House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Subcommittee Chairman William Timmons, R-S.C., are searching for impartial opinions of how the federal authorities tracks science and know-how agreements (STAs) with China and different international governments.
In letters despatched June 17 to the State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the lawmakers requested assessments of the State Department’s present capabilities and future necessities for monitoring STA sub-agreements entered into by federal companies.
The requests proceed an investigation launched by the lawmakers in April into what they describe as vital gaps in oversight and reporting of these agreements.
“While STAs serve as established instruments of diplomatic cooperation and scientific exchange, entering into such agreements with adversarial nations poses acute risks to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security due to intellectual property theft and information access manipulation,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers stated the State Department beforehand acknowledged {that a} mechanism exists for monitoring STA sub-agreements, however that companies decide which agreements are vital sufficient to report. According to Comer and Timmons, that strategy creates the potential for underreporting and limits government-wide visibility into research-sharing preparations.
The newest requests construct on an April 24 letter to Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre searching for data on how the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs tracks STAs and associated sub-agreements involving China.
The April inquiry cited issues about China’s use of cooperative analysis agreements to achieve entry to mental property and know-how. The lawmakers pointed to previous examples wherein Chinese entities allegedly benefited from analysis performed underneath science and know-how cooperation frameworks.
“The lack of proper oversight and tracking of STA sub-agreements between federal agencies and foreign governments poses a grave risk to U.S. economic and national security, underscoring the need for a centralized tracking and management system for said sub-agreements,” the lawmakers wrote of their letters to GAO and the State Department’s OIG.
The Republican lawmakers stated impartial opinions by the OIG and GAO would offer Congress and the general public with a transparent understanding of how the Department of State “can manage this process going forward as well as identify the risks associated with a continuation of the status quo.”