Three House committee chairmen have called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) as a foreign mission of the Chinese government. The request was made in a letter sent by Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI), Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL).
If CSSA is designated as a foreign mission, its chapters would be required to notify the State Department in advance about meetings with local governments and universities. They would also need prior approval from the department for any public events held in the United States.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote: "We are writing to express our grave concerns that the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) is advancing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interests on U.S. campuses, raising serious foreign policy and national security risks—particularly given that it remains insufficiently regulated and has not been designated as a foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)."
They continued: "The Foreign Missions Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1982 was designed not only to ensure reciprocity in treatment for U.S. diplomatic and consular missions abroad, but to also regulate the activities of foreign missions operating in the homeland and protect the U.S. public from abuses of privileges and immunities by members of those missions and ensure transparency.The challenges presented by the increased presence of missions of foreign adversary countries have grown in recent decades. None more so than from the CCP, which utilizes a wide variety of front organizations that it owns or controls to do its bidding through its United Front strategy."
The letter further detailed: "For example, the constitution of the Southwest Chinese Students and Scholars Association (SWCSSA), a registered 501(c)(3) that covers 42 American universities, expressly indicates that it operates under the oversight of the Chinese consulate. Article 4 of the SWCSSA’s constitution expressly states that it 'accepts the guidance of the People’s Republic of China Consulate-General in Los Angeles.' Multiple CSSA branches on campuses advertise on their social media accounts that they are the only official association of Chinese students on their respective campuses recognized by their respective local consulates. This includes CSSA chapters at the University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Washington, University of California Santa Barbara, among others. Additionally, the Chinese Embassy in the United States controls the activities of CSSA branches through the approval of some of their leadership candidates. Also, the requirement for membership in some CSSA branches includes what amount to loyalty pledges to the Chinese government and to its policy objectives."
Copies of this letter were also sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
The House Education and Workforce Committee oversees federal programs related to education, labor, health, and workforce development according to its official website. The committee also plays a role in shaping policies such as student loans and worker protections (source). It serves within Congress with jurisdiction over both education and labor matters (source).
