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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5902 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.''.
                                 <all>
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