The Warren Sun

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Member of Congress John James (MI-10) introduced the Disclose GIFTs (Getting Investments in Foreign Transactions) Act, a groundbreaking legislation aimed at addressing foreign money and influence in higher education and research institutions across the United States. Under this act, faculty and staff involved in high research institutions as well as Title VI recipient institutions would be required to report gifts and contracts received from foreign nations.

Speaking about the importance of this legislation, Rep. James highlighted the alarming national security implications of foreign adversaries infiltrating academia. He stated, "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. 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."

Joining Rep. James in his efforts, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, a co-lead of the Disclose GIFTs Act, expressed her support for the legislation. Chairwoman Foxx emphasized the crucial role American research institutions play in strengthening the country's position on the international stage. However, she also stressed the need to prioritize national security and prevent foreign actors from exploiting American research for nefarious purposes. She stated, "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. Congressman James’ bill puts a stop to the status quo and prevents our enemies from hiding nefarious foreign gifts and contracts used to influence research faculty. This bill is an important step in protecting American education from potentially harmful foreign influence schemes."

Under the Disclose GIFTs Act, institutions would be required to upload gift and contract disclosures onto a publicly available and searchable database, aligning the reporting requirements with the same standards that bind members of Congress. To ensure compliance, fines with incremental increases would be imposed on institutions found to be in violation of these requirements. In the case of three violations, institutions would face the loss of Title VI eligibility through the program participation agreement.

For more information on the Disclose GIFTs Act and to read the full bill text, please visit the official website of Rep. John James.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://james.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-john-james-introduces-disclose-gifts-act