I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7170 
To require institutions of higher education to disclose gifts from foreign 
sources in the publications of certain professors and affiliates, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 11, 2020 
Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma (for himself, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. SPANO, Mr. 
BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. POSEY, Mr. ROY, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. LAMALFA, 
Mr. BABIN, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. PERRY, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. BURCHETT, 
Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, and Mr. 
GARCIA of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To require institutions of higher education to disclose gifts 
from foreign sources in the publications of certain profes-
sors and affiliates, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America: Foreign In-
fluence Resistance Starts with Transparency Act’’ or the 
‘‘America FIRST Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FOREIGN GIFTS. 
(a) DISCLOSURE FOR INSTITUTIONS.—Any institu-
tion of higher education that receives a gift from, con-
tracts with, or has financial assets in a foreign source shall 
disclose the total value of such gifts, contracts, and finan-
cial assets received from such foreign source in the byline 
of each publication relating to such foreign source made 
by a professor employed by such institution of higher edu-
cation. 
(b) DISCLOSURE
FOR DEPARTMENTS.—Any non-
profit department within an institution of higher edu-
cation that receives a gift from, contracts with, or has fi-
nancial assets in a foreign source shall disclose the total 
value of such gifts, contracts, and financial assets received 
from such foreign source in the byline of each publication 
relating to such foreign source made by a professor em-
ployed by such department. 
(c) DISCLOSURE FOR AFFILIATES.—Any affiliate of 
an institution of higher education shall disclose the total 
value of gifts, contracts, or other financial assets from a 
foreign source in the byline of each publication relating 
to such foreign source made by such affiliate. 
(d) FOREIGN SOURCES WITH SIMILAR LOCATIONS.— 
For purposes of the byline disclosures required under this 
section, funding from different foreign sources that are lo-
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cated within the same nation shall be totaled and reported 
as funding from such foreign source. 
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 
take such steps as may be necessary to enforce the provi-
sions of section 2. 
(b) PENALTIES.—Upon determination that an insti-
tution of higher education or a nonprofit department or 
affiliate of such an institution has failed to meet the re-
quirements of section 2, the Secretary shall determine the 
appropriate enforcement action to take with respect to 
such institution, which may include any of the following: 
(1) Imposing a probationary period on, or lim-
iting eligibility for, the institution, department, affil-
iate, or professors in violation of this Act to receive 
Federal funds. 
(2) Loss of nonprofit status for a nonprofit in-
stitution, department, or affiliate. 
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURES OF FOREIGN GIFTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 117 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE REPORT.—An institution shall file 
a disclosure report with the Secretary on January 31 or 
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July 31, whichever is sooner, whenever one or more of the 
following paragraphs applies to such institution: 
‘‘(1) The institution is owned or controlled by 
a foreign source. 
‘‘(2) The institution receives a gift from or en-
ters into a contract with a foreign source, the value 
of which is $50,000 or more, considered in combina-
tion with all other gifts from or contracts with that 
foreign source within a calendar year.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, 
by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ‘‘, and the content of each such con-
tract’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before 
the period the following: ‘‘, and the content of 
each such contract’’; 
(3) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, including 
the contents of any contracts,’’ after ‘‘reports’’; and 
(4) in subsection (h)(3), by inserting before the 
semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, or the fair 
market value of an in-kind gift’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to gifts received 
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