HR 1233119th CongressIn Committee

To prohibit the obligation or expenditure of Federal funds for disinformation research grants, and for other purposes.

Introduced: Feb 12, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

H.R. 1233 would prohibit the obligation or expenditure of any Federal funds by any department or agency for three specific categories of grants: (1) disinformation research grants; (2) Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (STC) grants; and (3) programs within the National Science Foundation’s Track F: Trust and Authenticity in Communications Systems. In effect, the bill would block federal support for research and related activities in these areas across all federal agencies. Introduced in the House on February 12, 2025, the bill is sponsored by multiple lawmakers and referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The text provided covers only Section 1 (the prohibition) and does not include additional provisions, definitions, or penalties.

Key Points

1Prohibits federal funds from being obligated or expended for disinformation research grants.
2Prohibits federal funds from being obligated or expended for Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (STC) grants.
3Prohibits federal funds from being obligated or expended for NSF Track F: Trust and Authenticity in Communications Systems.
4Applies to all federal departments and agencies, meaning the restriction would be nationwide across the federal government.
5The text provided does not include definitions, exceptions, enforcement mechanisms, or details on penalties or remedies; those are not visible in the excerpt.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- Academic researchers and universities pursuing work on disinformation, misinformation, and related social science or computational studies.- Researchers and institutions participating in NSF’s Track F: Trust and Authenticity in Communications Systems and related cybersecurity research within the STC framework.Secondary group/area affected:- Federal agencies that administer grants (e.g., NSF, DHS, DoD components, etc.) would need to halt or redirect funding in the specified areas.- Private contractors, research centers, and consortia funded under these grant programs.Additional impacts:- Potential chilling effect on researchers who study disinformation or cybersecurity trust topics, due to funding uncertainty or restrictions.- Possible shift of research funding to non-federal sources (state, local, or private sector) to pursue related topics.- Administrative and compliance burdens for agencies to review and reallocate or terminate affected grants.- Ambiguity due to the absence of definitions, scope, or transition timelines in the excerpt, which could lead to interpretive disputes and varied implementation.

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