CHIPS and Science Act

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167, enacted August 9, 2022) is best known for its semiconductor manufacturing incentives, but Division B, Title VI of the Act contains the current statutory backbone of US research security law, largely codified at 42 U.S.C. Chapter 163, Subchapter VI.

The provisions that matter for a federally funded researcher

• Malign foreign talent recruitment program prohibition (Section 10632, 42 U.S.C. § 19232) — bars a “covered individual” listed on a federal research award from participating in a program meeting the Act’s statutory definition, effective since May 20, 2024.
• The operative definition sits at Section 10638 (42 U.S.C. § 19237(4)): a program, position, or activity providing compensation — cash, in-kind support including research funding, promised future compensation, complimentary foreign travel, non-de-minimis gifts, honorific titles, or career-advancement opportunities — directly from a foreign country of concern (or an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with one) to a targeted individual, in exchange for the unauthorised transfer of intellectual property, materials, data, or other nonpublic information owned by a US entity. See the guide to the malign foreign talent recruitment program for the full statutory test, disqualifying features, and exclusions for ordinary scholarly presentation and open academic exchange.
• Research security training (Section 10634, 42 U.S.C. § 19234) — requires covered individuals to complete training on cybersecurity, international collaboration, foreign interference, and disclosure obligations before proposal submission.
• Countries of concern (42 U.S.C. § 19221(a)(1)) — a named statutory list (currently the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, plus any country the Secretary of State later designates) that underpins the malign-foreign-talent-recruitment-program prohibition and agency-level restrictions such as NSF’s Foreign Financial Disclosure Reporting threshold. See the countries-of-concern list for current designations and what each restriction attaches to.

The Act supplements rather than replaces NSPM-33: NSPM-33 is a presidential policy directive with no independent enforcement mechanism of its own, while the CHIPS and Science Act gives several of the same disclosure and training requirements direct statutory force. Agencies have implemented the Act’s provisions on different timelines — NSF’s Important Notice No. 149 phased most requirements in by December 2, 2025, and other agencies have issued parallel notices on their own schedules.

Checking this against the current guidance

Which specific CHIPS Act provision applies to a given individual or institution depends on their covered-individual status and their funding agency’s own implementation timeline, and the provisions above describe the statutory floor every agency builds on.

Ask CASRAI: Our institution’s NSF-funded researchers completed research security training under NSF’s Important Notice 149, and the same people also hold an NIH award — does that training satisfy NIH’s separate implementation of the CHIPS Act’s Section 10634 requirement, or does each agency require its own training regardless of overlap?

It searches CASRAI’s indexed corpus of research-administration guidance and cites the passage behind each claim, so you can open the source and check it rather than take its word — and it says so when the corpus does not cover something instead of guessing. Two questions a day are free while you are signed out, no account and no card. Everything CASRAI publishes stays free to read.

Frequently asked questions

Does the CHIPS and Science Act apply to every federally funded researcher?

No — its research-security provisions apply specifically to “covered individuals” as each implementing agency defines them, generally PIs, co-PIs, and other senior/key personnel, not every person paid from a federal award.

Is NSPM-33 the same thing as the CHIPS and Science Act?

No — NSPM-33 is a presidential policy directive with no independent enforcement mechanism; the CHIPS and Science Act gives several of the same disclosure and training requirements direct statutory force, so the two overlap in substance but differ in legal authority.

What countries currently count as ‘countries of concern’ under the Act?

The statute currently names the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, plus any country the Secretary of State later designates under 42 U.S.C. § 19221(a)(1).

When did the malign foreign talent recruitment program prohibition take effect?

The prohibition under Section 10632 has been effective since May 20, 2024, though individual agencies have phased in related disclosure and training requirements on their own schedules since.