House Passes Bill to Boost Transparency on Foreign Funding in Higher Education

The bipartisan measure, known as the DETERRENT Act, would expand disclosure rules and bar contracts with adversarial governments without federal approval.

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on March 11, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The House of Representatives passed legislation on March 27 that would require American colleges and universities to disclose all foreign gifts and contracts from countries of concern, as part of an effort to increase transparency and curb foreign influence in U.S. higher education.

The bill, H.R. 1048—formally titled the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act—passed on a bipartisan 241–169 vote.

It was supported by 210 Republicans and 31 Democrats. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) was the only Republican to oppose it. Among Democrats, 168 voted against the bill.

The measure would lower the reporting threshold for foreign gifts and contracts from $250,000 to $50,000 and require disclosure of any amount from countries or entities deemed of concern, such as China and Russia.

It would also prohibit institutions from entering contracts with such countries or entities without obtaining a waiver from the Department of Education.

In addition, the bill would require schools to disclose financial ties between covered individuals—such as faculty researchers—and foreign sources. Private universities with large endowments would be required to report foreign investments annually.

Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), who introduced the legislation, said the bill targets malign foreign influence that undermines national security and academic freedom.

“The DETERRENT Act brings much-needed transparency, accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting requirements for colleges and universities,” a summary of the bill from Baumgartner and the Committee on Education and Workforce stated.

The bill outlines penalties for institutions that fail to comply, including potential loss of eligibility for federal student financial aid.

Supporters say the reforms are necessary because current disclosure rules under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act are too weak and poorly enforced.

According to a congressional investigation, two major research universities failed to report nearly $40 million in contracts tied to the Chinese Communist Party.

The committee said in its statement that foreign adversaries use financial ties with universities to steal research, suppress speech, and push propaganda.

“The lack of transparency around foreign relationships with our nation’s universities should concern every American as we see stolen research, antisemitic propaganda, and academic censorship,” Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said in a statement. “We should be loud and clear; no American university should be helping the Chinese Communist Party or other entities continue to threaten U.S. national security.”

He added he was glad to see the Act passed the House again with bipartisan support and urged the Senate to follow suit.

“Doing so will help defend against our adversaries while also holding our institutions to a higher standard than ‘taking foreign money first, asking questions later,’” he said.

Supporters of the bill said it addresses concerns that increased reporting requirements would be burdensome or threaten faculty privacy, which critics have raised.

A fact sheet from the bill’s backers refuted those claims, noting that faculty disclosures would only apply to gifts above the same threshold that applies to members of Congress.

The bill also passed the House in late 2024 but was not taken up in the Senate by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The bill now heads back to the U.S. Senate, where it is more likely to be taken up this session under Republican Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified which party Schumer belongs to. The Epoch Times regrets the error.