[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5902 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5902
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require staff and faculty
to report foreign gifts and contracts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 6, 2023
Mr. James (for himself and Ms. Foxx) introduced the following bill
October 25, 2023
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require staff and faculty
to report foreign gifts and contracts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Disclose Getting Involved in Foreign
Transactions Act'' or the ``Disclose GIFT Act''.
SEC. 2. POLICY REGARDING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FROM FOREIGN GIFTS AND
CONTRACTS.
(a) In General.--Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 117
the following:
``SEC. 117A. INSTITUTIONAL POLICY REGARDING FOREIGN GIFTS AND CONTRACTS
TO FACULTY AND STAFF.
``(a) Requirement To Maintain Policy and Database.--Beginning not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Disclose GIFT
Act, each institution described in subsection (b) shall maintain--
``(1) a policy requiring faculty, professional staff, and
other staff engaged in research and development (as determined
by the institution and measured by the Higher Education
Research and Development Survey of the National Center for
Science and Engineering Statistics) employed at the institution
to disclose in a report to such institution on July 1 of each
calendar year that begins after the year in which such
enactment date occurs--
``(A) any gift received from a foreign source in
the previous calendar year, the value of which is
greater than the minimal value (as such term is defined
in section 7342(a) of title 5, United States Code) or
is of undetermined value, and including the date on
which the gift was received;
``(B) any contract entered into with a foreign
source in the previous calendar year, the value of
which is $5,000 or more, considered alone or in
combination with all other contracts with that foreign
source within the calendar year, and including the date
on which such contract commences and, as applicable,
the date on which such contract terminates;
``(C) any contract with a foreign source in force
during the previous calendar year that has an
undetermined monetary value, and including the date on
which such contract commences and, as applicable, the
date on which such contract terminates; and
``(D) any contract entered into with a foreign
country of concern or foreign entity of concern in the
previous calendar year, the value of which is $0 or
more, and including the beginning and ending dates of
such contract and the full text of such contract and
any addenda;
``(2) a publicly available and searchable database (in
electronic and downloadable format), on a website of the
institution, of the information required to be disclosed under
paragraph (1), sortable and searchable by the date received (if
a gift) or the date commenced (if a contract), the attributable
country with respect to which information is being disclosed,
and name of the individual making the disclosure, and until the
latest of--
``(A) the date that is 4 years after the date on
which--
``(i) a gift referred to in paragraph
(1)(A) is received; or
``(ii) a contract referred to in
subparagraph (B), (C) or (D) of paragraph (1)
begins; or
``(B) the date on which a contract referred to in
subparagraph (B), (C) or (D) of paragraph (1)
terminates; and
``(3) a plan effectively to identify and manage potential
information gathering by foreign sources through espionage
targeting faculty, professional staff, and other staff engaged
in research and development (as determined by the institution
and measured by the Higher Education Research and Development
Survey of the National Center for Science and Engineering
Statistics) that may arise from gifts received from, or
contracts entered into with, a foreign source, including
through the use of--
``(A) periodic communications;
``(B) accurate reporting under paragraph (2) of the
information required to be disclosed under paragraph
(1); and
``(C) enforcement of the policy described in
paragraph (1).
``(b) Institutions.--An institution shall be subject to the
requirements of this section if such institution--
``(1) is an eligible institution for the purposes of any
program authorized under title IV; and
``(2)(A) received more than $50,000,000 in Federal funds in
any of the previous five calendar years to support (in whole or
in part) research and development (as determined by the
institution and measured by the Higher Education Research and
Development Survey of the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics); or
``(B) receives funds under title VI.
``(c) Enforcement.--
``(1) Investigation.--The Secretary (acting through the
General Counsel of the Department) may conduct investigations
of possible violations of this section by institutions.
``(2) Civil action.--Whenever it appears that an
institution has knowingly or willfully failed to comply with a
requirement of this section (including any rule or regulation
promulgated under this section) based on such an investigation,
a civil action may be brought by the Attorney General, at the
request of the Secretary, in an appropriate district court of
the United States, or the appropriate United States court of
any territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States, to request such court to compel compliance with
the requirement of this section that has been violated.
``(3) Costs and other fines.--An institution that is
compelled to comply with a requirement of this section pursuant
to paragraph (2) shall--
``(A) pay to the Treasury of the United States the
full costs to the United States of obtaining compliance
with the requirement of this section, including all
associated costs of investigation and enforcement; and
``(B) be subject to the applicable fines described
in paragraph (4).
``(4) Fines for violations.--The Secretary shall impose a
fine on an institution that knowingly or willfully fails to
comply with a requirement of this section as follows:
``(A) First-time violations.--In the case of an
institution that knowingly or willfully fails to comply
with a requirement of this section with respect to a
calendar year, and that has not previously knowingly or
willfully failed to comply with such a requirement, the
Secretary shall impose a fine on the institution of not
less than $250,000, but not more than the total amount
of gifts or contracts reported by such institution in
the database required under subsection (a)(2).
``(B) Subsequent violations.--In the case of an
institution that has been fined pursuant to clause (i)
with respect to a calendar year, and that knowingly or
willfully fails to comply with a requirement of this
section with respect to any additional calendar year,
the Secretary shall impose a fine on the institution
with respect to any such additional calendar year in an
amount that is not less than $500,000, but not more
than twice the total amount of gifts or contracts
reported by such institution in the database required
under subsection (a)(2).
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Contract.--the term `contract'--
``(A) means any--
``(i) agreement for the acquisition, by
purchase, lease, or barter, of property or
services by a foreign source for the direct
benefit or use of any of the parties to the
agreement;
``(ii) affiliation, agreement, or similar
transaction with a foreign source based on the
use or exchange of the name, likeness, time,
services, or resources of faculty, professional
staff, or other staff engaged in research and
development (as determined by the institution
and measured by the Higher Education Research
and Development Survey of the National Center
for Science and Engineering Statistics)
employed at an institution described in
subsection (b); or
``(iii) purchase, lease, or barter of
property or services from a foreign source that
is a foreign country of concern or a foreign
entity of concern; and
``(B) does not include any fair-market, arms-length
agreement made by faculty, professional staff, and
other staff engaged in research and development (as
determined by the institution and measured by the
Higher Education Research and Development Survey of the
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics)
for the acquisition, by purchase, lease, or barter of
property or services from a foreign source other than
such a foreign source that is a foreign country of
concern or a foreign entity of concern; and
``(2) Foreign country of concern.--The term `foreign
country of concern' includes the following:
``(A) A country that is a covered nation (as
defined in section 4872(d) of title 10, United States
Code).
``(B) Any country that the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of State, and the Director of National
Intelligence, determines to be engaged in conduct that
is detrimental to the national security or foreign
policy of the United States.
``(3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term `foreign entity
of concern' has the meaning given such term in section 10612(a)
of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation
Act (42 U.S.C. 19221(a)) and includes a foreign entity that is
identified on the list published under section 1286(c)(8)(A) of
the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 22 4001 note; Public Law 115-232).
``(4) Foreign source.--The term `foreign source' means--
``(A) a foreign government, including an agency of
a foreign government;
``(B) a legal entity, governmental or otherwise,
created under the laws of a foreign state or states;
``(C) a natural person who is not a citizen or a
national of the United States or a trust territory or
protectorate thereof; and
``(D) an agent, including--
``(i) a subsidiary or affiliate of a
foreign legal entity, acting on behalf of a
foreign source; and
``(ii) an entity or organization that
operates primarily for the benefit of, or under
the auspices of, a foreign legal entity,
including a foundation or a related entity
(such as any educational, cultural, or language
entity).
``(5) Gift.--The term `gift'--
``(A) means any gift of money, property, resources,
staff, or services; and
``(B) does not include--
``(i) any payment of one or more elements
of a student's cost of attendance (as such term
is defined in section 472) to an institution
by, or scholarship from, a foreign source who
is a natural person, acting in their individual
capacity and not as an agent for, at the
request or direction of, or on behalf of, any
person or entity (except the student), made for
not more than 15 students, and that is not made
under a restricted or conditional contract with
such foreign source; or
``(ii) assignment or license of registered
industrial and intellectual property rights,
such as patents, utility models, trademarks, or
copyrights, or technical assistance, that are
not identified as being associated with a
national security risk or concern by the
Federal Research Security Council as described
under section 7902 of title 31, United States
Code; or
``(iii) decorations (as such term is
defined in section 7342(a) of title 5, United
States Code).
``(6) Institution.--The term `institution' means an
institution of higher education (as such term is defined in
section 102, other than an institution described in subsection
(a)(1)(c) of such section).
``(7) Professional staff.--the term `professional staff'
means professional employees, as defined in section 3 of the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).''.
(b) Program Participation Agreement.--Section 487(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(30)(A) An institution will comply with the requirements
of section 117A.
``(B) An institution that, for 3 consecutive institutional
fiscal years, violates any requirement of section 117A shall--
``(i) be ineligible to participate in the programs
authorized by this title for a period of not less than
2 institutional fiscal years; and
``(ii) in order to regain eligibility to
participate in such programs, demonstrate compliance
with all requirements of such section for not less than
2 institutional fiscal years after the institutional
fiscal year in which such institution became
ineligible.''.
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