II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1087 

To require certain nonprofit and not-for-profit social welfare organizations 

to submit disclosure reports on foreign funding to the Attorney General, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. GRASSLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require certain nonprofit and not-for-profit social welfare 

organizations to submit disclosure reports on foreign 

funding to the Attorney General, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Think Tank Trans5 parency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CONDUCT INTENDING TO DIRECTLY OR IN9 DIRECTLY INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY OR PUBLIC


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1 OPINION.—The term ‘‘conduct intending to directly 

2 or indirectly to influence public policy or public opin3 ion’’ means, with respect to a covered entity, any ac4 tivity that the covered entity engaging in believes 

5 will, or that the covered entity intends to, in any 

6 way influence any agency or official of the Govern7 ment of the United States, or any section of the 

8 public within the United States, with respect to— 

9 (A) formulating, adopting, or changing the 

10 domestic or foreign policies of the United 

11 States; or 

12 (B) the political or public interests, poli13 cies, or relations of a government of a foreign 

14 country or a foreign political party. 

15 (2) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’ means 

16 any agreement for the acquisition by purchase, lease, 

17 or barter of property or services by the foreign prin18 cipal, for the direct benefit or use of either of the 

19 parties. 

20 (3) COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP.—The term 

21 ‘‘country of citizenship’’, with respect to a foreign 

22 principal, includes— 

23 (A) the principal residence for a foreign 

24 principal who is a natural person; or 


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1 (B) the country of incorporation or the 

2 principal place of business for a foreign prin3 cipal which is a legal entity. 

4 (4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en5 tity’’— 

6 (A) means a nonprofit organization or a 

7 not-for-profit social welfare organization that— 

8 (i) spends more than 20 percent of 

9 the resources of the organization within 

10 any given calendar year on conduct intend11 ing to directly or indirectly influence public 

12 policy or public opinion; or 

13 (ii) is affiliated with, or is a subunit, 

14 of an institution, as defined in section 117 

15 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 1011f), that is subject to that sec17 tion and that— 

18 (I) engages in or publishes sub19 stantial policy-related research or 

20 scholarship; or 

21 (II) hosts, sponsors, or otherwise 

22 promotes annual, or on a more fre23 quent basis, events featuring report24 ers, journalists, or United States or 

25 foreign government officials; and 


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1 (B) excludes— 

2 (i) an ‘‘institution’’, as defined in sec3 tion 117 of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f), that is subject to 

5 that section; and 

6 (ii) an entity organized and operated 

7 exclusively for religious purposes. 

8 (5) FOREIGN PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘‘foreign 

9 principal’’ includes— 

10 (A) a government of a foreign country or 

11 a foreign political party; 

12 (B) a person outside of the United States, 

13 unless it is established that— 

14 (i) the person is an individual and a 

15 citizen of the United States; or 

16 (ii) the person— 

17 (I) is not an individual and is or18 ganized under or created by the laws 

19 of the United States or of any State 

20 or other place subject to the jurisdic21 tion of the United States; and 

22 (II) has its principal place of 

23 business within the United States; 

24 and 


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1 (C) a partnership, association, corporation, 

2 organization, or other combination of persons 

3 organized under the laws of or having its prin4 cipal place of business in a foreign country. 

5 (6) GIFT, DONATION, OR CONTRIBUTION.—The 

6 term ‘‘gift, donation, or contribution’’ means any 

7 gift of money, property, or in-kind contribution given 

8 directly or indirectly to a covered entity by a foreign 

9 principal. 

10 (7) NOT-FOR-PROFIT SOCIAL WELFARE ORGANI11 ZATION.—The term ‘‘not-for-profit social welfare or12 ganization’’ means an organization described in sec13 tion 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

14 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such 

15 Code. 

16 (8) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

17 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de18 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

20 501(a) of such Code. 

21 (9) RESTRICTED OR CONDITIONAL GIFT OR

22 CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘restricted or conditional gift 

23 or contract’’ means any endowment, gift, grant, con24 tract, award, present, or property of any kind that 

25 includes provisions regarding— 


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1 (A) the employment, assignment, com2 pensation, or termination of researchers, schol3 ars, or experts; 

4 (B) the earmarking of funds for depart5 ments, centers, research or lecture programs, or 

6 new positions for researchers, scholars, or ex7 perts; 

8 (C) the subject matter, nature, or contents 

9 of research, analysis or any information pub10 lished or disseminated to officials of the United 

11 States Federal Government, the media, or the 

12 public; or 

13 (D) any other condition or expectation re14 garding either the ability of the foreign prin15 cipal to review in advance, approve, veto, or 

16 modify budgets, programs, events, or presen17 tations, or the contents of information or mate18 rials to be published or disseminated. 

19 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

20 Congress finds the following: 

21 (1) Think tanks have provided Congress and 

22 the executive branch with a wealth of research and 

23 scholarship that largely has benefitted the public in 

24 the United States by improving the drafting, enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1087.IS S1087

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1 ment, and enforcement of policy in the United 

2 States. 

3 (2) There is broad bipartisan agreement that 

4 think tanks possess enormous influence on the pas5 sage and enforcement of policies, particularly those 

6 that relate to foreign policy. 

7 (3) In recent years, foreign funding of think 

8 tanks has increased substantially. 

9 (4) Congress, the executive branch, and espe10 cially the people of the United States have a right 

11 to— 

12 (A) know which think tanks receive foreign 

13 funds; and 

14 (B) assess for themselves the extent that 

15 foreign influence should be considered when 

16 analyzing the credibility and value of research 

17 and scholarship produced by such think tanks 

18 that receive foreign funds. 

19 (5) The United States House of Representa20 tives has recognized the national security issues in21 herent in undue foreign influence of entities with 

22 covert sources of foreign funding that testify before 

23 Congress. Since 2015, representatives of entities 

24 who testify before the United States House of Rep25 resentatives have been required to disclose relevant 


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1 foreign funding sources directed to them or their 

2 employers in Truth-in-Testimony disclosure forms 

3 required under clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI of the Rules 

4 of the House of Representatives. 

5 (6) Almost 30 years ago, Congress enacted sec6 tion 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1011f) (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘section 

8 117’’) in light of concerns about the growing finan9 cial relationship between universities in the United 

10 States and foreign sources. In enacting that legisla11 tion, Congress balanced academic freedom and na12 tional security by mandating financial transparency 

13 through required reporting of contracts with, and 

14 gifts from, any foreign source. 

15 (7) Section 117 does not prohibit institutions of 

16 higher education from taking foreign money, but 

17 rather mandates accurate and transparent disclo18 sures of sources and amounts received by those in19 stitutions to the Department of Education. In 2019, 

20 the Department of Education took concrete steps to 

21 enforce section 117 by ensuring the integrity of re22 porting requirements, confirming the correct report23 ing and categorization of donations, and prohibiting 

24 the use of domestic conduits and intermediaries to 

25 avoid the disclosures of foreign gifts. 


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1 (8) Between 2011 and 2021, the Russian Fed2 eration (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘Russia’’) gave 

3 not less than $160,000,000 to universities in the 

4 United States. The People’s Republic of China 

5 (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘China’’) alone gave not 

6 less than $2,700,000,000 to universities during the 

7 United States during the same time frame. 

8 (9) Russia and China each have repressive and 

9 deeply troubling records relating to human rights, 

10 and both have engaged in cyber espionage targeting 

11 individuals in the United States. 

12 (10) Russia and China pose grave threats to 

13 the national security interests of the United States, 

14 yet those countries have successfully lavished billions 

15 of dollars to cultivate strong ties with institutions of 

16 higher education and research across the United 

17 States. 

18 (11) Although the Center for International Pol19 icy conducted a study in 2020 that concluded that 

20 think tanks focused on Federal policy received not 

21 less than $174,000,000 in funding from foreign gov22 ernmental entities between 2014 and 2018, there is 

23 currently no means to determine the actual level or 

24 extent of foreign influence on those think tanks. 


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1 (12) What is clear is the vast amount of foreign 

2 funding that United States-based think tanks re3 ceive, and that such foreign funding affects the di4 rection of their policy recommendations. 

5 (13) There is significant concern in Congress 

6 about potential contractual stipulations tied to for7 eign funding that could be leveraged by foreign pow8 ers to exert even greater influence over the research 

9 and policy recommendations of think tanks that the 

10 Federal Government and the public in the United 

11 States would otherwise believe to be independent. 

12 (14) There is broad bipartisan agreement that 

13 undue foreign influence obscured through the use of 

14 proxies—or hidden by the powerful brand of a highly 

15 respected think tank—threatens the national secu16 rity interests of the United States. There is also 

17 broad agreement that transparency is the most im18 portant and effective tool for reducing the harm of 

19 foreign influence targeting United States public pol20 icy or public opinion. 

21 (15) As such, this bill aims to provide critical 

22 transparency regarding the foreign funding provided 

23 to, and the related contractual agreements with, 

24 think tanks whose work includes influencing United 

25 States policies or public opinion. 


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1 SEC. 4. CONTEMPORANEOUS DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 

2 (a) REPORTING CONDITIONS.— 

3 (1) GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 section 7, a covered entity that receives a gift, 

6 donation, or contribution from a foreign prin7 cipal during a calendar year in an aggregate 

8 amount of $10,000 or greater shall file a disclo9 sure report with the Attorney General in ac10 cordance with subsection (b) not later than 90 

11 days after each disclosure date. 

12 (B) DISCLOSURE DATE DEFINED.—In this 

13 paragraph, the term ‘‘disclosure date’’ means— 

14 (i) the first date during any calendar 

15 year by which a covered entity has received 

16 a gift, donation, or contribution from a 

17 foreign principal in an aggregate amount 

18 of $10,000 or greater; and 

19 (ii) any other date during such cal20 endar year by which a covered entity has 

21 received a gift, donation, or contribution 

22 from a foreign principal in an aggregate 

23 amount of $10,000 or greater since the 

24 most recent disclosure date for such cal25 endar year. 


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1 (2) CONTRACT, MEMORANDUM OF UNDER2 STANDING, OR AGREEMENT.—Except as provided in 

3 section 7, a covered entity that enters into or modi4 fies a contract, memorandum of understanding, or 

5 agreement with a foreign principal shall file a disclo6 sure report with the Attorney General in accordance 

7 with subsection (b) within 90 days of the entering 

8 into or modification of such contract, memorandum, 

9 or agreement. 

10 (b) CONTENTS OF CONTEMPORANEOUS DISCLOSURE

11 REPORT.— 

12 (1) GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR CONTRIBUTIONS

13 ONLY.—The report required under subsection (a)(1) 

14 shall detail the following: 

15 (A) The identities of the foreign principal 

16 and the primary point of contact of the foreign 

17 principal for engaging with the covered entity, 

18 including the name and title of such point of 

19 contact. 

20 (B) The date on which the foreign prin21 cipal provided a gift, donation, or contribution 

22 to the covered entity. 

23 (C) The aggregate dollar amount of such 

24 gift, donation, or contribution attributable to a 

25 particular foreign principal. 


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1 (D) A description of any conditions or re2 strictions regarding any of the disclosed gifts, 

3 donations, or contributions. 

4 (E) The aggregate amount of such gifts, 

5 donations, or contributions received from each 

6 foreign principal. 

7 (F) A description of any decisions made 

8 because of the foreign principal to the structure 

9 of the organization or to the research, pro10 grams, or content intended to be or actually 

11 published, disseminated, or promoted by the 

12 covered entity. 

13 (2) CONTRACT, MEMORANDUM OF UNDER14 STANDING, OR AGREEMENT ONLY.—The report re15 quired under subsection (a)(2) shall detail the fol16 lowing: 

17 (A) The identities of the foreign principal 

18 and the primary point of contact of the foreign 

19 principal for engaging with the covered entity, 

20 including the name and title of such point of 

21 contact. 

22 (B) The date on which the covered entity 

23 entered into or modified a contract, memo24 randum of understanding, or agreement with a 

25 foreign principal. 


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1 (C) Copies of all written contracts, agree2 ments, or memoranda of understanding the cov3 ered entity entered into or modified with any 

4 foreign principal. 

5 (D) Copies of all internal and external doc6 uments, research materials, and publications 

7 produced as a result of the contract, memo8 randum of understanding, or agreement. 

9 (E) A description of any decisions made 

10 because of the foreign principal to the structure 

11 of the organization or to the research, pro12 grams, or content intended to be or actually 

13 published, disseminated, or promoted by the 

14 covered entity. 

15 SEC. 5. INITIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall file an ini17 tial disclosure report, in accordance with subsection (b) 

18 or (c), with the Attorney General not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act if, during the pe20 riod beginning on January 1 of the most recent calendar 

21 year that ended before the date of enactment of this Act 

22 and ending on the effective date of this Act— 

23 (1) the covered entity received a gift, donation, 

24 or contribution from a foreign principal in an aggre25 gate amount of $10,000 or greater; 


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1 (2) the covered entity entered into or modified 

2 a contract, memorandum of understanding, or agree3 ment with a foreign principal; or 

4 (3) the covered entity had previously entered 

5 into a contract, agreement, or memorandum of un6 derstanding with a foreign principal that was still 

7 valid or enforceable on or after January 1 of the 

8 most recent calendar year that ended before the date 

9 of enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) PRIOR GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR CONTRIBU11 TIONS.—The report required under subsection (a)(1) shall 

12 detail the following: 

13 (1) The name of the foreign principal. 

14 (2) The country of citizenship of the foreign 

15 principal. 

16 (3) The amount and date of such gifts, dona17 tions, or contributions. 

18 (4) The description of any conditions or restric19 tions attached to, or placed on, the gifts, donations, 

20 or contributions. 

21 (5) A description of any decisions made because 

22 of the foreign principal to the structure of the orga23 nization or to the research, programs, or content in24 tended to be or actually published, disseminated, or 

25 promoted by the covered entity. 


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1 (c) CONTRACT, MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, 

2 OR AGREEMENT.—The report required under subsection 

3 (a)(2) shall detail the following: 

4 (1) The name of the foreign principal. 

5 (2) The country of citizenship of the foreign 

6 principal. 

7 (3) Copies of each written contract, memo8 randum of understanding, or agreement. 

9 (4) Any modification of each such written con10 tract, memorandum, or agreement. 

11 (5) The terms and conditions of each oral 

12 agreement. 

13 (6) Any modification of each such oral agree14 ment. 

15 (7) A comprehensive statement of— 

16 (A) the nature and method of performance 

17 of each item described in paragraphs (3) 

18 through (6); and 

19 (B) the actions taken by the covered entity 

20 at the request or suggestion of each such for21 eign principal. 

22 (8) A description of any decisions made because 

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1 tended to be or actually published, disseminated, or 

2 promoted by the covered entity. 

3 SEC. 6. BRIEFINGS, TESTIMONY, OR SIMILAR FORMS OF 

4 PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH. 

5 (a) LABELING OF WRITTEN MATERIALS.—If a cov6 ered entity provides a briefing, testimony, or similar form 

7 of presentation of research to a member or employee of 

8 Congress, or to an executive branch official, the covered 

9 entity shall identify prominently on any written materials 

10 provided to the member or employee of Congress, or to 

11 the executive branch official, the name of the relevant for12 eign principal and the country of citizenship, if the foreign 

13 principal is not a government, who provided funding for 

14 such briefing, testimony, or similar form of presentation 

15 of research. 

16 (b) ADDENDUM TO BRIEFING, TESTIMONY, PRESEN17 TATION.—In the event that no written materials are pro18 vided in a briefing, testimony, or similar form of presen19 tation of research described in subsection (a), the covered 

20 entity shall convey the information required under sub21 section (a) in writing to the member or employee of Con22 gress, or executive branch official, before or not later than 

23 10 days after the date of the briefing, testimony, or pres24 entation. 


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1 SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) STATE REPORTS.— 

3 (1) REQUIREMENTS OF A COVERED ENTITY.— 

4 If a covered entity has its headquarters in a State 

5 that has enacted requirements for public disclosure 

6 of gifts, donations, or contributions from, or con7 tracts or agreements with, a foreign principal that 

8 are substantially similar to the requirements of this 

9 Act, a copy of the disclosure report filed with that 

10 State may be filed with the Attorney General in lieu 

11 of a report required under this Act. 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE.—The State 

13 in which a covered entity has its headquarters shall 

14 provide to the Attorney General such assurances as 

15 the Attorney General may require to establish that 

16 the covered entity has met the requirements for pub17 lic disclosure under State law if the State-mandated 

18 disclosure report is filed. 

19 (b) FEDERAL REPORTS.—If a covered entity receives 

20 a gift, donation, or contribution from, or enters into a con21 tract or agreement with, a foreign principal, and if any 

22 other department, agency, or bureau of the executive 

23 branch requires a report containing requirements substan24 tially similar to those required under this Act, a copy of 

25 the report may be filed with the Attorney General in lieu 

26 of a report required under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) BOOKS AND RECORDS.— 

3 (1) RETENTION PERIOD.—For a period of not 

4 less than 5 years, a covered entity shall retain the 

5 necessary materials required to comply with the re6 quirements of this Act, including books of account, 

7 all communications with any foreign principal, and 

8 other records regarding the activities of the covered 

9 entity related to any contracts, memorandum of un10 derstandings, or agreements with, or gifts, dona11 tions, or contributions from, a foreign principal. 

12 (2) INSPECTION.— 

13 (A) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Upon request 

14 of the Attorney General, each covered entity 

15 shall furnish to the Attorney General all infor16 mation and records in the possession of the cov17 ered entity that the Attorney General may de18 termine to be necessary to comply with the re19 quirements under this Act. 

20 (B) CONGRESS.—Upon request of Con21 gress or a committee of Congress, a covered en22 tity shall furnish to Congress or the relevant 

23 committee of Congress such information and 

24 records as Congress or the relevant committee 

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1 tent to which the covered entity is in compli2 ance with the requirements of this Act. 

3 (3) PUBLICATION.—Any information or records 

4 furnished pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) shall be 

5 made available in the database required under sub6 section (b). 

7 (4) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any 

8 person willfully to conceal, destroy, obliterate, muti9 late, or falsify, or to attempt to conceal, destroy, ob10 literate, mutilate, or falsify, or to cause to be con11 cealed, destroyed, obliterated, mutilated, or falsified, 

12 any books or records required to be kept under the 

13 provisions of this section. 

14 (b) PUBLICATION.—All disclosure reports required by 

15 this Act and the information and records required to be 

16 furnished pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be made 

17 available to the public through a database maintained on 

18 the official website of the Department of Justice. 

19 (c) CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY.—Any covered entity 

20 that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, in21 cluding any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, 

22 shall be subject, in addition to any other penalties that 

23 may be prescribed by law, to a civil money penalty of not 

24 less than $1,000 for each day of the failure described by 


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1 this Act—during which the covered entity is in violation 

2 of this Act. 

3 (d) CIVIL ACTION.— 

4 (1) COURT ORDERS.—Whenever it appears that 

5 a covered entity has failed to comply with the re6 quirements of this Act, including any rule or regula7 tion promulgated under this Act, a civil action may 

8 be brought by the Attorney General in an appro9 priate district court of the United States, or the ap10 propriate United States court of any territory or 

11 other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

12 States, to request such court to compel compliance 

13 with the requirements of this Act. 

14 (2) COSTS.—For knowing or willful failure to 

15 comply with the requirements of this Act, including 

16 any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, a 

17 covered entity shall pay to the Treasury of the 

18 United States the full costs to the United States of 

19 obtaining compliance, including all associated costs 

20 of investigation and enforcement. 

21 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General may pro22 mulgate such regulations as the Attorney General con23 siders necessary to implement the requirements of this 

24 Act. 


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1 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act shall take effect on the date that is 120 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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