I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8996 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 
Mr. BERGMAN introduced the following bill; which was 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. 
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 ‘‘Think Tank Trans-
parency Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Think tanks have provided Congress and 
the Administration with a wealth of research and 
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scholarship that largely has benefitted the American 
public by improving the drafting, enactment, and en-
forcement of U.S. policy. 
(2) There is broad bipartisan agreement that 
think tanks possess enormous influence on the pas-
sage and enforcement of policies, particularly those 
that relate to foreign policy. 
(3) In recent years, foreign funding of think 
tanks has increased substantially. 
(4) Congress, the Administration, and especially 
the American people have a right to know which 
think tanks receive foreign funds and to assess for 
themselves the extent that foreign influence should 
be considered when analyzing the credibility and 
value of research and scholarship produced by such 
organizations that receive foreign funds. 
(5) The House has already recognized the na-
tional security issues inherent in undue foreign in-
fluence of entities with covert sources of foreign 
funding who testify before Congress. Since 2015, in-
dividuals who testify before the U.S. House of Rep-
resentatives have been required to disclose relevant 
foreign funding sources directed to them or their 
employers in Truth in Testimony disclosure forms. 
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(The original looser requirement was enacted in 
1997.) 
(6) Over 30 years ago, Congress enacted section 
117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) in 
light of concerns about the growing financial rela-
tionship between U.S. universities and foreign 
sources. Congress balanced academic freedom and 
national security by mandating financial trans-
parency through required reporting of contracts with 
and gifts from a foreign source. 
(7) Section 117 does not prohibit institutions 
from taking foreign money; it mandates accurate 
and transparent disclosures of sources and amounts 
to the Department of Education. In 2019, the De-
partment took concrete steps to enforce section 117 
by ensuring the integrity of reporting requirements, 
confirming the correct reporting and categorization 
of donations, and prohibiting the use of domestic 
conduits and intermediaries to avoid the disclosures 
of foreign gifts. 
(8) Between 2011 and 2021, Russia has given 
at least $160 million to U.S. universities. China 
alone has given at least $2.7 billion during the same 
time frame. And during that span, the State of 
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Qatar has given at least $5 billion to U.S. univer-
sities. 
(9) Each of these nations has a repressive and 
deeply troubling record on human rights, and all 
three have engaged in cyber espionage targeting 
Americans. 
(10) Russia, China, and Qatar all pose grave 
threats to U.S. national security interests, yet they 
have successfully lavished billions of dollars to cul-
tivate strong ties with institutions of higher edu-
cation and research across the United States. 
(11) There is also evidence suggesting that 
Qatar encouraged and potentially facilitated U.S. 
universities receiving its largess to flout U.S. disclo-
sure requirements under section 117 of the Higher 
Education Act. 
(12) Although the Center for International Pol-
icy conducted a study in 2020 that concluded that 
think tanks focused on federal policy received at 
least $174 million in funding from foreign govern-
mental entities between 2014 and 2018, there is cur-
rently no means to determine the actual level or ex-
tent of foreign influence on such think tanks. 
(13) What is clear is the vast amount of foreign 
funding that U.S. based think tanks receive, and 
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that it affects the direction of their policy rec-
ommendations. 
(14) One prominent think tank, the East West 
Institute, received substantial funding from China’s 
People’s Liberation Army (which conducts cyber es-
pionage attacks, including against Americans). 
(15) The Stimson Center worked to signifi-
cantly alter the Homeland and Cyber Threat Act 
(H.R. 1607, introduced into the 117th Congress on 
March 8, 2021). The HACT Act, which would pro-
vide an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immuni-
ties Act of 1976 (FSIA) to allow U.S. persons 
harmed 
by 
foreign-government 
sponsored 
cyberattacks to bring civil claims for damages, 
passed in the last Congress with broad bipartisan 
support. The changes advocated by the Stimson 
Center would gut the bill and render it completely 
ineffective in holding foreign nations and their 
agents responsible for cyberattacks on and in the 
United States. 
(16) One of the main sources of the Stimson 
Center’s funding is the State of Qatar, a major 
sponsor of terrorism worldwide and one of the most 
notorious sponsors of cyberattacks against U.S. enti-
ties. In 2019 alone (the last year public figures are 
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available) the Stimson Center took over $600,000 in 
contributions from the Government of Qatar. 
(17) The Brookings Institution has received at 
least $22 million from the State of Qatar from 2013 
through 2021, but the exact amount has not been 
disclosed publicly. 
(18) There is also significant concern in Con-
gress about potential contractual stipulations tied to 
foreign funding that could be leveraged by foreign 
powers to exert even greater influence over the re-
search and policy recommendations of think tanks 
that the Federal Government and the American pub-
lic would otherwise believe to be independent. 
(19) In a 2007 ‘‘Establishment Agreement’’ be-
tween the Brookings Institution and Qatar’s Min-
istry of Foreign Affairs—which appears to have 
been in place in its original form through the end of 
2021—the Doha ‘‘branch’’ of the Brookings Institu-
tion, called Brookings Doha Center, was effectively 
owned and controlled by the Emir of Qatar. Under 
the terms of the contract, the Brookings Institu-
tion’s role in the Doha Center was limited to that 
of a ‘‘Promoter’’. 
(20) As only revealed publicly in June 2022, 
the Brookings Doha Center was a separate and dis-
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tinct legal entity, specifically a Private Foundation 
for the Public Benefit, the same incorporation status 
as the State of Qatar’s propaganda arm, Al Jazeera. 
(21) Pursuant to the 2007 Establishment 
Agreement, the Director of the Brookings Doha 
Center was required to report directly to Qatar’s 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including to ‘‘engage in 
regular consultation . . . regarding the development 
and ongoing operations’’ and for prior approval of 
‘‘programs that will be developed by the [Brookings 
Doha] Center’’. 
(22) The Brookings Doha Center was renamed 
the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, and evi-
dence indicates that it is now entirely under the con-
trol of the Qatari Government. According to a Janu-
ary 2022 ‘‘Amendment’’ to the 2007 Articles of In-
corporation, the Brookings Institution ceded the 
‘‘Promoter’’ role for Brookings Doha Center to a 
senior employee of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs, Majed Al-Ansari. This Amendment also called 
on the Middle East Council to assume control of in-
tellectual property rights that had been under the 
‘‘Brookings’’ brand, including the content from and 
followers of the ‘‘@BrookingsDoha’’ Twitter ac-
count. 
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(23) Congress currently is unable to determine 
what other agreements that the Brookings Institu-
tion or other influential think tanks have with for-
eign governmental entities, a void which has already 
been exploited by at least the State of Qatar in ob-
taining prior approval of budgets and research 
projects conducted under the branding of the Brook-
ings Institution and the Brookings Doha Center in 
the aforementioned 2007 contract, or the trans-
ference of valuable intellectual property to the 
Qatari Government pursuant to the 2022 amend-
ment. 
(24) There is broad bipartisan agreement that 
undue foreign influence obscured through the use of 
proxies—or hidden by the powerful brand of a highly 
respected think tank—threatens the national secu-
rity interests of the United States. There is also 
broad agreement that transparency is the most im-
portant and effective tool for reducing the harm of 
foreign influence targeting U.S. public policy or pub-
lic opinion. 
(25) As such, this bill aims to provide critical 
transparency regarding the foreign funding provided 
to and the related contractual agreements with think 
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tanks whose work includes influencing U.S. policies 
or public opinion. 
SEC. 3. CONTEMPORANEOUS DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 
(a) REPORTING CONDITIONS.— 
(1) GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
section 6, a covered entity that receives a gift, 
donation, or contribution from a foreign prin-
cipal during a calendar year in an aggregate 
amount of $10,000 or greater shall file a disclo-
sure report with the Attorney General in ac-
cordance with subsection (b) not later than 90 
days after each disclosure date. 
(B) DISCLOSURE DATE DEFINED.—In this 
paragraph, the term ‘‘disclosure date’’ means— 
(i) the first date during any calendar 
year by which a covered entity has received 
a gift, donation, or contribution from a 
foreign principal in an aggregate amount 
of $10,000 or greater; and 
(ii) any other date during such cal-
endar year by which a covered entity has 
received a gift, donation, or contribution 
from a foreign principal in an aggregate 
amount of $10,000 or greater since the 
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most recent disclosure date for such cal-
endar year. 
(2) CONTRACT, 
MEMORANDUM
OF
UNDER-
STANDING, OR AGREEMENT.—Except as provided in 
section 6, a covered entity that enters into or modi-
fies a contract, memorandum of understanding, or 
agreement with a foreign principal shall file a disclo-
sure report with the Attorney General in accordance 
with subsection (b) within 90 days of the formation 
or modification of such contract, memorandum, or 
agreement. 
(b) CONTENTS OF CONTEMPORANEOUS DISCLOSURE 
REPORT.— 
(1) GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR
CONTRIBUTIONS 
ONLY.—The report required under subsection (a)(1) 
shall detail the following: 
(A) The identities of the foreign principal 
and the primary point of contact of the foreign 
principal for engaging with the covered entity, 
including the name and title of such point of 
contact. 
(B) The date on which the foreign prin-
cipal provided a gift, donation, or contribution 
to the covered entity. 
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(C) The aggregate dollar amount of such 
gift, donation, or contribution attributable to a 
particular foreign principal. 
(D) A description of any conditions or re-
strictions regarding any of the disclosed gifts, 
donations, or contributions. 
(E) The aggregate amount of such gifts, 
donations, or contributions received from each 
foreign principal. 
(F) A description of any decisions made 
because of the foreign principal to the structure 
of the organization or to the research, pro-
grams, or content intended to be or actually 
published, disseminated, or promoted by the 
covered entity. 
(2) CONTRACT, 
MEMORANDUM
OF
UNDER-
STANDING, OR AGREEMENT ONLY.—The report re-
quired under subsection (a)(2) shall detail the fol-
lowing: 
(A) The identities of the foreign principal 
and the primary point of contact of the foreign 
principal for engaging with the covered entity, 
including the name and title of such point of 
contact. 
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(B) The date on which the covered entity 
entered into or modified a contract, memo-
randum of understanding, or agreement with a 
foreign principal. 
(C) Copies of all written contracts, agree-
ments, or memoranda of understanding the cov-
ered entity entered into or modified with any 
foreign principal. 
(D) Copies of all internal and external doc-
uments, research materials and publications 
produced as a result of the contract, memo-
randum of understanding, or agreement. 
(E) A description of any decisions made 
because of the foreign principal to the structure 
of the organization or to the research, pro-
grams, or content intended to be or actually 
published, disseminated, or promoted by the 
covered entity. 
SEC. 4. INITIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall file an ini-
tial disclosure report, in accordance with subsections (b) 
or (c), with the Attorney General within 180 days of the 
date of enactment of this Act if, during the period begin-
ning on January 1st of the most recent calendar year 
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which ended before the date of enactment of this Act and 
ending on the effective date of this Act— 
(1) such covered entity received a gift, dona-
tion, or contribution from a foreign principal in an 
aggregate amount of $10,000 or greater; 
(2) such covered entity entered into or modified 
a contract, memorandum of understanding, or agree-
ment with a foreign principal; or 
(3) such covered entity had previously entered 
into a contract, agreement or memorandum of un-
derstanding with a foreign principal that was still 
valid or enforceable on or after January 1 of the 
most recent calendar year which ended before the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) PRIOR
GIFTS, DONATIONS, 
OR
CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—The report required under subsection (a)(1) shall 
detail the following: 
(1) The name of the foreign principal. 
(2) The country of citizenship of the foreign 
principal. 
(3) The amount and date of such gifts, dona-
tions, or contributions. 
(4) The description of any conditions or restric-
tions attached to, or placed on, the gifts, donations, 
or contributions. 
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(5) A description of any decisions made because 
of the foreign principal to the structure of the orga-
nization or to the research, programs, or content in-
tended to be or actually published, disseminated, or 
promoted by the covered entity. 
(c) CONTRACT, MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, 
OR AGREEMENT.—The report required under subsection 
(a)(2) shall detail the following: 
(1) The name of the foreign principal. 
(2) The country of citizenship of the foreign 
principal. 
(3) Copies of each written contract, memo-
randum of understanding, or agreement. 
(4) Any modification of each such written con-
tract, memorandum, or agreement. 
(5) The terms and conditions of each oral 
agreement. 
(6) Any modification of each such oral agree-
ment. 
(7) A comprehensive statement of— 
(A) the nature and method of performance 
of each item described in paragraphs (3) 
through (6); and 
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(B) the actions taken by the covered entity 
at the request or suggestion of each such for-
eign principal. 
(8) A description of any decisions made because 
of the foreign principal to the structure of the orga-
nization or to the research, programs, or content in-
tended to be or actually published, disseminated, or 
promoted by the covered entity. 
SEC. 5. BRIEFINGS, TESTIMONY, OR SIMILAR FORMS OF 
PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH. 
(a) LABELING OF WRITTEN MATERIALS.—If a cov-
ered entity provides a briefing, testimony, or similar form 
of presentation of research to a member or employee of 
Congress or an executive branch official, such covered en-
tity shall identify prominently on any written materials the 
name of the relevant foreign principal and the country of 
citizenship, if the foreign principal is not a government, 
who provided funding for such briefing, testimony, or simi-
lar form of presentation of research. 
(b) ADDENDUM TO BRIEFING, TESTIMONY, PRESEN-
TATION.—In the event that no written materials are pro-
vided, the covered entity shall convey the information re-
quired under subsection (a) in writing to the member or 
employee of Congress or executive branch official before 
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or within 10 days after the briefing, testimony, or presen-
tation. 
SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) STATE REPORTS.— 
(1) REQUIREMENTS OF A COVERED ENTITY.— 
If a covered entity is within a State which has en-
acted requirements for public disclosure of gifts, do-
nations, or contributions from or contracts or agree-
ments with a foreign principal that are substantially 
similar to the requirements of this Act, a copy of the 
disclosure report filed with the State may be filed 
with the Attorney General in lieu of a report re-
quired under this Act. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE.—The State 
in which the covered entity is located shall provide 
to the Attorney General such assurances as the At-
torney General may require to establish that the cov-
ered entity has met the requirements for public dis-
closure under State law if the State report is filed. 
(b) FEDERAL REPORTS.—If a covered entity receives 
a gift, donation, or contribution from, or enters into a con-
tract or agreement with, a foreign principal, if any other 
department, agency, or bureau of the executive branch re-
quires a report containing requirements substantially simi-
lar to those required under this section, a copy of the re-
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port may be filed with the Attorney General in lieu of a 
report required under this Act. 
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) BOOKS AND RECORDS.— 
(1) RETENTION PERIOD.—For a period of not 
less than 5 years, a covered entity shall retain the 
necessary materials required to comply with the re-
quirements of this Act, including books of account, 
all communications with the foreign principal, and 
other records regarding its activities related to any 
contracts, memorandum of understandings, or agree-
ments with or gifts, donations, or contributions from 
a foreign principal. 
(2) INSPECTION.— 
(A) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Upon request 
of the Attorney General, each covered entity 
shall furnish to the Attorney General all infor-
mation and records in its possession which the 
Attorney General may determine to be nec-
essary to comply with the requirements under 
this Act. 
(B) CONGRESS.—Upon request of Con-
gress or a committee of Congress, a covered en-
tity shall furnish to Congress or the committee 
such information and records as Congress or 
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the committee may request to determine the ex-
tent to which the covered entity is in compli-
ance with the requirements of this Act. 
(3) PUBLICATION.—Any information or records 
furnished pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) shall be 
made available in the database required under sub-
section (a). 
(4) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any 
person willfully to conceal, destroy, obliterate, muti-
late, or falsify, or to attempt to conceal, destroy, ob-
literate, mutilate, or falsify, or to cause to be con-
cealed, destroyed, obliterated, mutilated, or falsified, 
any books or records required to be kept under the 
provisions of this section. 
(b) PUBLICATION.—All disclosure reports required by 
this Act shall be made available to the public through a 
database maintained on the official website of the Depart-
ment of Justice. 
(c) CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY.—Any covered entity 
that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, in-
cluding any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, 
shall be subject, in addition to any other penalties that 
may be prescribed by law, to a civil money penalty of no 
less than $1,000 for each day of the failure described by 
this Act. 
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