Tillis, Cassidy Introduce Legislation to Deter Malicious Foreign Influence in Postsecondary Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) led the introduction of theDefending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act,legislation that brings much-needed transparency, accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting requirements for American colleges and universities. Joining Senators Tillis and Cassidy were Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Rick Scott (R-FL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO).
“America’s foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party, are targeting our nation’s students by stealing research, spewing anti-American propaganda, and censoring free speech by providing American academic institutions with lucrative funding opportunities,”said Senator Tillis.“Too often, schools fail to report these foreign gifts and funding, leaving our adversaries with an unchecked influence over U.S. academic institutions. TheDETERRENT Actis essential to countering this threat and safeguarding our educational integrity. I applaud the House of Representatives for passing this important legislation and I urge the Senate to take swift action to take up and pass this legislation.”
“TheDETERRENT Actbrings important transparency and ensures our universities are not susceptible to foreign influence,”said Dr. Cassidy. “If America’s adversaries are using these gifts to infiltrate college campuses, we need to know about it.”
Background:
The DETERRENT Act:
Currently, colleges and universities are legally required to report foreign funding under Section 117 of theHigher Education Act. However, a series of recent oversight efforts make alarmingly clear the law is vague, poorly enforced, and full of loopholes. Recent reports show billions in foreign money, often from adversarial regimes like the Chinese Communist Party, coming into U.S. campuses with little to no oversight or transparency. The single biggest enforcement tool to protect against the threats posed by foreign adversaries is in desperate need of reform.
A Senate report from 2019 found that up to 70 percent of all institutions failed to comply with Section 117 of theHigher Education Act. Section 117’s loose legislative language, a lack of enforcement efforts, and institutions’ refusal to adhere to the law have resulted in billions of dollars in foreign funds infiltrating our country undetected.
A one-pager of the legislation is availableHERE. Full text of the legislation is availableHERE.

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