Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Chair, it is an honor to be a Member of this august body, and as the son of a university professor who cares deeply about higher education and a former State Department officer who cares deeply about American national security, I am excited and proud to sponsor this bill.

Indeed, there are many wonderful things that happen on American university campuses, but there are also some nefarious and concerning issues on American campuses that deal with foreign adversaries.

Indeed, Mr. Chairman, the numbers do not lie. Foreign adversaries have poured billions into American universities, and much of it remains hidden from public view. In just two universities alone, congressional investigators have uncovered nearly $40 million in unreported research contracts tied to the Chinese Communist Party.

Nearly 30 percent of disclosed foreign funding lack even basic details like contract dates or intended purpose. Current regulations permit anonymous giving. These are not clerical errors. This is a systemic failure, one that has left our institutions wide open to foreign influence with real consequences for American society.

Let's be clear. Every dollar from an adversarial nation comes with strings attached, expectations about what gets taught, which research gets funded, and who gets hired or silenced.

We are already seeing the consequences. The committee report accompanying the DETERRENT Act highlighted research from the Network Contagion Research Institute, which analyzed foreign funding data between 2024 and 2019 and found that universities receiving undisclosed donations from Middle Eastern sources saw, on average, 300 percent more anti-Semitic incidents than other institutions.

Correlation is not causation, but one thing is certain: Secrecy allows these influences to operate unchecked and unexamined. The less we know about where this money is coming from and what it is funding, the easier it is for malign actors to push their agendas without scrutiny.

The problem is far bigger than any one country. Sixty percent of all foreign money in U.S. universities comes from just four sources, including China and Qatar, nations that oftentimes have strategic and ideological conflicts with U.S. interests. Despite this, 70 percent of universities fail to comply with foreign funding reporting requirements. Worse, universities can simply list foreign donors as anonymous, further obscuring the source of gifts.

How can we claim to protect academic integrity when billions in foreign influence remain hidden in the shadows?

This is why the DETERRENT Act is necessary. It closes reporting loopholes; it requires universities to fully disclose the source, purpose, and terms of all foreign gifts; and it imposes real consequences for noncompliance, including fines and loss of Federal funding. It also ensures transparency in private university endowments, preventing foreign adversaries from quietly shaping campuses' culture and academic research behind closed doors.

The American people want to know when foreign countries, including our adversaries, are active on our college campuses. That is what this bill is about. Universities have a choice to lead now with accountability.

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