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Official title: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen disclosure requirements relating to foreign gifts and contracts, to prohibit contracts between institutions of higher education and certain foreign entities and countries of concern, and for other purposes.
This bill expands oversight and disclosure requirements related to foreign sources and institutions of higher education (IHEs).
Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to annually disclose to the Department of Education (ED) any year in which the IHE
receives a gift from a foreign country of concern (e.g., China or Russia) or foreign entity of concern of any dollar amount;
receives a gift or contract from a foreign source (other than a foreign country of concern or foreign entity of concern) that is valued at $50,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts or contracts within a calendar year (current disclosure threshold is $250,000 or more), or which has an undetermined monetary value;
enters into a contract with a foreign country of concern or foreign entity of concern after receiving a waiver for such contract; or
is substantially controlled by a foreign source.
Additionally, the bill
prohibits IHEs from entering into contracts with a foreign country of concern or with a foreign entity of concern without obtaining a waiver,
requires certain IHEs to disclose gifts or contracts between covered individuals (e.g., researchers) and foreign sources, and
requires private IHEs with specified assets or investments to file annual investment disclosure reports.
The bill requires ED to investigate possible violations of this bill and outlines the various penalties for each violation. Penalties may include losing eligibility for federal student financial aid.
SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
House floor actionsConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1312-1316)
Floor Vote
Passed the House
House floor actionsRule H. Res. 242 passed House.
House floor actionsRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 242 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 24, H.J. Res. 75 and H.R. 1048. The resolution provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 24 and H.J. Res. 75 under a closed rule, and provides for consideration of H.R. 1048 under a structured rule. Also, the resolution provides for one hour of general debate and one motion to recommit on each measure.
House floor actionsReported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-16.
House committee actionsCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Library of CongressIntroduced in House
House floor actionsReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced
Committee
Comments
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What Congress Said
Members who spoke about this bill on the floor, in their own words from the Congressional Record.
Republicans11 spoke
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
This bipartisan bill is a commonsense solution to an irrefutable problem, which is why it passed last Congress with bipartisan support. We should be loud and clear: No American university should be helping the hidden agendas of the Chinese Communist Party or other nations continue to threaten U.S. national security.
There is no country better than China at money laundering. If we ensure that their reporting threshold is zero for the People's Republic of China, that only solves one part of the equation. What happens when the leaders of the PRC attempt to continue their malign influence through Hong Kong or Macau?
It is an honor to be a Member of this august body, and as the son of a university professor who cares deeply about higher education and a former State Department officer who cares deeply about American national security, I am excited and proud to sponsor this bill.
The DETERRENT Act is a much-needed, commonsense piece of legislation that simply says if you are going to accept funding from foreign countries, you need to disclose that.
The DETERRENT Act is our line in the sand. It demands transparency and accountability from higher education. If universities are entangled with foreign adversaries, the American people deserve to know. I am proud that my Reporting on Investments in Foreign Adversaries, or RIFA, Act is included in this legislation.
Each year adversarial nations like China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia attempt to buy the ability to influence our next generation through donations and contracts with American colleges and universities.
I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, not just because it makes sense, but because it will put our adversaries on notice that we are watching them. Most importantly, it will protect our Nation's students from foreign manipulation and provide them with the transparent and safe learning environment that they deserve.
I rise to support my amendment. I am outraged that our universities and institutions are receiving gifts or entering into contracts with foreign countries that seek to destroy or harm the United States.
I rise today yet again to expose to the American public the misplaced priorities of the House Republican Conference and the Republican majority here in the House of Representatives.
The Department of Education has already lost one-half of its staff, and if this bill passes, it will have to process an exponentially larger number of reports than it has to process already.
Today House Republicans are wasting time talking about walk-in freezers and refrigerators. That is what Republicans think is urgent, commercial freezers and refrigerators.
This bill shows how out of touch Republicans are, once again, to Americans' concerns because a majority of Americans want to keep the Department of Education that funds programs for kids with disabilities, provides student loans, and makes sure poorer schools can hire enough teachers.
Literally, how out of touch are Republicans? No American voted, no American--I don't care where you are on the ideological spectrum, you did not vote for this. This is ridiculous. It is preposterous and it is just stupid.
Instead, this bill hampers universities' abilities to engage in important educational programming in conjunction with our democratic allies while failing to confront the real problem of antidemocratic and anti-Semitic foreign influence.
I recently gave birth and am unable to travel to DC to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 77, NAY on Roll Call No. 78, AYE on Roll Call No. 79, NO on Roll Call No. 80, NO on Roll Call No. 81, NO on Roll Call No. 82, and NAY on Roll Call No. 83.
I was unable to attend today's votes. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 77, NAY on Roll Call No. 78, AYE on Roll Call No. 79, NO on Roll Call No. 80, NO on Roll Call No. 81, NO on Roll Call No. 82, and NAY on Roll Call No. 83.
Comments
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