Sponsors (4)
The bill increases federal visibility and scrutiny of foreign funding to reduce national-security risks on campus but does so at the cost of added administrative burden, potential chilling of legitimate foreign research funding, and risks to privacy and academic freedom.
Colleges and universities will be required to disclose foreign gifts (including at a lower threshold for entities tied to covered nations) and provide timely visibility to federal authorities, improving detection and prevention of foreign influence on campus research and curriculum.
Institutions receiving large foreign gifts (≥ $250,000) get clear, periodic reporting deadlines (Jan 31 or July 31), simplifying compliance timing and reducing ambiguity about when reports are due.
Colleges and universities and their students could lose research funding and collaborations if foreign donors are deterred by stricter reporting or referrals to intelligence agencies.
Researchers, students, and institutions face increased privacy and academic freedom concerns because institutional records and investigatory materials may be transmitted to intelligence agencies.
Rapid sharing of disclosures with intelligence agencies could subject institutions and federal employees to heightened federal scrutiny or investigations without clear standards for probable wrongdoing.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Tightens foreign gift/contract disclosure rules for colleges and requires the Education Secretary to send disclosures and past records to the FBI and DNI quickly.
Requires colleges and universities that are foreign-owned/controlled or that receive foreign gifts or contracts above set thresholds to file faster disclosure reports with the Education Department and raises the sensitivity of those reports when the foreign source is tied to a defined “covered nation.” Mandates the Secretary of Education to forward disclosures to the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence within 10 days and to transmit all prior records and investigation files to those intelligence/law‑enforcement officials within 90 days of enactment. Changes include new filing deadlines (by January 31 or July 31, whichever is sooner), a $250,000 annual threshold for most foreign sources, and a zero-dollar threshold for sources associated with a government-designated “covered nation.” The measure increases federal intelligence access to higher-education foreign-funding records and requires immediate transmission of future disclosures to the FBI and DNI.
Introduced April 7, 2025 by James E. Banks · Last progress April 7, 2025