S. 3920: SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2020
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S. 3920: SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2020
116th Congress · introduced 2020-06-09 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-06-09 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2020
Plain summary
Safeguarding Educational Institutions, Colleges, Universities, and Research Entities from China's Attempts to Misappropriate Property of the United States Act of 2020 or the SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2020 This bill prohibits certain Chinese citizens from receiving visas to participate in graduate or post-graduate studies in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and contains other related provisions. This prohibition applies to F (academic student) and J (exchange visitor) visas and does not apply to citizens or permanent residents of Taiwan or Hong Kong. (China considers Taiwan a Chinese province. Hong Kong is a special administrative region within China, and most of its permanent inhabitants are Chinese citizens.) The Department of State may waive this prohibition on a case-by-case basis for national security purposes or if the applicant is a member of a religious or ethnic group that is systematically oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party. A recipient of a federal STEM research grant must certify that the recipient (1) is not a Chinese citizen or a participant in a Chinese government foreign researcher recruitment program (a program that compensates individuals to conduct STEM-related research and development), and (2) will not knowingly use grant funds to employ such an individual. Entities that receive certain federal research or education assistance shall not knowingly employ any individual participating in a Chinese government foreign researcher recruitment program. An individual who recruits or performs research for such a program must register as an agent of a foreign principal.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2020
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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The strongest published arguments
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] · 1 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] reported raising $7.1 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s3920.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s3920 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116