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

Floor Speech

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Mr. OWENS. Mr. Chair, imagine our esteemed universities, pillars of free thought and innovation, quietly channeling millions into investments linked to the Chinese Communist Party, Russian oligarchs, or the Iranian regime. While our students learn about democracy and liberty, their tuition dollars may be funding governments that stand against these very ideals.

This isn't hypothetical. This is happening. Since 2013, U.S. colleges and universities have received over $1 billion from Chinese Communist Party-affiliated sources. In return, we have seen professors silenced, student groups threatened, and our intellectual property stolen.

At the same time, these institutions, many of which proudly divest from fossil fuels and boycott Israel, are more than willing to accept foreign funding from adversaries who seek to undermine our Nation.

The DETERRENT Act is our line in the sand. It demands transparency and accountability from higher education. If universities are entangled with foreign adversaries, the American people deserve to know. I am proud that my Reporting on Investments in Foreign Adversaries, or RIFA, Act is included in this legislation. The RIFA Act ensures private colleges and universities disclose whether they are investing their endowments in hostile nations like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. These financial partnerships should not be hidden from the public.

For far too long, we have allowed educational institutions to become conduits for foreign influence. Administrators on the taxpayers' dime have given repressive regimes easy access to our students, turning their backs on the very freedoms they claim to uphold. This betrayal must stop, and I must make it clear that profit over patriotism, profit over American values, and profit over American culture is traitorous betrayal.

The DETERRENT Act takes critical steps to safeguard our institutions, protect our students, and preserve American values. We must not allow profit to overshadow patriotism. It is time to reclaim our universities and secure our future. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

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