To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require staff and faculty to report foreign gifts and contracts, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
John James
R-MI | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. James (for himself and Ms. Foxx) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Disclose GIFT Act (HR 1999) amends the Higher Education Act to require universities and colleges to track and publicly report foreign gifts and contracts received by their faculty and staff. It creates new disclosure requirements, public databases, and enforcement mechanisms to increase transparency about foreign influence at American higher education institutions.
Who Benefits and How
National security agencies and policymakers benefit from greater visibility into foreign funding flows to U.S. research institutions. The general public gains access to searchable databases showing which foreign governments and entities are funding academic work at their local universities. The Department of Education receives new investigative authority and can impose significant fines on non-compliant institutions.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Universities and colleges receiving more than $50 million in federal research funds face new compliance requirements, including designating compliance officers, maintaining public databases, and filing annual reports. Faculty and staff at covered institutions must annually disclose all gifts above minimal value and contracts worth $5,000 or more from foreign sources. For contracts with countries of concern (like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea), they must disclose any contract regardless of value and provide the full contract text. Institutions face fines starting at $250,000 or the total value of unreported gifts/contracts, doubling for repeat violations.
Key Provisions
- Faculty and staff must annually report foreign gifts above minimal value (~$480) and foreign contracts worth $5,000+ to their institutions
- ALL contracts with "foreign countries of concern" or "foreign entities of concern" must be disclosed, regardless of value, including full contract text
- Universities must maintain publicly searchable databases of foreign gifts and contracts (without disclosing individual names)
- The Department of Education can investigate violations and request the Attorney General to bring civil actions
- First-time violators face fines of at least $250,000 or the total value of unreported gifts/contracts; repeat violators face double penalties
- Each institution must designate 1-3 compliance officers who certify institutional compliance
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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