The GATE Act of 2026 prohibits U.S. National Laboratories from allowing visitors or long-term personnel from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba to access their facilities, information, or technology. The law applies immediately upon enactment and covers both new requests and existing approvals from these countries, though it excludes foreign nationals who are lawful permanent residents or U.S. citizens. The Secretary of Energy can waive this prohibition only if they certify that the benefits to the United States outweigh national security and economic risks, and only with consultation from the Department of Energy's intelligence office and senior FBI counterintelligence officials. Any waivers must be reported to Congress within 30 days with details about the person's country of origin, the admission request date, the waiver decision date, and the specific reasons for granting the exception. The legislation aims to protect sensitive American technology and research from potential exploitation by officials and nationals of adversarial countries.
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