House Republican takes aim at Chinese spying on American colleges
October 06, 2023 12:16 PM
EXCLUSIVE — Freshman Rep. John James (R-MI) introduced legislation Friday that would require faculty and staff at universities to disclose any donations that they received from foreign sources.
The Disclose GIFTs (Getting Investments in Foreign Transactions) Act would tighten foreign funding reporting requirements for higher education institutions. The bill expands on Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires all higher education institutions to disclose any donations from foreign entities that exceed $250,000.
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In a statement announcing his bill, James said that efforts by the Chinese Communist Party and other malignant foreign actors have influenced U.S. colleges and universities and that his bill would expand transparency for the sake of national security.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
“For too long, foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party have infiltrated academia to spy on the United States, steal our information, and gain a foothold in our government,” he said. “The national security implications should alarm all Americans.
“If faculty and staff at American institutions are under foreign influence, the least we can do is ensure that the United States government is aware and monitoring it. This bill is an important step toward accountability.”
Foreign influence in higher education, especially from China, has been a point of focus for Republicans dating back to the Trump administration when then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos led an effort to spotlight how numerous institutions across the country had failed to comply with reporting requirements.
Under the terms of the legislation, institutions that do not comply with reporting requirements would face fines with incremental increases. If institutions fail to comply on three occasions, they would lose access to federal funding.
House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) praised James’s bill, saying it was “an important step in protecting American education from potentially harmful foreign influence schemes.”
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“American research institutions play an important role in strengthening our position on the international stage,” she said. “However, we cannot sacrifice national security in the name of competition. Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening. Our adversaries frequently target valuable American research and for too long, these institutions and their staff have accepted money from foreign actors without any due diligence to track the origin or intent of those funds.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Department of Education and the Democratic leadership of the House Education and Workforce Committee for comment on the legislation.