South Michigan News

On Tuesday, the Michigan House of Representatives approved a legislative plan led by State Representative Will Bruck from Erie. The initiative aims to tackle adversarial foreign influence in Michigan. A key component of Bruck's proposal is the creation of the Foreign Influence of State Institutions of Higher Education Act. This act mandates that colleges and universities disclose any donations received from foreign countries deemed concerning or from entities under their control.

"In the last four years, universities within the U.S. have received over $29 billion from foreign countries, and much of this comes from foreign governments that are openly hostile to the U.S. like the Chinese Communist Party," stated Bruck. "Even more worrisome is that some of these gifts come with strings attached. My bill will ensure destructive foreign influence within our state’s higher education institutions is exposed and put to an end."

In recent years, hostile foreign nations, particularly China, have intensified efforts to expand their surveillance and influence over state and local public entities, including public universities. Various state governments across the country have implemented policies to effectively counteract sub-national threats posed by Chinese influence.

Bruck's plan encompasses several legislative proposals aimed at:

- Preventing foreign entities of concern from gathering sensitive information by blocking prohibited apps on government devices.

- Ensuring public schools, colleges, and universities do not accept grants conditioned upon an anti-American agenda from foreign countries of concern.

- Prohibiting public bodies from entering into constraining agreements with foreign countries of concern.

- Ensuring public economic incentives are not awarded to foreign entities of concern.

- Protecting personal health information of Michigan residents by ensuring healthcare record technology is physically maintained in the U.S. or Canada.

- Preventing entities of concern from purchasing farmland or property near military bases and other critical infrastructure.

"This bill package will curb the attempts by China or any one of our other foreign adversaries to undermine our homeland security and subject our populace to their propaganda," remarked Bruck. "My hope is that leadership in the Senate sees the critical need for us to respond to threats of hostile foreign entities and takes up our bills soon. China’s efforts to surveil our critical infrastructure, strong-arm our schools and local governments to their will, and increase their presence in Michigan are very well-documented. This is a real concern that merits bipartisan attention."