Provisions in both bills

• Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to create an interagency working group that coordinates efforts to protect federally funded R&D from “foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft, or espionage”
• Requires the working group to periodically provide examples of known and potential threats, develop common definitions and best practices for research protection, and assess the impacts of protection policies on international scientific collaboration
• Instructs OSTP to coordinate with the National Academies to create a National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable that would convene stakeholders from the research and security communities to discuss best practices
• Requires the roundtable to periodically organize workshops, issue public reports, and brief Congress on its activities

Provisions in Senate bill

• Requires the interagency working group to develop a way for federal science agencies to share with one another information on “completed investigations of researchers that were determined to be knowingly fraudulent in disclosure of foreign interests, investments, or involvement relating to federal research.” This information would not be made public and would be exempted from the Freedom of Information Act.
• Directs the interagency working group to develop cybersecurity policy guidelines to protect research from theft or espionage
• Requires federal science agencies to issue standards consistent with these cybersecurity guidelines and make compliance with the standards a requirement for grantees