Enforcement and other general provisions

(a) Enforcement and other general provisions The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after section 117A the following: 117B. Enforcement; single point-of-contact; institutional requirements (a) Enforcement (1) Investigation The Secretary (acting through the General Counsel of the Department) shall conduct investigations of possible violations of section 117A and subsection (c) of this section by institutions and, whenever it appears that an institution has knowingly or willfully failed to comply with a requirement of any of such provisions (including any rule or regulation promulgated under any such provision), shall request that the Attorney General bring a civil action in accordance with paragraph (2). (2) Civil action Whenever it appears that an institution has knowingly or willfully failed to comply with a requirement of any of the provisions listed in paragraph (1) (including any rule or regulation promulgated under any such provision) based on an investigation under such paragraph, a civil action shall be brought by the Attorney General, at the request of the Secretary, in an appropriate district court of the United States, or the appropriate United States court of any territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, to request such court to compel compliance with the requirement of the provision that has been violated. (3) Costs and other fines An institution that is compelled to comply with a requirement of a provision listed in paragraph (1) pursuant to paragraph (2) shall— (A) pay to the Treasury of the United States the full costs to the United States of obtaining compliance with the requirement of such provision, including all associated costs of investigation and enforcement; and (B) if applicable, be subject to the applicable fines described in paragraph (4). (4) Fines for violations The Secretary shall impose a fine on an institution that is compelled to comply with a requirement of section 117A pursuant to paragraph (2) as follows: (A) First-time violations In the case of an institution that is compelled to comply with a requirement of section 117A pursuant to a civil action described in paragraph (2), and that has not previously been compelled to comply with any such requirement pursuant to such a civil action, the Secretary shall impose a fine on the institution for such violation in an amount that is the greater of— (i) $250,000; or (ii) the total amount of gifts or contracts that the institution is compelled to report pursuant to such civil action. (B) Subsequent violations In the case of an institution that has previously been compelled to comply with a requirement of section 117A pursuant to a civil action described in paragraph (2), and is subsequently compelled to comply with such a requirement pursuant to a subsequent civil action described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall impose a fine on the institution in an amount that is the greater of— (i) $500,000; or (ii) twice the total amount of gifts or contracts that the institution is compelled to report pursuant to such civil action. (b) Single point-of-Contact at the Department The Secretary shall maintain a single point-of-contact at the Department to— (1) receive and respond to inquiries and requests for technical assistance from institutions regarding compliance with the requirements of section 117A and subsection (c) of this section; (2) provide, every 90 days after the date of enactment of the status updates on any pending or completed investigations and civil actions under subsection (a)(1) to— (A) the authorizing committees; and (B) any institution that is the subject of such investigation or action; (3) maintain, on a publicly accessible website— (A) a full comprehensive list of all foreign countries of concern and foreign entities of concern; and (B) the date on which the last update was made to such list; and (4) not later than 7 days after making an update to the list maintained under paragraph (3)(A), notify each institution required to comply with the section listed in paragraph (1) of such update. (c) Institutional requirements for compliance officers and institutional policy requirements (1) In general An institution that is subject to the requirements of section 117A shall, not later than the date on which the institution first fulfills the requirements of such section— (A) establish an institutional policy that the institution shall follow in meeting the requirements of such section; and (B) designate and maintain at least one, but not more than three, current employees or legally authorized agents of such institution to serve as compliance officers to carry out the requirements listed in paragraph (2). (2) Duties of compliance officers A compliance officer designated by an institution under paragraph (1)(B) shall certify, whenever the institution is subject to the requirements of section 117A, that the institution— (A) is in compliance with the requirements of such section; and (B) followed the institutional policy established under paragraph (1)(A). (d) Definitions For purposes of section 117A and this section: (1) Foreign country of concern The term foreign country of concern means the following: (A) Any covered nation defined in section 4872 of title 10, United States Code. (B) Any country the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Director of National Intelligence, determines, for purposes of section 117A or this section, to be engaged in conduct that is detrimental to the national security or foreign policy of the United States. (2) Foreign entity of concern The term foreign entity of concern has the meaning given such term in section 10612(a) of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19221(a)) and includes a foreign entity that is identified on the list published under section 1286(c)(8)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 22 4001 note; Public Law 115–232). (3) Institution The term institution means an institution of higher education (as such term is defined in section 102, other than an institution described in subsection (a)(1)(C) of such section).. (b) Program participation agreement Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) is amended by adding at the end the following: (30) (A) An institution will comply with the requirements of sections 117A and 117B(c). (B) In the case of an institution described in subparagraph (C), the institution will— (i) be ineligible to participate in the programs authorized by this title for a period of not less than 2 institutional fiscal years; and (ii) in order to regain eligibility to participate in such programs, demonstrate compliance with all requirements of each such section for not less than 2 institutional fiscal years after the institutional fiscal year in which such institution became ineligible. (C) An institution described in this subparagraph is an institution that has been subject to 3 separate civil actions described in section 117B(a)(2) that have each resulted in the institution being compelled to comply with one or more requirements of section 117A or 117B(c).. (c) GAO Study and Report (1) Study Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall initiate a study to identify ways to improve intergovernmental agency coordination regarding implementation and enforcement of sections 117A and 117B(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f), as added by this Act, including increasing information sharing, increasing compliance rates, and establishing processes for enforcement. (2) Report Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress, and make public, a report containing the results of the study described in paragraph (1).