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Kiggans Votes to Root Out Foreign Influence in U.S. Education

Dec 09, 2023
National Security
Press

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 5933, the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act. The DETERRENT Actwould severely limit foreign nations’ influence on the U.S. education system by bringing much-needed transparency, accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting requirements for colleges and universities across the nation.

“With the rise of antisemitism and the heightened influence from foreign adversaries on our college campuses, transparency has never been more important,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “It’s unacceptable that China and other bad actors have such deeply rooted ties to our education system. I’m proud that our House Majority made a commitment on day one to focus on restoring American strength; exposing foreign forces attempting to influence our children helps us do just that. I was proud to vote for this legislation and urge the Senate to pass it so we can continue to increase American strength!”

BACKGROUND

The DETERRENT Act takes concrete action to limit foreign nations’ influence in American higher education. Specifically, it:

  • Slashes the foreign gift reporting threshold for colleges and universities from $250,000 down to $50,000, with an even stricter $0 threshold for countries and entities of concern;
  • Closes reporting loopholes and provides transparency to Congress, intelligence agencies, and the public;
  • Requires disclosure of foreign gifts and contracts to individual staff and faculty at research-heavy institutions to protect those targeted the most by our adversaries;
  • Holds our largest private institutions accountable for their financial partnerships by revealing concerning foreign investments in their endowments, and;
  • Implements a series of repercussions for colleges and universities that remain noncompliant in foreign gift reporting such as fines and the loss of Title IV funding.

The full text of the DETERRENT Act is available here.

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