-781 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2024 















                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

               VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina, Chairwoman

JOE WILSON, South Carolina           ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia,  
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania           Ranking Member
TIM WALBERG, Michigan                RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona 
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin            JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York          GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia                 Northern Mariana Islands
JIM BANKS, Indiana                   FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida 
JAMES COMER, Kentucky                SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania          MARK TAKANO, California
BURGESS OWENS, Utah                  ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina
BOB GOOD, Virginia                   MARK DeSAULNIER, California
LISA McCLAIN, Michigan               DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
MARY MILLER, Illinois                PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
MICHELLE STEEL, California           SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
RON ESTES, Kansas                    LUCY McBATH, Georgia
JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana              JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
KEVIN KILEY, California              ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota
AARON BEAN, Florida                  HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan
ERIC BURLISON, Missouri              TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina
JOHN JAMES, Michigan                 FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, Oregon          JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York           
ERIN HOUCHIN, Indiana

                       Cyrus Artz, Staff Director
              Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director 
              
                                 ------                                

           SUBCOMMITTEE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD, ELEMENTARY, AND  
                          SECONDARY EDUCATION 

                     AARON BEAN, Florida, Chairman

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania         SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon,
BURGESS OWENS, Utah                    Ranking Member
LISA McCLAIN, Michigan               RAUL GRIJALVA, Arizona
MARY MILLER, Illinois                GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
MICHELLE STEEL, California             Northern Mariana Islands
KEVIN KILEY, California              JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York           FREDERICA WILSON, Florida
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina        MARK DeSAULNIER, California
                                     DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey 
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     

                                     
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on September 19, 2023...............................     1

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

    Bean, Hon. Aaron, Chairman, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, 
      Elementary, and Secondary Education........................     1
        Prepared statement of....................................     4
    Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', Ranking Member, Committee on 
      Education and the Workforce................................     6
        Prepared statement of....................................     7

                               WITNESSES

    Gonzalez, Micheal, Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation....   105
        Prepared statement of....................................   108
    Kusakawa, Gisela P., Executive Director, Asian American 
      Scholar Forum (AASF).......................................   114
        Prepared statement of....................................   116
    Neily, Nicole, President, Parents Defending Education........   120
        Prepared statement of....................................   123
    Walters, Ryan, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
      Oklahoma State Department of Education.....................   129
        Prepared statement of....................................   131

                         ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS

    Ranking Member Scott:
        Staff Report from the United States Senate...............     9
    Steel, Hon. Michelle, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of California:
        H.R. 1146 Resolution from the Orange County Board of 
          Education..............................................   140 


 
                     ACADEMIC FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK: 
                      LOOSENING THE CCP'S GRIP ON 
                          AMERICA'S CLASSROOMS

                              ----------                              


                      Tuesday, September 19, 2023

                  House of Representatives,
  Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and 
                               Secondary Education,
                  Committee on Education and the Workforce,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:16, a.m., 
2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Aaron Bean [Chairman 
of the Subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Bean, Thompson, Owens, McClain, 
Miller, Steel, Williams, Foxx, Bonamici, Grijalva, DeSaulnier, 
Norcross, and Scott.
    Also present: Walberg
    Staff present: Cyrus Artz, Staff Director; Mindy Barry, 
General Counsel; Isabel Foster, Press Assistant; Daniel 
Fuenzalida, Staff Assistant; Sheila Havenner, Director of 
Information Technology, Paxton Henderson, Intern, Amy Raaf 
Jones, Director of Education and Human Services Policy; Georgie 
Littlefair, Hannah Matesic, Director of Member Services and 
Coalitions; Audra McGeorge, Communications Director; Eli 
Mitchell, Legislative Assistant; Rebecca Powell, Staff 
Assistant; Brad Thomas, Senior Education Policy Advisor; Maura 
Williams, Director of Operations; Ilana Brunner, Minority 
General Counsel; Rashage Green, Minority Director of Education 
Policy; Christian Haines, Minority General Counsel; Emma T. 
Johnson, Minority Legal Intern; Stephanie Lalle, Minority 
Communications Director; Raiyana Malone, Minority Press 
Secretary; Shyann McDonald, Minority Staff Assistant; Kota 
Mizutani, Minority Deputy Communications Director; Veronique 
Pluviose, Minority Staff Director; Banyon Vassar, Minority IT 
Administrator.
    Chairman Bean. Can I have your attention please? Good 
morning, and welcome to Washington, DC, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood Elementary and 
Secondary Education.
    The Committee will come to order. A quorum is present. 
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to call a recess at 
any time. The Subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony 
to examine the covert influence of foreign governments and 
organizations, including the Chinese Communist Party on the 
United States K through 12 schools.
    I am Aaron Bean. I am going to be your host and Chair of 
the Committee as we embark on a journey of fact finding and to 
figure out just what the heck is going on. Our hearing today is 
entitled the Academic Freedom Under Attack: Loosening the CCP 
Grip on America's Classrooms.
    The CCP influence is rampant in America's classrooms. We 
will talk about that today, over 500 K through 12 schools 
across the United States have allowed the CCP to establish 
itself in their halls under the guise of Confucius classrooms, 
but when you pull back the curtain on these cultural exchange 
centers, you find a CCP backed agenda that undermines the 
principles upon which our education system is built.
    The risk posed by the proliferation of Communist Confucius 
classrooms is threefold, threatening America's national, 
geopolitical, and academic interests. One of the most alarming 
threats is to our national security. A recent report revealed 
that numerous Confucius classrooms are strategically located 
around U.S. military bases.
    Moreover, it uncovered that elite American secondary 
schools like Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and 
Technology, are partnering with Chinese military schools 
supervised by the Chinese defense industry, like Tsinghua 
University, to develop academic programming.
    These ties raise serious concerns about the safety and 
security of military children and secrets. The CCP's presence 
near our bases can be seen as a direct attempt to target and 
influence these vulnerable populations, potentially 
compromising our national security in the process.
    Furthermore, Confucius classrooms pose a significant 
geopolitical risk. They are explicitly organized by the CCP 
politburo to project soft power on American students. This 
strategy is straight out of the Soviet playbook. In 1960, the 
USSR established the People's Friendship University as a 
cultural and literary exchange program to indoctrinate students 
in developing countries like Africa, Asia, and Latin America, 
with notably alumni including Marxist revolutionaries and world 
leaders.
    This blatant attempt to inject foreign ideologies into our 
schools undermines the fundamental purpose of American 
education. It goes without saying we should be teaching 
American values in American schools, which leads to my third 
point.
    Confucius classrooms risk our academic security. Every 
dollar that flows into American classrooms from the CCP comes 
with strings attached, and the most important string is the 
requirement that instructors censor themselves to appease 
Beijing. It would be remarkable to even hear four words in a 
Confucius classroom--Tibet, Taiwan, Tiananmen Square.
    This censorship stifles academic freedom, which is the 
cornerstone of our educational system. Academic freedom 
encourages open dialog, the free exchange of ideas and the 
pursuit of knowledge without fear of reprisal. Confucius 
classrooms, however, undermine these principles by fostering an 
environment where educators are pressured to align themselves 
with the CCP agenda, stifling critical thinking and true 
intellectual exploration.
    We must recognize the consequences of this infiltration 
that will harm our generations to come. Our children deserve an 
education that empowers them to think critically, develop their 
own perspectives, and become informed and engaged citizens, 
allowing CCP propaganda to infiltrate our schools robs children 
of this opportunity.
    The danger of Confucius classrooms in America K through 12 
schools cannot be overstated. They threatened our national 
security, compromise our geopolitical interests, and erode our 
academic freedom. Today the Committee is taking a stand against 
CCP influence, and we will continue to work tirelessly to 
safeguard our educational institutions from foreign influence.
    It is our duty to protect our kids, and our children's 
future by preserving the integrity of American education. On a 
final note, the Committee supports teaching Chinese language, 
history and culture. China has a rich culture that our students 
should learn about.
    We support the Chinese people, who have been horribly 
oppressed by their government. What we do not support is the 
CCP indoctrination and the rewriting of history. With that, I 
yield for the Ranking Member for an opening statement, Mr. 
Scott.
    [The Statement of Chairman Bean follows:]
    
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    Mr. Scott. Thank you, Chairman Bean, and thank you in 
advance to our witnesses for your testimony today. Once again, 
the Committee republicans are holding a hearing on a topic that 
will only further their extreme agenda, inject divisive 
partisan politics into our children's classrooms.
    We are actually nearly 11 days from a potential government 
shutdown, and here we are unconcerned about the impact of a 
shutdown on our economy. We are also facing a childcare cliff 
at the end of this month. House republicans proposed a 
solution, the proposed solution is an array of devastating cuts 
to the Federal funding that fuels our children's education.
    According to my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, 
proposed cuts to Labor HHS appropriations would eliminate 
access to early childhood education for over 50,000 children 
through cuts in Head Start, potentially remove over 200,000 
teachers from classrooms serving low-income students through 
cuts in Title I, and wipe out Federal support for vital 
academic programs that support over 5 million English learners. 
Rather than finding ways to help families keep a roof over 
their heads, put food on the table, find affordable, quality 
childcare, the majority would rather take the Committee's time 
promoting conspiracy theories and dubious research.
    By contrast, just last week congressional democrats 
introduced the Childcare Stabilization Act to address a 
potential childcare crisis and preserve vital childcare funding 
expiring at the end of this month. The bill would keep 
thousands of childcare providers afloat, save childcare slots 
for millions of children, and help ensure access to quality, 
affordable childcare for working families.
    It is my hope that colleagues across the aisle will help us 
save the childcare sector from potential collapse. Furthermore, 
I am concerned the majority thought it appropriate to hold a 
congressional hearing on unsubstantiated reports, which is paid 
for by a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has 
designated as an extremist organization. Dr. Foxx and I have 
always prided ourselves in the fact that we can disagree 
without being disagreeable, but this report and the allegations 
in it have already been debunked by a 2019 Senate investigation 
hearing and report, and this hearing gives it credibility it 
does not deserve. I ask unanimous consent to insert that report 
into the record.
    Chairman Bean. Without objection.
    [The Statement of Ranking Member Scott follows:]
    
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    [The information of Mr. Scott follows:] 
    
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    Mr. Scott. We can provide students with an inclusive, 
accurate and well-funded education without conspiracy theories 
that fuel anti-Asian discrimination, rather we should encourage 
students to discover other languages and cultures, and 
encourage schools to create safe and inviting educational 
environments.
    The better use of our time today if members focus on 
funding the government, improving school infrastructure, 
closing academic achievement gaps, and confronting other 
serious challenges facing children, educators, and families. I 
hope we can have a productive and respectful discussion today. 
I thank the witnesses for their time, and I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. I thank you very much Mr. Scott, and good 
morning to you, and good morning to our witnesses. Pursuant to 
Rule, Committee Rule 8-C, all Committee members who wish to 
insert written statements into the record may do so by 
submitting them to the Committee Clerk electronically in 
Microsoft Word format by 5 p.m. after 14 days from the start of 
this hearing, which is October 3, 2023.
    Without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 
14 days after the day of this hearing to allow such statements, 
and other material referenced during the hearing to be 
submitted for the hearing record. With that, members, let us 
get to our all-star panel.
    For the first introduction I will yield time to the 
gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Walberg.
    Mr. Walberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you as well for 
letting me waive on this important Subcommittee, and to give me 
the opportunity to introduce Mr. Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. 
Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow at the Heritage 
Foundation where he writes on multiculturism, simulation, 
nationalism, and foreign policy.
    He spent nearly 20 years as a journalist, 15 of them 
reporting from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He left 
journalism to join the administration of George W. Bush, where 
he was speech writer for Securities and Exchange Commission, 
Chairman Chris Cox, before moving onto the State Department's 
European Bureau.
    Mr. Gonzalez holds a bachelor's degree in communication 
from Boston's Emerson College, and a master's in business 
administration from Columbia Business School. We welcome you.
    Chairman Bean. Mr. Gonzalez, welcome, and to our panelists 
we are about to turn the clock on, and you have got 5 minutes, 
how about that, so we all get 5 minutes, as I mentioned to you 
earlier, so enjoy, welcome, we are glad to have you here, and 
you are recognized for 5 minutes, Mr. Gonzalez.

       STATEMENT OF MR. MICHAEL GONZALEZ, SENIOR FELLOW,  
            HERITAGE FOUNDATION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you for inviting me. My name is Mike 
Gonzalez. I am the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior 
Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. The views I express are my 
own. It should not be construed as representing any official 
position of the Heritage Foundation.
    As you said, I lived in Asia as a journalist for a decade, 
spending my last 2 years in Hong Kong, as editor of the Wall 
Street Journal's Asian editorial page from where I directed 
coverage of Asian issues, including the People's Republic of 
China and the Chinese Communist Party.
    I am also proudly on the Advisory Board of Parents 
Defending Education, whose July study, Little Red Classrooms, 
has led to this hearing. The classrooms in question referred to 
the Confucius classrooms, which are the K through 12 school 
equivalents of Confucius Institutes.
    The institutes are PRC sponsored centers set up at 
universities around the world. They teach Mandarin and Chinese 
culture, but also fund China research. In the words of a 
comprehensive Heritage study released in March, the institutes 
and the classrooms give CCP agents a foothold in the U.S.
    In exchange for money, the schools self-censor, but the 
reality of the PRC and the CCP, and allow the spread of PRC 
propaganda. In 2015, I authored one of the earliest papers of 
the institutes, one of the recommendations was for the Congress 
to explore, ``Whether the PRC's efforts to influence America 
through academic and Hollywood, represent an attempt by a 
foreign government to manipulate a democratic population.''
    Eight years later, this question remains at the heart of 
the issues facing this Committee. Last week I spoke to Ian 
Oxnevad, a researcher at the National Association of Scholars 
who is currently writing a study on all these issues. He told 
me there are a lot more Confucius classrooms than institutes. 
Once again, the classrooms are K through 12, the institutes are 
in colleges and universities.
    A 2019 Senate report said that there are 519 Confucius 
classrooms operating in the United States. Oxnevad estimates 
that there are still around 500 classrooms in our country. Just 
because they are not ``Confucius classrooms,'' does not mean 
they are not, he told me. They are basically a turnkey program 
for Mandarin that is all expenses paid.
    By whom you may ask. By the CCP. Most of the institutes and 
classrooms were supposed to have been closed. In March 2021, 
the U.S. Senate voted to prohibit funding for universities that 
hosted the institutes, unless the contracts had clear 
provisions that protected academic freedom. The absence of 
transparency has been a big part of this problem.
    Of 111 institutes that have closed, or are in the process 
of closing, at least 28 have been replaced by similar programs, 
and at least 58 have maintained close relationships with their 
former Confucius Institute partner. This duplicity reinforced 
my view that our government must ban all the institutes and 
classrooms.
    We must end all collaborations between U.S. institutions 
and Chinese entities affiliated with China's Ministry of State 
Security or other security and intelligence agencies. A foreign 
Communist party cannot dictate what our children learn. The 
United States is an open society that enjoys the free exchange 
of ideas, whose people form opinions, and then vote 
accordingly.
    China is none of those things. It is a Communist 
dictatorship with the CCP and retains a monopoly on power. Our 
two nations face therefore asymmetric informational warfare. 
China's influence on our schools is aimed at presenting the 
students a version of the PRC that does not accord with 
reality.
    China seeks to be seen as a normal country, say democratic 
Chili or Portugal, but China is an important country, with many 
contributions to civilization, but China is not a normal 
country. All of China's 1.4 billion people have their liberties 
extremely restricted.
    China's most famous political prisoner is a publisher by 
the name of Jimmy Lai, who today at the age of 75 languishes in 
solitary confinement in a Hong Kong prison on trumped up 
violation of China's draconian national security law. On the 
26th of this month, Mr. Lai will mark 1,000 days in prison. Now 
I know Jimmy Lai. He is a friend of mine. I can tell the 
Members of Congress and the American people that Mr. Lai is a 
tireless fighter for liberty, one who we must never forget.
    Xi Jin Ping put him in prison for speaking truth to power. 
The Confucius Institutes and the classrooms concealed this 
sordid record by restricting debate on Taiwan, Tibet, Tiananmen 
Square, the suffering of Jimmy Lai, and many, many other 
things. You are political leaders, have the responsibility of 
stopping this gross interference on how the youngest amongst us 
learn about what is likely to be our main adversary for the 
21st Century.
    Thank you very much for your time and attention.
    [The Statement of Mr. Gonzalez follows:]
    
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    Chairman Bean. Mr. Gonzalez, thank you so much and coming 
before us. Let us introduce the rest of our panel, and then we 
will hear from each and every one of you. Our second witness is 
Ms. Gisela Perez Kusakawa, who is the Executive Director--
okay--good, very good.
    Ms. Kusakawa is the Executive Director of the Asian 
American Scholar Forum, which is in New York, New York. She 
serves on multiple nonprofit boards, including the Asian 
Pacific American Bar Association Education Fund, the Conference 
on Asian Pacific American Leadership, the National Filipino 
American Lawyers Association, and the Filipino American Lawyers 
Association of Washington, DC.
    She has experience in multiple countries, as a former 
Rotary Scholars, and then teacher in Japan, studying Mandarin 
in Beijing, conducting research on IT development in the Czech 
Republic and promoting business and job development in the 
rural villages of the Philippines. Please welcome, and we are 
going to come right back to you as we introduce the rest of the 
panel, but we welcome you. I am glad to have you here.
    Our next panelist will be introduced by our own 
Representative Mary Miller.
    Ms. Miller. Our third witness is Ms. Nicole Neily, who is 
President and Founder of Parents Defending Education, a 
nonpartisan, nonprofit national organization giving parents the 
resources and support they need to advocate for their 
children's education. Thank you so much.
    Prior to launching Parents Defending Education, Ms. Neily 
created Speech First, a nationwide membership organization that 
defends college students free speech rights, through litigation 
and other means. Ms. Neily has also worked as President of the 
Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a State 
level investigative journalism organization, as Executive 
Director and Senior Fellow at the Independent Women's Forum, 
and at the Cato Institute, where she created their Department 
of Eternal Relations.
    Ms. Neily holds a bachelor's degree in political science 
from the University of Illinois, and a Master of Public Policy 
from Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. Welcome, 
thank you.
    Chairman Bean. Welcome. Our final witness will be 
introduced by Michelle Steel, Representative Steel you are 
recognized.
    Ms. Steel. Our last witness is Mr. Ryan Walters, who is the 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Oklahoma 
State Department of Education. Is located in Oklahoma City, 
Oklahoma. Previously, Mr. Walters taught for 8 years as a 
history teacher at his hometown, McAllister High School.
    During his time at MHS, Walters taught advanced placement 
courses in World History, USC history, and U.S. Government. The 
Oklahoma State Department of Education named Mr. Walters as an 
Oklahoma Teacher of the Year finalist in 2016.
    Additionally, Mr. Walters also serves as Executive Director 
of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma. Mr. Walters earned a bachelor's 
degree from Harding University. Welcome.
    Chairman Bean. Welcome Mr. Walters, and now up is Ms. 
Kusakawa. We are glad to have you here, and you are recognized 
for 5 minutes.

  STATEMENT OF MS. GISELA PEREZ KUSAKAWA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,  
    ASIAN AMERICAN SCHOLAR FORUM (AASF) NEW YORK, NEW YORK 

    Ms. Kusakawa. Thank you so much Chair Bean, Ranking Member 
Bobby Scott, and Ranking Member Bonamici, and members of the 
Subcommittee, especially for the kind introductions, and for 
allowing me to provide testimony today.
    As we take on U.S. China tensions, it is important to 
recognize that the Asian American community has a long history 
as being treated as perpetual foreigners. Seen as perpetual 
foreigners, we too often are perceived as outsiders, and make 
for convenience scapegoats as economic or national security 
threats.
    Therefore, it becomes essential that we do not allow U.S. 
tensions with a foreign Asian country to translate into an 
overreaction by the Federal Government, or within our education 
system, that leads to negative impacts for the Asian American 
community.
    We have seen the tragedy that can happen when we do not 
exercise caution and consider the Asian American experience. 
More than 80 years ago, over 120,000 U.S. residents of Japanese 
ancestry were incarcerated in remote detention camps in the 
name of national security under the rationale that any people 
of Japanese descent are somehow more prone to committing acts 
of sabotage or espionage.
    Congress eventually acknowledged that these actions were 
motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a 
feeling of political leadership. Decades after the systemic 
incarceration of Japanese Americans, we find ourselves 
repeating history. It has become a harmful pattern that when 
the United States has tensions with a nation country, Asian 
Americans and immigrants face the backlash at home, and become 
collateral damage.
    Perceived as not American, we too often are blamed for the 
actions of a foreign government, or entity, face heightened 
scrutiny, and are subjected to questioning about our loyalty. 
The consequences of being perceived as perpetually foreign can 
often lead to fatal consequences. This was the case for Vincent 
Chen, a Chinese American who was murdered in 1982 by two white 
men who mistook him as Japanese at a time when U.S. Japan 
tensions were high due to economic competition.
    Like all too many before him, Vincent was treated as a 
scapegoat, and blamed for the problems that the American auto 
industry face in competition with Japan. In this modern age, 
Asian Americans are still made for convenient scapegoats, 
experiencing both years of anti-Asian hate and violence within 
their own neighborhoods and homes, also heightened scrutiny 
from their places of learning, or employment, or by their own 
government. We have seen in the past decade how U.S. Government 
officials have fueled the anti-Asian bigotry through xenophobic 
and anti-China rhetoric and policymaking.
    As a result, alarmingly, one in five Americans believe 
Asian Americans are partly responsible for COVID-19, and one in 
three Americans believe that Asian Americans are more loyal to 
countries other than the United States. Asian Americans such as 
Professor Xiaoxing Xi, Sherry Chen, and Anming Hu have found 
themselves subjected to heightened scrutiny, and their lives 
upended along with many other scholars.
    This intensified under the Department of Justice's ``China 
Initiative'', and the decision by the Administration to end the 
initiative was a welcome step toward healing for our 
communities, but we still have a long way to go in addressing 
how racial bias can permeate our society, Federal Government 
and our academic institutions.
    An annual survey revealed that one in two Asian Americans 
did not feel safe due to their race and ethnicity, and 80 
percent do not feel that they belong with young and female 
Asian Americans, feeling the least like they belong. Of those 
surveyed, 47 percent attribute the violence that Asian 
Americans face based on the blame that they receive for Chinese 
government spying.
    Moreover, we have seen that Stop API Hate has received 341 
reports of anti-Asian discrimination involving the youth, with 
over half of the incidents involving anti-Chinese language. We 
need to do better for the Asian American community, and our 
youth. While China's government does pose genuine threats, I 
ask that we look toward real solutions, and nuanced responses 
to prevent broad, sweeping impacts that make Asian Americans 
and our youth collateral damage. Thank you so much.
    [The Statement of Ms. Kusakawa follows:]
    
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    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much Ms. Kusakawa, thank you 
very much. Next is Ms. Neily. Ms. Neily, welcome to the 
Committee, and you are recognized for 5 minutes.

      STATEMENT OF MS. NICOLE NEILY, PRESIDENT, PARENTS   
       DEFENDING EDUCATION (PDE), ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA  

    Ms. Neily. Chairman Bean, Ranking Member Bonamici, and 
distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
inviting me. My name is Nicole Neily, and I am the President of 
Parents Defending Education.
    We began researching foreign funding in K to 12 schools in 
March, when a parent at Virginia's Thomas Jefferson High School 
for Science and Technology provided a record showing that the 
school received over a million dollars from Chinese government 
linked entities.
    A few weeks ago, a Fairfax County school revealed these 
donations actually totaled 3.6 million dollars. A former PTA 
board member told us that in exchange for these gifts a donor 
was allowed to, ``Look under the hood to see how a school was 
run,'' including floor plans, lesson plans and student research 
projects.
    We wondered was this happening elsewhere. If so, where? 
Unfortunately, trying to nail down the scope of this problem is 
difficult by design. These programs have existed in American 
schools for years, but much of them went underground following 
Secretary DeVos and Secretary Pompeo's efforts to reign in 
Confucius Institutes.
    We combed through publicly available data and filed dozens 
of FOIAs across the country to access contracts on these 
programs, and trace money flowing through intermediary 
organizations such as the ASIS Society and the College Board 
and Districts.
    We found that over the past decade over 17 million dollars 
has flowed through 143 district and private K to 12 schools in 
34 states and D.C. This is likely a low figure, given that both 
the U.S. State Department and Senate estimated hundreds more 
programs in existence. This sum is only what we have been able 
to verify. The money does not just flow from China to U.S. 
schools. In some districts, they actually spent taxpayer money 
on this programming.
    Nevada Clark County schools paid over $250,000.00 in salary 
and benefits to Chinese teachers. We learned that we need to 
follow not only inflows, but also outflows. Aside from money, 
also consider the teachers. Many districts use educators 
provided by the People's Republic of China, but these teachers 
are not neutral.
    In March 2019, President Xi Jinping called on educators to 
instill patriotism in the country's youth and reject wrong 
ideas and ideology. Educators who expressed opinions about 
Falun Gong, or criticized party leadership lose their jobs, so 
remaining teachers are either true believers, or have been 
cowed into silence.
    A FOIA included names of teachers who visited in 2017, five 
of the six were CCP members, with one receiving an award for 
being an outstanding Communist. Another delegation several 
months later featured a VIP guest, the party's Secretary from 
Zhejiang Provincial Education Department. As employees, foreign 
nationals are given access to district servers and student 
information.
    PDE's work identified 20 districts around the country, 
located near military bases, and we believe that base 
commanders deserve to know whether potentially hostile 
foreigners may have access to data about the children of 
military personnel.
    Finally, there are curriculum concerns. Multiple contracts 
reference books and curriculum being provided from Confucius 
Institutes and partnering universities in China. A contract 
from one California district stated that textbooks, reference 
materials, and AV materials would be provided by Yunnan Normal 
University, a school designated medium risk by the Australian 
Strategic Policy Institute because of the university's research 
on ethnic minorities and ties to the government's ethnic 
affairs bureaucracy.
    Parents and administrators do not know what curriculum is 
being used in these classrooms and must defer to teachers who 
are hand selected and vetted by the PRC. What might this look 
like in practice? A 2017 documentary shows a student at the 
University of Michigan singing at a Confucius Institute 
concert, about how Chairman Mao nurtures the people on this 
land, a slap in the face to the 40 million Chinese citizens who 
died during the Mao created famine.
    As parents, we deserve to know whether hostile nations are 
pumping propaganda into our children's heads. Some parents may 
wish to ask their school to hire a teacher from Taiwan instead, 
while others might want their students to take a different 
foreign language class. I am a mama wolverine, and I want my 
son and daughter to be taught true history, about the Uyghur 
genocide, one child policy, and the repression of dissidents 
like Jimmy Lai, not the alleged virtues of Communism.
    America needs greater transparency around foreign funding 
in our schools. Families lack basic information, so they cannot 
make informed choices about whether they want their children to 
participate in these programs. As you said, this is a matter of 
national security. Over the past year, it has become abundantly 
clear that America has not fully appreciated the foreign 
threats are not just overseas, they are also on our shores.
    From farmland purchases to spy balloons, secret police 
stations to battery factories, our country's openness is being 
weaponized against us. In July we sent letters to Governors, 
asking them to investigate this issue in their states. 
Unfortunately, few seem to consider this an issue of concern. 
We ask that you use your influence to communicate the acute 
nature of this danger to politicians in your respective states.
    Our other request is one of oversight. We believe that it 
would be constructive use of the FBI's investigative power to 
research China's influence in American education, both to 
monitor programs still in existence, and determine the extent 
of the damage that has been brought to date.
    This might be a better use of the Bureau's finite resources 
than investigating school board parents, a directive still in 
force today because Attorney General Garland's October 2021 
memo has never been rescinded. As Members of Congress, you 
swore oaths to defend the Constitution against all enemies, 
foreign and domestic.
    I ask you today to uphold this oath in order to protect not 
only our Constitution, but also our children. Thank you.
    [The Statement of Ms. Neily follows:]
    
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    Chairman Bean. Ms. Neily, thank you very much for coming, 
and your testimony. Our final witness from Oklahoma, please 
welcome Mr. Ryan Walters. Mr. Walters, welcome. You are 
recognized for 5 minutes.

 STATEMENT OF MR. RYAN WALTERS, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC 
 INSTRUCTION, OKLAHOMA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, OKLAHOMA 
 CITY, OKLAHOMA 

    Mr. Walters. Thank you very much. Good morning, Chairman 
Bean, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting 
me to speak on the topic of foreign influence in K-12 schools. 
This is oppressing and deeply concerning issue that has 
ramifications far beyond the K-12 school system.
    The head of the CCP Central Propaganda Department wrote in 
2010 that the Chinese regime should, ``Actively carry out 
international propaganda battles on core issues,'' and ``Do 
well in establishing cultural sinners and Confucius 
Institutes.''
    The Chinese government actively set up schools, both in 
higher education, and K-12, with the institution to spread 
Communism, and undermine the United States. Knowing this, any 
response in solutions should be bipartisan, and a non-
controversial issue. We must protect our kids and not allow a 
hostile, foreign government to indoctrinate them.
    I would like to thank Parents Defending Education for their 
initial reporting, and bringing awareness to this issue of 
foreign interference, specifically, the Chinese government in 
our K-12 education system. Following the discovery that one of 
our school districts in Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools, was 
named in the report, my staff diligently conducted a further 
investigation into the issue and discovered a disturbing 
connection between the CCP and that school district.
    Through a series of CCP affiliated nonprofits, that school 
district maintains an active connection with the CCP through a 
program called the Confucius Classrooms. Even after the Federal 
Government crackdown on similar programs in 2020. The role of 
the CCP plays in some of our K-12 schools is an issue that goes 
far beyond the realm of education and has national security 
implications.
    Through programs such as Confucius Classrooms, we are 
allowing a hostile, foreign, anti-democratic government a 
foothold into our schools. As we saw the initial launch of 
Confucius Institutes in the United States, when CCP associated 
programs are present, there is a demonstrated track record of 
infringements on academic freedom, and the whitewashing of 
Chinese history.
    As I am sure you know, conflicts today are fought on a very 
different dimension than they were in years past. While we 
might not take up conventional arms against China, and other 
hostile foreign governments, there is still a deep underlying 
conflict using the weapons of information, misinformation, and 
propaganda.
    It is hard enough to root out Chinese misinformation and 
propaganda without providing them an influence inside of our 
schools. The Trump administration had the common sense to stomp 
out Chinese influence in higher ed, however it remains to be 
seen if that common sense exists in the current administration.
    The American public, as well as Oklahomans, are encouraged 
that this Committee is recognizing that extreme danger and the 
threat that it provides. I urge that Congress pass a law to ban 
schools from accepting money from hostile foreign governments, 
and to prohibit schools from entering into data sharing 
agreements with hostile foreign governments.
    At the State level, State education agencies should require 
districts to report any foreign money they accept, and any 
nonprofit money they accept. At our last State Board of 
Education meeting, we passed this measure, and it will allow us 
to conduct a more thorough investigation into foreign influence 
into our schools and provide more transparency to Oklahoma 
taxpayers.
    The acceptance of the CCP into our K-12 education system is 
a small part of the epidemic and the education policies of the 
far left. The left's education policy's attempt to remove 
parents from their child's education, while offering a seat at 
the table for anyone who wants to promote anti-American 
positions.
    These policies undermine the Constitution and the American 
way of life, and I cannot stress enough how urgent it is that 
we take action to ensure our education system protects the 
Constitution and American values. As a government and history 
teacher, I have taught about these efforts for years. What we 
see are tyrannical governments using education as a tool to 
control the masses.
    Hostile, foreign governments use their education system to 
maintain the dangerous cult of personality that allows the 
current regimes to stay in power. We see active disinformation 
campaigns that are in place within these hostile governments, 
but actively on U.S. soil also.
    Misinformation and propaganda are dangerous tools in the 
hands of authoritarian governments, and we will not allow these 
tools to be used in American classrooms. We are not Communist 
China.
    In our classrooms we will teach true history, and we must 
take an immediate action against hostile countries who attempt 
to shroud the history in propaganda.
    The role that people like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden have 
played in vilifying parents while directly empowering hostile 
foreign governments is shameful. While we have seen it in 
higher ed, we are now seeing it in K-12, as we surrender 
academic freedom and American values.
    It is an honor to represent the people of Oklahoma here 
today, to shine light on the undermining of our country. Thank 
you for your time.
    [The information of Mr. Walters follows:]

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    Chairman Bean. Mr. Walters, thank you very much. For all of 
our witnesses for coming in right as the clock ended, thank you 
so much. We are now going to have a conversation, and the 
conversation begins under Committee Rule 9, where we will have 
questions under the 5-minute rule.
    Put the clock on me because I am going to begin. Let us go 
with Ms. Neily. Ms. Neily, what do you say that people say that 
just having this discussion is racist, the Confucius classrooms 
is just a cover for anti-Asian racism. How would you address 
that?
    Ms. Neily. My grandparents on my father's side met in an 
internment camp. They met in Manzanar. I know what anti-Asian 
racism looks like. My family has experienced it. This is not 
it. Making ad hominem claims that this is a racist hearing is 
intended to shut down this debate, and not engage on the 
merits. This is a matter of foreign funding. The Chinese 
government is an adversarial position against our country right 
now.
    Frankly, there are other countries that are also making 
similar forays into our education system. We are not saying 
that students should not have access to foreign language 
programs, that is not what is happening whatsoever. We are 
saying that parents deserve to know who is funding these 
programs, so that they can decide whether they want their 
children to participate at all.
    Making sure what our children are learning is actually 
accurate is important, and for that to be called racist I think 
is appalling, and again is intended to shut down this 
discussion altogether.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. Mr. Gonzalez, basically 
the same question. What do you say when people say this is just 
racist, the study of Chinese influence on classrooms. What do 
you say to that, Mr. Gonzalez?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Well thank you, Mr. Bean, Chairman Bean. I 
have got to say that although I subscribe to almost everything 
that Ms. Perez Kusakawa said, I am somewhat dumbfounded by the 
idea that opposing a government that suppresses the rights of 
1.4 billion Chinese people is racist. I do not see how these 
two issues even relate to one another.
    We have a real problem with the PRC. A dictatorial 
Communist regime that produces fentanyl that's killed 70,000 
Americans in 2021, that harasses our warplanes and our naval 
vessels, that claims the China seas as its domain. It has 
numerous violations of human rights. We have to make sure that 
we--it behaves as an adversary, not as a competitor.
    We have to make sure that this government does not 
influence our very young, does not tell them, does not give a 
vision of China through our schools or through Hollywood, or 
through the MBA, or whatever that everything that is happening 
in China is normal. We have to know this, so again, I agree 
with Mrs. Perez Kusakawa, I do not see what it has to do with 
the debate we are having.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you, Mr. Gonzalez, and Mr. Walters, 
for the same question. What say you to the charge of racism 
that this discussion is just racism against Asian Americans?
    Mr. Walters. You know, I completely reject that notion. 
What we have here are two things. We are allowing a hostile, 
foreign government that has been labeled as such by our 
government agencies to influence and indoctrinate our kids. We 
should be focused on teaching real history, having real 
academic discussions in the classroom, not censorship and 
indoctrination from a hostile foreign government.
    Then there is the national security implications. We are 
actively allowing a hostile foreign power, who has stated their 
goal to propagandize American young people, and American 
institutions, a foothold in order to do that. This is about a 
foreign government pushing their influence, undermining 
American power and American influence, and that is where I 
think this discussion is.
    Chairman Bean. Did it raise eyebrows, or were there 
problems getting information from schools, and what they had 
accepted from the Communist party in the State of Oklahoma?
    Mr. Walters. Absolutely. This is a great example of 
breaking the trust of the public. What we have here are these 
affiliated CCP groups where the money flows into multiple of 
these groups, which makes it very difficult for our State 
agency, and for parents and taxpayers to see where is the money 
going?
    What are the exact expenditures of these programs, and 
exactly what is the curriculum? Where is all of this coming 
from? It is very intentional. Our team looked at it and said 
this is tremendous, the efforts they are going to shield 
exactly how the money is being spent.
    Chairman Bean. Very good. Thank you so much. We only have a 
brief moment left. Mr. Gonzalez, you mentioned Mr. Lai, can you 
give a quick history of who Mr. Lai is in the brief moments we 
have left.
    Mr. Gonzalez. He is a very good man. He is a publisher. He 
published Hong Kong's last independent newspaper. He has been 
put in prison for speaking truth to power. He is not guilty of 
any of the charges they have brought up against him. He is a 
very true American man, and I will just leave with one thing 
that he said to me once when we were meeting at his house in 
Hong Kong.
    Liberty is like oxygen. We take oxygen for granted. We take 
breaths every second. We do not realize it. When somebody tries 
to choke us, we fight for oxygen. It is the same thing with 
liberty. When somebody takes your liberty away, you know we 
fight for it. He is now in solitary confinement.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much Mr. Gonzalez. My time 
has expired. I now recognize Mr. Scott for 5 minutes of 
questions, Mr. Scott you are recognized.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, 
we have not said this was racist. We have said that there was a 
Senate report after investigation hearings and a report that 
debunks this entire issue. Ms. Kusakawa, are you familiar with 
that report?
    Ms. Kusakawa. Yes.
    Mr. Scott. Can you say a word about it?
    Ms. Kusakawa. Yes. The report that you reference to, there 
has already been, as you've mentioned, multiple investigations 
into Confucius Institutes, including by the Senate Committee, 
entitled China's Impact on the U.S. Education System. According 
to that report, it did not find security risk or threats to 
intellectual property.
    This is supported by other well reputed institutions, 
including the Brookings Institute, as well as the Hoover 
Institute at Stanford University.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Now as you mentioned, the United 
States has a history of excluding, targeting, and scapegoating 
Asians and Asian Americans as a security threat based on race, 
religion, and nationality. How does this targeting lead to 
anti-Asian hate?
    Ms. Kusakawa. Yes, and I think really that is at the heart 
of the question, which is we are not accusing folks of being 
racist, but merely asking for a caution, and really exercising 
critical and careful approach, understanding the unique 
experiences that Asian Americans have, especially currently as 
U.S. China tensions have peaked.
    We want genuine dialog, looking into data driven 
approaches, and considering where do we generally need our 
resources to be allocated, and how do basically neutral, or 
well-intended approaches, how that might have a 
disproportionate impact on Asian Americans.
    What we are asking today is really that we consider these 
other reports that have also come out, including the Senate 
Committee's report. Consider how Asian American youth may be 
impacted by broad sweeps and approaches, and how our rhetoric, 
and the way that we speak about China could potentially lead to 
ramifications for Asian Americans.
    We have seen that anti-China language does lead to a 
backlash of Chinese Americans, because for many of them, they 
are not differentiated between this foreign government, and who 
they are here. Now, this is something that is a very important 
matter to me. I have heard directly from impacted persons 
during my time as an attorney listening to legal referrals.
    I understand many of the concerns that Mr. Gonzalez has 
raised. I believe raised very exceptional good reasons for why 
China poses a threat to the United States, but I really ask 
that folks consider that even though there are real genuine 
threats, there is also a real genuine backlash that the Asian 
American immigrant community faces, and this means that we have 
a responsibility to think on how we can have a nuanced approach 
moving forward.
    We saw in the higher ed institutions how families like that 
of Professor Xiaoxing Chen and Professor Sherry Chen were 
ruined, and the harm is lifelong. Let alone for us to have this 
similar approach with our youth and the K to 12 education. Let 
us learn from the lessons that we have seen in how we have 
impacted higher ed education, the need for ending the China 
Initiative, and the criminalization of research in our country.
    Think about how we can treat it differently for our young 
people, so that they also don't get swept up and become 
collateral damage.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Can you speak to what AASF and other 
organizations you work with are doing to address these issues, 
and the ways that such work impacts K through 12 students?
    Ms. Kusakawa. The Asian American Scholar Forum is also a 
member of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans. Our 
coalition of some of the oldest and most prominent 
organizations are tackling anti-Asian hate and bigotry, 
holistically across our country. It includes promoting Asian 
American history for example, making sure that Asian Americans 
are not considered threats, lifting up our contributions to 
this country, so we are not just perceived as potential tools 
in national security.
    How many people in the United States know that it is an 
Asian American that allows us to have video calls, go on Zoom? 
How many know the contributions that they have had in our 
everyday lives in the technological innovations? These are the 
very same people who spent their life to contribute to our 
country. Professor Gang Chen even after his investigation, went 
on to lead in innovation in chips technology. These are the 
sort of talents that we could lose if we do not move forward in 
a nuanced response.
    We want to cultivate talent here. We want the United States 
to remain a U.S. leadership in science and technology because 
many of the immigrants, many Asian Americans came to this 
country voting with our feet, rejecting the values of China's 
government, and looking for the American dream.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Scott. Our order 
of questions will be Ms. Steel, followed by Ms. Bonamici. Ms. 
Steel, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Steel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for hosting this 
important hearing on foreign influences within our classrooms. 
I am a first generation Korean American. I was born in Korea 
and raised in Japan, and I speak Korean as my first, and 
Japanese my second, and English is my third.
    In my district, 41 percent of first generations are in the 
district, and out of that 37 percent are first generation Asian 
Americans. They are very hard-working people, and they are very 
proud of Americans, and I love Chinese Americans. Having said 
that, stopping Confucius Institute, and Confucius classrooms, 
has nothing to do with racism.
    Confucius classrooms have no place in the United States. 
Confucius classrooms are CCP's propaganda. This has nothing to 
do with Asian Americans, and this has nothing to do with 
Chinese people. I would love to submit for the record for a 
recent resolution that has unanimously approved by Orange 
County Board of Education. Mr. Chairman, highlighting the 
concerns with Confucius Institutes, and specifically Confucius 
classrooms.
    Orange County Board of education worked very hard for the 
students, and----
    Chairman Bean. Without objection, so entered into the 
record.
    [The information of Ms. Steel follows:]

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    Ms. Steel. Thank you, for the parents. We cannot allow 
these who hate democracy and freedom to infiltrate our 
classrooms. I want to ask Ms. Neily, welcome, my fellow 
Pepperdine graduate. I am glad that your organization has shown 
parents across the country how concerning that it is. CCP has 
become embedded in our classrooms. We all are very much 
concerned.
    My question is more study has been done, and how damaging 
the students in the classrooms, and how to stop this 
propaganda, the threat of allowing influence by CCP.
    Ms. Neily. How to address this?
    Ms. Steel. Um-hmm.
    Ms. Neily. I think I am going to quote from an old G.I. Joe 
cartoon, knowing is half the battle. We need to get our arms 
around the scope of this problem, and I think that is one of 
the problems. We do not know how much money is coming. We do 
not know where it is going. We do not know where it still 
exists. Once we have that basic information, then we can start 
to address it.
    Some communities may say we do not want this altogether. 
Other communities may say you know what? Great. We are totally 
all in, we do not have a problem with this. I believe that that 
should be up to communities, and individuals, but it should not 
be something that is operating in the shadows without us 
knowing.
    As my colleague said, many people fled China because they 
did not agree with that. Why then is it being pumped into the 
children's heads once they have come to America? They are being 
denied an opportunity to have their values put into their 
children's minds at school, and that is something that we find 
deeply discouraging.
    As to a majority of Americans. We conducted polling on this 
in June, and we found that a vast majority of Americans believe 
that yes, absolutely, parents have a right to know what is 
going on. 87 percent of respondents we polled felt that school 
districts should be required to disclose when they accept money 
from foreign governments, as Mr. Walters pointed out.
    73 percent felt it was inappropriate for schools to share 
student data with foreign governments that fund school 
programs. 73 percent disagree that schools should be allowed to 
charge tens of thousands of dollars to parents seeking 
information about foreign funding.
    When I requested documents on this from Fairfax County 
Public Schools, the initial estimate I was provided was over 
$35,000.00. That is appalling that a public school district 
would throw up a barrier like that in the name of oversight, 
and things like that should not happen going forward.
    Ms. Steel. Well, that is the reason this Education 
Committee passed the Parental Rights, and they have to know 
what kind of propaganda that they are teaching. I mean how they 
spend their money. Mr. Gonzalez, my own parents fled from North 
Korea from Communism, and their stories have impacted me 
forever.
    Why must we work hard to protect our kids from the 
influences that come from CCP Confucius classrooms?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, Representative Steel, for that 
question. I spent two wonderful years in Korea as a journalist 
in the late 80's and early 90's, spoke passable Korean. This is 
a foreign political party that is totalitarian. Everywhere that 
Communism has been tried, the Communism has been tried, it has 
ended in tyranny with the suppression of people's rights, and 
economic chaos.
    What they want to do is influence our children into 
believing that no, it is a good system, and China's a normal 
country that is not tyrannical. We could not allow that to 
happen.
    Ms. Steel. Thank you so much Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. Up next is our Ranking 
Member, Ms. Bonamici. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our 
witnesses. I want to start by reiterating that oftentimes the 
way this Committee discusses alleged foreign influence in 
American schools and colleges, can be unproductive and harmful, 
and I agree with Ms. Kusakawa that that has real implications 
across the country.
    Again, to emphasize, there was a report that was done. 
There was an 8-month in-depth investigation into Confucius 
institutes, and they found--they did not find security risks, 
curriculum vulnerability, or threats to intellectual property, 
and they found no evidence that suggested there was a center 
for Chinese espionage efforts for any illegal activity. That 
report was done, comprehensive, and although issues in national 
security are important to all of our members, they are not in 
this Committee's jurisdiction.
    Not in this Subcommittee's jurisdiction. What is in our 
jurisdiction is for every student to have a high-quality public 
education and to protect students' civil rights. We need to 
take that responsibility seriously, and this hearing 
unfortunately misses the mark.
    My daughter studied Mandarin, she studied at two U.S. 
colleges. She studied at a university in China. Like thousands 
of students across the country, she benefited greatly from that 
experience. In fact, people frequently noted that her language 
skills would give her an advantage in the workforce.
    I was not concerned at all that the experience would turn 
her into a Communist, or that she might be recruited to be a 
foreign agent. That did not concern me one bit. I was grateful 
in fact, that she had access to a multi-cultural, multi-lingual 
education that exposed her to perspectives and life experiences 
different from her own.
    Ms. Kusakawa, in her written testimony, Ms. Neily mentions 
the Sister's Oregon School District in my home State of Oregon. 
As one of two school districts that hired and paid native 
Chinese teachers to teach students, so there is no concrete 
evidence that these teachers were influenced by the CCP or had 
any intentions besides teaching language and culture to 
American students.
    I am going to talk about that just for a minute before I 
ask you this question. Sisters for everyone's information, is a 
pretty small town in central Oregon. The program was run by an 
American businessman, he was the program manager. American 
businessman who had spent a lot of time overseas.
    He was a certified teacher, and that is what they did. They 
taught Chinese language. It was originally set up through 
Portland State University, which at the time did, but no longer 
has, at the time they had a Confucius Institute. It is no 
longer there. You would not get that from reading the 
testimony.
    It has been years, and I happen to know the reason it was 
set up was because we had a republican State legislator who 
thought it was great for students to learn Mandarin, and 
actually promoted Confucius Institutes. It is gone now. They 
are concerned that the program might not be able to continue, 
but they are working on it because they see it as a tremendous 
advantage for students to be able to become bilingual.
    I know in Ms. Neily's testimony, you also make a--there is 
a comment made about how Americans do not know what is in the 
curriculum because they are not bilingual. I assure you that 
the people in Sisters know what is in that curriculum. They 
have a Director who is bilingual and they make that happen.
    Ms. Kusakawa, why is it beneficial? Why might it be 
beneficial for students to have the opportunity to learn a 
language directly from a native speaker, or someone who's 
fluent? Why would a school district want to hire a teacher to 
teach a variety of world languages?
    Ms. Kusakawa. Thank you so much. I think one of the key 
points in this is how the United States overall is lagging when 
it comes to foreign language education. The benefits that we 
can have in making sure that we cultivate talents here on U.S. 
soil, that many youth, like Ms. Bonamici's daughter, are folks 
that become fluent, and become wonderful resources for our 
country, and in the service of so many of our values.
    We also need to bring talents from abroad, being able to 
have our American values to attract and cultivate talent, is 
one of the things that makes the United States competitive. We 
have always been known as a beacon of light in the world, and 
we want to make sure that we continue to be that beacon of 
light, and what is a really integral part of that is making 
sure that our youth become global leaders.
    A key part of becoming global leaders is making sure that 
they are bilingual, multi-lingual, that they have exposure to 
different cultures and languages that will train and hone their 
skills to the benefit of our country. There are a lot of 
benefits in making sure that they have this engagement with 
native speakers. It is also noted, for example, with the 
University of Massachusetts, they have conducted a study on the 
benefits of non-native and native speakers.
    There are benefits from both, with native speakers having 
tremendous benefits in terms of increasing the speaking 
capabilities of their students. It is their native language, 
and they are more prone to speak it in their classrooms. We 
hope that these are the sort of benefits that the youth could 
have moving forward.
    Ms. Bonamici. This is the Early Childhood Elementary 
Subcommittee. I will note that I have done academic research in 
this area, and it is actually very beneficial for students to 
study a second language, or any world language. It helps them 
in their other topics, and it helps them to think critically. 
That is what we should be talking about today, Mr. Chairman. I 
yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much, Ms. Bonamici. Up next 
is Utah, Burgess Owens. Representative Owens, you are 
recognized for questions for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Owens. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate it. Within 
our country's DNA is an understanding that education is 
imperative for the attainment of America's promise of life, 
liberty, and pursuit of happiness. My parents had full 
confidence in my 1960 school system, that it would reinforce 
the values taught at home, and the love and respect for 
cultural and freedom that my dad fought for in World War II.
    That generation would be horrified today to see the 
proliferation of anti-American propaganda in our school 
systems. As educators, they would be stunned to see betrayal of 
complicit school administrators with the right price, at the 
behest of our enemy, the Chinese Communist Party, grants a 
platform to indoctrinate our kids.
    They then use our children to attack the foundation of our 
American culture, faith, family, the free market, education. We 
have read this over the last decade, and K through 12 school 
districts established Confucius classrooms throughout our 
country.
    They are financed by the same CCP that today enslaves and 
tortures over 1 million Muslim Uyghurs, threatens to invade a 
free and prosperous Taiwan, and is responsible for the deaths 
of over tens of millions of men, women and children throughout 
the 20th Century. The same CCP with the help of American school 
administrators, now seek to propagandize our children that 
Communism is good, and that the culture of free market, free 
speech and freedom of religion is bad.
    American parents on both sides of the aisle are waking up 
to the tactics of the CCP and are in agreement that it is time 
to stop playing whack a mole. We are committed federally to 
stay within our lane, through collaboration with State 
legislators, and through the power of the purse we will hold 
those who betray our children accountable, and we will create 
and implement solutions to address the CCP's stealth attack on 
our educational system.
    Ms. Neily, we have heard a lot about this Chinese soft 
power strategy, and how they want to influence our children 
through Confucius classrooms. I think that alone is enough to 
be concerned, but what else is China getting in exchange for 
funding these programs.
    Ms. Neily. The recent public record requests that we got 
back from Fairfax County Public Schools showed when the 
teachers came over in 2017, they had access to lesson plans, 
floor plans, they met with teachers, then they went back and 
frankly ripped off the intellectual property.
    There was a series of schools in the People's Republic of 
China called Thomas Schools. In their recruiting materials they 
bragged about using T.J.'s STEM model. We now want Thomas 
Jefferson High School, which has followed the ranking from 
being America's No. 1 STEM high school to, just yesterday, was 
ranking No. 7.
    It is now unable to compete against its foreign 
corollaries, and so while our schools are mired in equity 
fights, while they are focused on identity politics, we are not 
teaching our children the basics that they need, reading, 
writing, and arithmetic to compete in a global economy.
    There is that IP that has been ripped off. There is, as we 
were mentioned before, possible access to student data, that is 
something that is very concerning, but we definitely need to 
know more about it. Public schools are just not good at 
securing student data at all, period. They are asking students 
in truths of surveys, regularly violating the PPRA, asking 
about race, and politics and sex, and gender. What happens to 
that?
    Is it stored on a Google document? I mean we do not know 
who is accessing this information. On average, two school 
districts a day are hacked. There are ransomware attacks around 
the country, and so this is not just a threat from outside, but 
it is also a threat from people who work in these school 
systems.
    The list goes on and on, but there is a lot to be worried 
about.
    Mr. Owens. Thank you. Thank you so much. Superintendent 
Walters, you talked a bit in your testimony about what the 
Federal Government could do to address the problems. Let me 
hear how you expand that with the concept of Congress taking 
time to address these foreign influencers within, without 
violating the principles of federalism.
    Mr. Walters. Thank you for that question very much, and I 
appreciate the leadership of this Committee addressing this 
problem. I think first of all this is an issue of national 
security. When you look at the indoctrination going on in our 
classrooms, from several different perspectives, this is one of 
the most heinous.
    Frankly, when you look at this, this is a failure of Nancy 
Pelosi's leadership when this was brought to her attention. The 
Biden administration, this failure to secure our schools and 
education system is traitorous. We have to ensure that our 
schools are not being undermined by hostile, foreign 
government.
    I believe that any American, I have heard this from 
republicans and democrats, parents from all backgrounds, they 
do not want Communist China in our schools. What they want is a 
history focused on academics. Schools that are focused on 
promoting American values in this country, and so I believe 
that you will have a consensus.
    I think this Committee is showing true leadership, and you 
will see a consensus of parents across the country that will 
stand with you and say thank you.
    Mr. Owens. Thank you for that. I will just say this, the 
word traitorous, betrayal should be spoken very boldly. We have 
Americans, Americans that are allowing this to happen to our 
children. That is unacceptable. I would just say this, thank 
you guys so much. We are going to be on this one, and I 
appreciate your testimony. Appreciate it.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you, Mr. Owens. Mr. Grijalva, you are 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and you know, the 
backdrop to this hearing, and I associate myself with the full 
Committee Ranking Member's opening comments to this hearing. 
The backdrop is that the proposed cuts in a very critical area 
like public education, would effectively dismantle the public 
school system across this country, period.
    When you get rid of Title I, when you get rid of Title III, 
when you begin to reduce the availability of preschool for all 
children in this country. You begin to dismantle the system. I 
think that is the backdrop, and that is the reality that we are 
facing. Let me ask Ms. Kusakawa, let us talk about school 
climate.
    Elementary, secondary schools right now are comprised of 
diverse students, teachers, staff, to support this diversity 
school districts are increasingly working to improve school 
climate, to create a positive learning environment that 
benefits all the students. My question is how are today's 
demographics of students affecting education, especially K-12, 
in that school climate and the new demography, the new face of 
public schools?
    Ms. Kusakawa. Thank you so much for that question. I think 
what we are really seeing is the trickle-down effect on the 
young people, in terms of what the current climate is in 
academia. I want to share a quote from one youth advocate and 
recent high school graduate who spoke at the White House.
    She said since the pandemic she feels terrified for her 
safety and her Asian peers. It feels dangerous to even be Asian 
in public, especially as a teenager, who may be susceptible to 
attack. Moreover, a recent report in the spring of 2021 by 
Active Change reported over 3,785 incidents of verbal 
harassment, shunning and physical assaults from March 2020 to 
February 2021.
    Of these incidents, 13 percent of the victims were zero-to 
17-year-olds, with adults as the perpetrators in 60 percent of 
the incidents. I mentioned before much of that is to blame, 
folks are worried that they are being scapegoated under U.S. 
China tensions, and accusations of Chinese government spying. 
While these do pose real and genuine threats to our country, we 
need to learn from our experiences with higher education. We 
need a calm approach.
    We need to avoid hysteria, and we need a more surgical 
approach in assessing risk, what mitigation efforts are 
actually needed, and how we can make sure that this does not 
lead to any backlash to Asian Americans and our youth.
    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much for that. Mr. Walters, 
thank you very much for being here superintendent. I understand 
that you know, you have your hands full with I think your 
threatened political takeover of the largest school district in 
your State because of their woke ideology, so let me be 
respectful of your time.
    Yes or no to my questions would be sufficient. Would you 
say, your testimony focuses a lot on the influence of outside 
funding in our education system, and how that undermines our 
public school system. It talks about the global influence, but 
little questions about consistency here. Would you say it is a 
conflict of interest to have oil and gas fracking entities, and 
industry dictate educational curriculum on the environment in 
your schools? Yes, or no?
    Mr. Walters. These are American companies that are a 
benefit to American economy, so I do not see any issue with 
them having influence in our education system.
    Mr. Grijalva. That is okay?
    Mr. Walters. Yes, sir. Yes. They are a benefit to American 
society.
    Mr. Grijalva. No, I am just looking for consistency. Are 
you aware that PragerU, the non-accredited educationsite for 
which you just announced a partnership has received millions of 
dollars from the same, from oil and gas interests, and that is 
okay?
    Mr. Walters. They promote American values and support our 
history indoctrination. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Grijalva. Okay. Which leads me to the question about do 
you think public dollars should go to private entities without 
any transparency, without any oversight?
    Mr. Walters. I think taxpayer dollars should follow a child 
to where the parent chooses to send a child, so I believe 
parents know best for kids.
    Mr. Grijalva. What about the oversight and accountability 
for those dollars?
    Mr. Walters. There is no better oversight than a parent 
having the ability to choose the school for their child. They 
are the best accountability officers for our children.
    Mr. Grijalva. Well so much for consistency. I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. Let us go to 
Representative McClain. Representative McClain, you are 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. McClain. Amen to that, Mr. Walters. Crazy concept that 
parents have the best oversight of their kids, wow. I cannot 
even believe that is controversial. Anyways, thank you, Mr. 
Chairman. Thank you to all the witnesses being here today. It 
is well documented that the Chinese Communist Party has been 
engaged in a long-standing campaign to infiltrate the American 
public education system and attempt to poison the minds of 
our--our nation's children.
    I am here to represent our kids. The American children, the 
majority. That is my job. That is what I am elected to do, and 
by God that is what I am going to do, right? I mean wake up 
people. China is not our friend. Look around. They are coming 
after us, educationally, militarily, academically, 
economically. I mean turn the news on.
    Unless you live under a rock, this is the reality in which 
we live. I will not apologize to protect our American children, 
period, end of conversation. That is what the voters in my 
district elected me to do. With that, sorry, a little bit 
passionate story got away from me.
    Ms. Neily, can you talk more about the findings in the 
PDE's report specifically on the 20 Confucius, 20 Confucius 
classrooms located near military installations, ironically, 
coincidentally, and how does this threaten our national 
security.
    Ms. Neily. Sure. The 20 military bases that we identified 
these programs operating near, the Naval Academy in Annapolis, 
Buckley Air Force Base, Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Dover Air 
Force Base, Fort Bill, Fort Liberty, which was formerly known 
as Fort Bragg, Fort Knox, Naval Great Lakes.
    Mrs. McClain. Can I just stop you in the interest of time.
    Ms. Neily. Oh, yes.
    Mrs. McClain. I appreciate that. There are 20, there are 20 
near military bases.
    Ms. Neily. Yes. Correct.
    Mrs. McClain. How many other, how many Confucius Institutes 
do you know of teaching in our American schools right now?
    Ms. Neily. As of today, we know that there are at least 
seven that are in operation, but these are all ones that we 
have current contracts in hand to prove. We suspect that there 
are many, many more at the Senate, and others have found, have 
estimated about 500 programs operating around the country, and 
so it is a big question as to what is actually taking place 
because so much of it is done underground.
    To your question about the military bases, we do not know 
what is happening, and that to me is the most frightening part. 
Who are these employees? What do they have access to? What is 
going back and forth, both going into the minds of our 
children, and then what data is flowing out of these schools?
    Mrs. McClain. Can you talk about what would be the harm to 
be so transparent to the parents of these children?
    Ms. Neily. Transparency is not harmful. That is why I find 
the fact----
    Mrs. McClain. Unless you are hiding something. Unless you 
have an ulterior motive, and then transparency right, would you 
agree with me, is gravely harmful.
    Ms. Neily. Yes. I mean, I have yet to hear a good argument 
why families should not have access to know where the money is 
coming from, and what their kids are learning.
    Mrs. McClain. Right.
    Ms. Neily. We are being hit with ad hominem attacks, and 
this is being called racist. What is real racism in American 
schools today? We just saw the Harvard decision. That was 
racism against American students. We have seen afinity groups, 
where children are being segregated on the basis of skin color 
in 2023, in American schools.
    That is real racism. Talking and asking questions, and 
saying families deserve information about who is funding their 
schools is not racist.
    Mrs. McClain. I cannot agree more with you. You go. Is it 
possible for these teachers from China, possible, possible, 
from these teachers from China to access sensitive student 
information, like their healthcare, grades, maybe where they 
live? Is it possible, or are schools just locked down so tight 
on this sensitive information?
    Ms. Neily. School data security is terrible. I am sure 
Superintendent Walters can speak more about this, but student 
information is there. It is in a big file, and pretty much 
anybody has access to it, and so that is something that 
concerns me deeply because basically anybody who has access to 
a school server, should be able to access pretty much anything, 
but I defer to Superintendent Walters.
    Mrs. McClain. All right. Thank you. Is it also possible for 
the CCP through these Chinese teachers, possible I say, that 
they are influencing children to divulge information on 
parent's stationed at these critical military bases? Could they 
get that information?
    Ms. Neily. I would assume yes, it is absolutely possible to 
ask a child. I am the parent of an 8-year old and a 9-year old, 
and man they tell everybody everything about me.
    Mrs. McClain. In my 10 seconds remaining, I just want 
everyone to think about who are we protecting here. I will 
share with you who I am protecting. I took an oath to protect 
the Constitution, and to protect Americans, and especially our 
children, and that is what I think we intend to do.
    I think we need to continue to look at the harm that 
transparency is causing, or I should say lack thereof, so thank 
you all for your witnesses. I am over. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, 
I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you. Representative DeSaulnier, you 
are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you. You clearly took high school 
French with that pronunciation at some point. Well, I want to 
thank all the witnesses. Obviously important for transparency 
for our kids, and future generations. Ms. Kusakawa, a friend of 
mine, Peter Shreg, is a fairly well-known researcher on the 
west coast. I am from California. Both on education and 
immigration. His last two books have been about the Pacific 
Rim, and how important it is in a global economy, and how 
America benefits from the diversity of the immigration.
    We understand we have people in the Pacific Rim who may not 
want us to do well in this country. He speaks of the strengths. 
While we are careful about the transparency, I think on a 
bipartisan level, and people who do not wish us well in other 
countries, global competitors.
    We also balance that what he has written about, about how 
similar this immigration in the last 30 years in the Pacific 
Rim, was to the late 1800's and early 1900's on the Atlantic 
Rim, but this is more diverse. Again, in the global economy 
with the two largest economies competing, and sometimes 
complimenting one another.
    In California, being the fourth largest economy, what his 
research shows that although we have many challenges with 
diversity and technology, it is something to be welcomed, which 
seems logical to me in a global economy. Could you speak to 
that? The importance of the richness and acceptability of 
diversity, while at the same time recognizing the reality of 
global politics?
    Ms. Kusakawa. No, absolutely, I think ASF really pushes for 
a balanced approach because we recognize so many of America's 
strengths is in our openness, and in our diversity. Asian 
American communities is a predominantly immigrant community, 
and this is how we end up having new Asian Americans that can 
be a wonderful resource, and community here in the United 
States.
    I think what is really important here is looking to make 
sure that we are grounded in facts, and data, and not look 
toward speculation or over-reaction. There are already existing 
reports on this issue, and we urge folks to look into it, 
especially the Senate report, the Brookings Institute report.
    There has been so much time and investment. We understand 
that there are real genuine threats, but let us not shoot 
ourselves in the foot, and harm our competitive advantage in 
the United States. It is our values that make us strong. It is 
our openness, our ability to cultivate our youth to be global 
leaders, that makes us absolutely unique on the world stage.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. A followup question. I represent a district 
in the East Bay that has grown dramatically, and traditionally 
the commute was in the San Francisco, but much of the 
population, particular in the southern end of my district, are 
Asian immigrants who work in Silicon Valley.
    The confluence of technology, particularly for young people 
in diversity, could you speak to that? My anecdotal experience 
is remarkable, but again, we have to be aware that there are 
people who are wanting to use that, particularly for future 
generations.
    Ms. Kusakawa. Yes. Actually, in the current climate we have 
seen a report for example, that our membership had drafted and 
was published in the proceedings of national academies, from 
which many noble laureates come from, had found that we were 
actually losing talent in the United States. We are having 
researchers who are scared of applying for Federal grants.
    At the end of the day this hurts our technological 
advancement here in the United States. Losing talent is not 
just about losing one person. It is about losing a potential 
innovation, our advantages in chips technology, the innovations 
that we ended up having in cell phones because of contributions 
of Asian Americans.
    This is a widespread issue in our education system, in our 
private sector, in our academic institutions, and we need to 
make sure we have the right approach. We need to be data driven 
in our policies, and we need to take into consideration the 
Asian American experience.
    They are the people our country needs, their contributions, 
their talents, and their attributes, and we hope that that can 
be taken into consideration.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. I really appreciate that. I just finished 
with what my friend Peter talks about in his two books about 
this wave of immigration is actually assimilating faster than 
the European waves of immigration, so having someone who grew 
up on the 128 corridor in Boston.
    Watching my parents and grandparents talk about their 
assimilation, Peter's research would suggest that this actually 
a model, that this immigration, again acknowledging that there 
is a global competition, and we--to the other witnesses in 
their perspective we cannot be naive about what other global 
competitive economies and their rulers want to do to this 
country. Thank you, I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Mr. DeSaulnier, thank you so much. We now 
recognize Mr. Thompson from Pennsylvania. You are recognized 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Thompson. Chairman, thank you very much. I think you 
know, just the context for this, thank you for this hearing. I 
think it is important to point out our problem is not with the 
Chinese people, or people of Chinese descent. The problem is 
with the current Chinese government.
    Let us focus where the problem is. I believe in root cause 
analysis, and that is the Chinese government. It is not the 
Chinese people, or Chinese Americans, or anything like that. I 
think we need to be eyes wide open here. Why has this really 
risen to the top, and it should be talked about anyways, but 
frankly, we have the Chinese government that you know, we hear 
all the time about the purchase of U.S. agriculture acreage by 
the Chinese government.
    Some of that in proximity to military installations, some 
of it not. Spying, both in and over the United States has been 
in the headlines. Establishing overseas military bases, 
stealing resources in south Central China, seeing intimidating 
Taiwan. The list is lengthy, and we could probably do a hearing 
just on that, but our point today is what it really is the 
pathway to opportunity, and it's the influence on education.
    I want to thank the Chairman, and all of our witnesses, as 
our students in schools struggle to recover from pandemic 
induced learning losses, I think we can all agree that this is 
an appropriate time to evaluate every aspect of our children's 
educational system, including foreign influence by foreign 
countries.
    Now while we have discussed issues of foreign influence and 
higher education, I am increasingly concerned about the reports 
of the Chinese government influence, and I include the military 
with that in our elementary and secondary schools. We know that 
soft power is one of the main ways that the Chinese Communist 
Party seeks to gain influence around the world, and we must 
remain on guard of these attempts on U.S. soil.
    They do not do it in a vacuum. There is a short list I 
shared with you among other things, that China is very 
aggressive right now. It probably has been, and we just have 
not been paying as close attention in the past. Mr. Gonzalez, 
in your many years of working around the world, can you tell us 
a bit more about where you have seen the CCP use so called soft 
power to gain influence over local communities and other 
countries?
    I think that is important under the premise that the best 
predictor of future performance is past performance, and how 
does this usually play out?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, Representative Thompson. When we 
speak about Chinese soft power, we have to be very clear about 
what we mean. There are people all over the world that wear New 
York Yankees caps and blue jeans. We are very appealing as to 
society, in a way that China is not.
    Nobody wears, you know, we all wear Chinese apparel, but we 
do not--China does not have the kind of appeal that we have. 
What China does for example, is with Hollywood here in this 
country, they have, having vested heavily in Hollywood studios, 
and what they say to the studios, if you want it has a second 
largest box office in the world, after we do.
    If you want to show this movie in China, you have to let us 
look at the script. We have to be involved from the very 
beginning. Sometimes Hollywood studios have made two versions 
of a movie, one to be shown in China, and one to be shown here. 
Or they have just really cut back on any criticism of China.
    Richard Gere, who was a top box office hit in the 90's, all 
of a sudden disappeared. Why did he disappear? He was best 
friends with Dalai Lama, and China sent very clearly the 
message. If you use Richard Gere in any of your movies, you are 
not going to be able to show any of them here.
    That is the kind of thing China does all over the world. It 
also for example, buys radio stations in Australia, here in the 
U.S. and many of the countries. You are not aware that you are 
listening to Chinese propaganda, but you are not going to hear 
anything about the Uyghur genocide.
    You are not going to be hearing anything about how China 
violated its word that it gave the world that it was going to 
respect the rights of Hong Kong citizens, and it has done 
nothing of the sort. You are not going to get any of that in 
any textbook or any teacher that comes from China, from the 
PRC, to teach in our schools.
    This is a major issue, one that should really be 
bipartisan. I thank you, Chairman Bean, for holding this very 
important hearing because this is an issue that should concern 
all of us. Mr. Gonzalez, with about 30 seconds left here, you 
said we should be taking measures, we should be showing action. 
What measures do you believe Congress can take today to ensure 
that we prevent the influence of malicious foreign actors in 
and around our Nation's schools?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Well as Ms. Neily said, I think we should 
demand transparency in the contracts. What is wrong with 
transparency? The American people have the right to know what 
is in the contract between the Confucius classrooms, or the 
remaining Confucius Institutes and the schools. Han Ban, well 
it used to be Han Ban, it is now another institution that runs 
the Confucius classrooms and institutes.
    Transparency is something we should all welcome as a 
democracy.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you. Let us go to Mr. Williams of New 
York. You are recognized for 5 minutes in questions.
    Mr. Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for 
being here, and I think this is an important topic of our day. 
In May 1989 was the last time I was in China. I was there 
during the Tiananmen Square protest, as part of a visiting 
school trip, and spent several days in the capital and among 
the students that were protesting there.
    It was only I guess about three or 4 weeks later that we 
learned what the consequence of that would be. During my time I 
visited Beijing University, Beida, and saw the Freedom Wall, 
and the expressions of hope and aspiration, and desire in the 
eyes of the Chinese students. Following fall semester, I 
enrolled at Harvard University in an Asian studies program, 
Chinese studies program.
    Many of the dissident students who had fled their country 
were present and had first-hand testimony of all that had 
occurred. I think we all know how the Chinese Communist Party 
views education. They view education as being entirely 
subordinate to the party, to the message of Socialism and 
Communism, and they will broke no debate on that topic, 
including rolling tanks in Tiananmen Square, and threatening 
their own people.
    Shockingly, I have discovered closer to home, a report from 
the Parents Defending Education that has pointed to 12 New York 
schools that have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in 
total of funding from the Chinese Communist Party. Have they 
discovered some new enlightenment of supporting education in 
America? I do not think so.
    They are diametrically opposed to what the goal of 
education in America should be, which is to produce students, 
to produce citizens that are able to express themselves, able 
to know their own thoughts, that are able to articulate their 
values and defend them against the government if necessary.
    I doubt seriously if funding from the Chinese Communist 
Party has anything positive to do with education in America. 
This is a deeply problematic issue for me. I recently wrote a 
letter to our Governor, Governor Hochul, asking her to stop 
this, to investigate it, to root it out, and to eliminate it.
    I would ask your help. My first question is what can State 
governments like mine, how can I advise Kathy Hochul to 
mitigate the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in our 
education system. How can we protect the children of New York?
    Mr. Walters. Thank you for your question, and I appreciate 
your sentiment there. In Oklahoma, what we have done is we have 
required every district to tell us if they have taken any money 
from a foreign government. We are also requiring them to turn 
over any funds coming into their district from a nonprofit. 
What we have seen is Communist China utilized affiliated 
nonprofit groups to do that.
    I think this is--every State should do this. It gives you 
the ability as a taxpayer, as a parent, as a grandparent, to 
see what is going on in the schools, and then we should start 
banning this practice.
    Mr. Williams. If I may just followup in the time that we 
have. At a Federal level looking at the Department of Education 
and this Congress, what is it that we can do that can help 
address this issue nationwide?
    Mrs. Neily. I know Representative Jim Banks sent a letter 
to Secretary Cardona asking him to investigate this. Senator 
Tim Scott led a similar effort on the Senate side. At the 
higher education level, there is Section 117 of the Higher 
Education Act, which requires that colleges disclose gifts 
received from in contracts with a foreign source that combined 
hit $250,000.00 or more in a calendar year.
    We ask that you put in place something similar for K to 12, 
but I would urge you to put in place a far lower threshold. The 
average value of the gifts that we found was around $10,000.00, 
so very low. As we know from the Banks Secrecy Act, there are 
bad actors that structure transactions to avoid that reporting 
threshold.
    I would urge you to have something that is very low, and 
that brings in both contracts as well as pass through entities 
as Mr. Walters eluded to.
    Mr. Williams. It is interesting that we look for money 
laundering at amounts $10,000.00 and above, but we do not look 
for the influence of a hostile nation at a similar level. Thank 
you so much for drawing attention to this and providing your 
expertise. I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. The Chair is pleased to 
recognize the Chair of the main Committee, Dr. Foxx. 
Representative Foxx, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to 
reiterate what was said earlier about the fact that this--we 
are concerned about the influence of the Communist Chinese 
government here. We are not in any way conflating that concern 
with talking about Asian Americans.
    We are very, very big believers in transparency in this 
Committee, in everything that we talk about, that is what we 
are asking for. Mr. Gonzalez, you mentioned this briefly in 
your testimony, but what kind of solutions would you recommend 
for the problem of foreign influence in K-12 schools?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Well I believe that given the fact that we 
are talking about a foreign adversary, the Congress has very 
much a role here to play, and as I said, to suspend all 
collaboration between U.S. entities and PRC entities that have 
to do with anything that the States Security Ministry, which is 
intelligence, or with defense, or anything that you know, 
obviously we are going to trade with China, but anything that 
has to do with defense, or intelligence, you should ban it, you 
know.
    They are going to--as Representative said before, they do 
not--they mean ill to us. They are not paying for these books 
because they want us to learn. We should learn Mandarin. I 
studied Mandarin myself personally, and Japanese and Korean. 
This is not what this is about.
    This is about a foreign party, a Communist party run 
country, that is trying to influence how we think and how we 
act.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you. I think it is important that that 
statement be very clear to people. Ms. Neily, we have talked a 
lot about the Chinese Communist Party, and for good reason, but 
I am afraid other countries might try to copy what they are 
doing. Is there evidence that other countries are trying to 
infiltrate U.S. K-12 education?
    Mrs. Neily. There is actually. We found recently several 
hundred thousand dollars in donations going from the Qatar 
Foundation to schools in Arizona. Then the public records that 
I got back again from Fairfax County Public Schools, we found 
an inquiry from the Skolkovo Foundation in Russia, which is 
tied to former Premiere Dmitry Medvedev.
    We are still trying to chase that down, but it very much 
feels like American schools seem to have an open for business 
shingle out, and that is deeply worrying.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you very much. Ms. Neily, someone 
listening to this hearing might come away thinking this is a 
partisan issue, but I actually suspect that parents on both 
sides of the aisle do not want foreign governments, especially 
Communist powers, indoctrinating their children. Do you have 
any polling on how parents feel about this issue?
    Ms. Neily. Yes. We conducted polling on this issue in June 
just to test the waters and see how people felt. As you eluded 
to, there was certainly bipartisan agreement. This kind of 
interference is inappropriate. 58 percent of people felt that 
it was inappropriate for schools to accept money at all from 
foreign governments.
    57 percent believed that schools should be required to 
provide translations of materials. 73 percent felt it was 
inappropriate for schools to share student data with foreign 
governments that fund school programs, and 87 percent felt that 
respondents, or felt that districts should be required to 
disclose when they accept money from foreign governments.
    Mrs. Foxx. Well, thank you. I am going to do one more 
followup question on it. You have done a lot of work to give us 
a better sense of how deeply the CCP has become embedded in the 
classrooms. What can future researchers do to help us get a 
better sense of the problem?
    Ms. Neily. You know the 2019 Senate report has come up a 
lot, and I think the world has changed a lot since then. We 
know a lot more, and I urge congressional Research Service to 
update that report. Let us think back to when the spy balloon 
was flying over America a few months ago. Initially we just 
thought hey, this is harmless, and then when it crashed, and we 
dissected it, we found out it was absolutely not.
    I think very much like with that, with the education 
reports. We know more now than we did then, and we should 
continue to investigate this.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you very much. I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much, Dr. Foxx. Let us go to 
Mr. Walberg. Mr. Walberg, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Walberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, thank you for 
allowing me to waive on to the Subcommittee. It is an important 
subject, and thanks to the panel for being here. The Communist 
Party has a long, dark history of political suppression, 
persecution and violence, and that is against their own people.
    I think that is what we need to make very clear. Our hearts 
break for the Chinese people, whether they be Uyghurs or 
others. Whether you have organ harvesting going on, religious, 
political persecution, and any of us who have been to China 
understand the repressive sense that you have there where truth 
is not honored, or even allowed.
    Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in the CCP's influence 
in our education institutes and living in the shadow of major 
universities like the University of Michigan I have seen it and 
experienced it. For too long I did not take it seriously 
myself.
    As we have heard today, the CCP has achieved some success 
in undermining and infiltrating our schools, both at the K-12 
and postsecondary institutions. At the K-12 level these 
Confucius classrooms act as a foothold for the CCP to 
disseminate propaganda to whitewash the atrocities of past 
Communist regimes.
    These classrooms are part of a broader effort to advance 
Chinese interests by exercising soft power in all American 
educational institutions. They downplay horrific Chinese human 
rights abuses, chill or prohibit discussion of the Tiananmen 
Square Massacre, and suppress opposition to Chinese aggression 
toward Taiwan.
    Disturbingly, younger generations of Americans are 
increasingly unaware of Communism abuses. Like I certainly was 
aware as a child of the 50's and 60's, hiding under my desk in 
a nuclear bomb training sessions from the Soviet Union, 
Communism, and certainly CCP.
    28 percent of Gen Z hold a favorable opinion of the term 
Communism, compared to just 6 and 3 percent of Baby Boomers and 
the silent generations respectively. Ms. Neily, last week this 
Committee passed the crucial Communism Teaching Act, which will 
facilitate the development of educational resources so students 
can better understand the dangers of Communism, and 
Totalitarianism, and how those systems are contrary to our 
founding principles of freedom and democracy.
    Former Secretary DeVos who I was with last week, and 
Secretary Pompeo pushed back against the influence of Confucius 
Institutes in our education system during the previous 
administration. In your opinion, how can Congress and this 
administration build off the Trump administration's policies, 
while still respecting local control?
    I guess I would also ask Mr. Walters to answer that, 
because I would prefer that we not have a U.S. Department of 
Education. That the buck for education would stop at the 
greatest level, at the State Department of Education. Ms. Neily 
first, and then Mr. Walters.
    Mrs. Neily. Sure. You know, Randy Wangeran uses the phrase 
teaching true history, and I appreciate your efforts to advance 
the cause of teaching the true history about Communism, 
teaching the trueness about what is taking place in these 
countries. It is something that Florida has taken the lead in, 
and I expect many other states to do so as well.
    I think that is a very important first step, so we 
appreciate that, and we will let Secretary Walters, or 
Superintendent Walters talk about the State federalism issue.
    Mr. Walters. You know, and Congressman, I appreciate your 
comments there. I agree with you. I do not think there should 
be a Federal Department of Education. When you look at a 
situation like this that involves national security, we are 
talking about an issue where we have got our military personnel 
preparing now for potential issues with foreign countries that 
are this adversarial.
    I believe that this is of the highest order for our 
national security to ensure that we do not have this invasion 
of our schools to a foreign enemy. I believe that this is 
absolutely appropriate for the Federal Government to step in to 
preserve the safety of American citizens, to ensure that we do 
not have a hostile foreign government utilizing propaganda in 
our schools.
    Mr. Walberg. Let me turn to you, Mr. Gonzalez, with your 
background in the media, as well as at the executive level. How 
do we do this, and respect local control?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Respect what?
    Mr. Walberg. Local control?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Well, I think as Mr. Walters said, given the 
fact that we are looking at a hostile power, the Federal 
Government very definitely has a role. I believe very strongly 
that education belongs at the local level, to the families of 
the natural sovereign of education, at least the states. The 
Federal Government should stay away most of the time.
    This is one area, in which because it is an issue of 
national security, that you can--I urge you to do what you can 
to ban, to prohibit these collaborations.
    Mr. Walberg. Some of us ought to be looking at it. Thank 
you. I thank the gentleman.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Walberg. 
We are nearing the end of our conversation. That concludes our 
questions. I now recognize Ms. Bonamici for a closing 
statement.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the 
panel. Unfortunately, today's hearing has been another part of 
the majority's extreme MAGA agenda to inject culture wars and 
partisan politics into our public schools in a way that can 
fuel anti-Asian American bias, and provide a platform for 
claims that have been found by a comprehensive investigation to 
be unsubstantiated, not well documented.
    I want to say I agree with Mr. Thompson from Pennsylvania, 
that the problem is not the Chinese people. The problem is the 
Chinese government. Unfortunately, that is often not the way 
that it is perceived by the public when we have a hearing like 
this.
    I also want to note that the hearing is taking place, and 
we are less than 2 weeks away from a possible government 
shutdown, because extremist republicans are threatening an 
array of extremely devastating cuts to Federal programs that 
are critical to support all students' rights to a high-quality 
public education.
    I want to reiterate that although issues of national 
security are important to all of our members, they are not 
under the jurisdiction of this Committee. Instead, we can and 
should discuss how to provide students with an inclusive, 
accurate, and well-funded education without promoting 
conspiracy theories, fear mongering, or fueling anti-Asian 
American discrimination.
    I mentioned accurate. It is interesting that you all agree 
that students should get an accurate teaching about what 
happens in China. They should also get an accurate teaching 
about what has happened in the United States in our history 
here. I also am glad that there seems to be an agreement that 
studying world languages is important.
    I am glad. I do not think anybody disagrees with that. I 
want to reiterate that right now the majority is proposing 
significant cuts to the Federal education budget. If Federal 
funding is cut, it is extremely unlikely that districts will 
offer second language or world languages, except the high-
income districts.
    Cutting Federal funding to the extent that it is being 
proposed would be devastating across the country. Our role as 
Federal legislators in education is about equity of opportunity 
and closing opportunity gaps. We will see the high-income 
districts continue to have world language, but not the low-
income districts, and that is really unfortunate.
    I also want to note because it is part of the testimony, in 
the written testimony. I visit schools and classrooms across 
Oregon, urban, suburban, rural, in red and blue areas, and I 
have never, ever seen anyone trying to remove parents from 
their child's education, and I have never seen any school 
trying to embrace hostile, foreign governments.
    I invite my republican colleagues to stand with 
congressional democrats. We have laid out a clear legislative 
agenda that puts students, parents and educators on a path to 
success by fostering healthier and more inclusive school 
climates, rebuilding aging and physically unsafe school 
facilities, and protecting the civil rights of all students. 
Thank you, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much Ranking Member Bonamici. 
For the last several decades China has been aggressively 
seeking to be the dominant player in the world. They have been 
aggressively moving against our country and other countries, 
whether it is mineral rights, or just undermining our efforts 
with the dollar and what not.
    America needed a wake-up call. I think that wake-up call 
came in the form of a Chinese spy balloon that we saw firsthand 
the true actions of this country. Today, today I think we all 
have raised a red flag of what is happening in the classroom, 
and now that we know what is going on, hopefully we can take 
actions as they have done in Oklahoma, and across the Nation of 
what they have done to counteract and realize that this is 
happening.
    Our takeaway, our takeaway if anybody is watching, our 
takeaway is not against the Chinese people. It is against the 
aggressive nature of the Chinese government. With that, I think 
we are all better off if we armed ourselves with the facts and 
information that we can go work on giving our kids the best 
unbiased education that we possibly can give.
    Our panelists, you did great today, thank you so much for 
making the trip. We appreciate your input and being a part of 
the conversation. Without objection, there being no further 
business, the Subcommittee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon at 11:58 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

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