by Lauren Scott
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a measure that would prohibit the Department of Defense from establishing or maintaining a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at any private school operated by entities linked to the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Communist Party, or the People’s Liberation Army.
U.S. Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., introduced the Deterring Egregious State Infiltration of Schools’ Training Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a news release.
Cruz says that the Chinese Communist Party spends billions of dollars to control what Americans see, hear, and believe, according to the news release. This is not the first measure Cruz has taken to stop the influence of the CCP.
“The CCP used Confucius Institutes to target college campuses across America, and I passed legislation in 2017 to deny Defense Department funding to schools that hosted Confucius Institutes, and today there are only a handful left,” Cruz said in a tweet. “Today, they are using similar methods to target the next generation of Americans in schools, and the DESIST Act is an important step in continuing our effort to combat the CCP’s influence whenever it appears in our schools.”
As a former Air Force officer through ROTC, Walts knows the influence these types of programs have on military leaders.
“I thank Senator Cruz for his leadership on this issue in the Senate and look forward to working with him on a bipartisan basis to protect the integrity of our military institutions and thus improve our national security,” Waltza said.
To read the full legislation, click here.
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Lauren Scott is a senior at Hillsdale College studying history and journalism. Last year she was the assistant opinions editor at her college newspaper, the Hillsdale Collegian, and this year she is the city news editor. She is program director at Hillsdale’s student-run radio station, WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Lauren is also a documentary filmmaker and has been involved in the production of several biographical history documentaries. Scott is an intern reporter for The Center Square.
