Foreign influence in higher ed addressed in expanded oversight bill

Transparency and foreign gift reporting requirements for higher education institutions would be tightened by a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, says a North Carolina congresswoman.

And as chairwoman of the Rules Committee, the bill from a Washington lawmaker is on the way forward. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., late Monday said The DETERRANT Act, filed by Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., is the first action.

The DETERRENT Act is billed – and its acronym derived from – as “defending education transparency and ending rogue regimes engaging in nefarious transactions.” It expands oversight and disclosure requirements related to foreign sources and institutions of higher education.

Baumgartner worked on the bill with Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican. In the 118th Congress, passage in the House included 31 Democrats in a 246-170 advance.

With Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., leading the upper chamber, the bill was received in the Senate on Dec. 7, 2023, and died. Republicans now occupy 53 of the 100 seats, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is its leader.

The bill was filed Feb. 15 and includes reporting to the Department of Education. Since then, President Donald Trump has called for the elimination of the department though not all its activities. Those, such as Pell Grants, would be transferred to another oversight authority.

“This legislation will bring much needed transparency, accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting requirements for colleges and universities across the nation,” Foxx said. “It strengthens section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which was intended to protect American colleges and universities from nefarious foreign donations. Foreign influence within higher education is not something to be taken lightly. It poses a seismic threat, and one that must be addressed without delay.”

Citing national security, foreign influence on higher education in America and transparency, a report was released this month by Americans for Public Trust. It said the top 10 schools receiving the most foreign money last year were Cincinnati ($237.1 million), Cornell ($203.8 million), Harvard ($150.1 million), Stanford ($125.9 million), Juilliard ($119.9 million), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ($106 million), Texas A&M ($102 million), Duke ($94.1 million), Carnegie Mellon ($91.7 million) and New York University ($91.1 million).

The top three countries in giving in 2024 were Qatar ($342.8 million), China ($176.6 million) and Saudi Arabia ($175.2 million).

Foreign gifts and contracts exceeding $250,000 to American colleges and universities must be disclosed, per federal law. Americans for Public Trust says “fewer than 300 of the approximately 6,000 U.S. institutions self-report foreign money each year.”

“Foreign powers, particularly the Chinese Communist Party, have quietly infiltrated our colleges and universities, using their financial influence to open the floodgates to endless cash that comes with hidden agendas,” Baumgartner said. “The DETERRENT Act is designed to expose these foreign influences, hold universities accountable, and ensure clarity in a system that has allowed bad actors to manipulate well-meaning institutions. We need to ensure that Chinese influences and other foreign powers are not allowed to compromise the integrity of American educational institutions for their own gain.”

Walberg said the Biden administration “failed to open a single investigation into this dangerous threat.”

“So, Congress, he said, “is taking action because it is imperative that we hold these universities – which have turned a blind eye for too long – accountable and bring to light malignant foreign entities lurking in our schools.”