House Passes DETERRENT Act
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
The House on Thursday passed the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act in a 241-169 bipartisan vote, advancing the legislation to the Senate.
The DETERRENT Act seeks to amend foreign gift and contract reporting requirements for institutions by amending the Higher Education Act (HEA). For example, one provision of the bill includes decreasing the foreign gift reporting threshold for institutions from $250,000 down to $50,000, and a $0 threshold for “countries of concern.”
Additionally, the legislation would create a new “Investment Disclosure Report” requirement for private institutions with endowments over $6 billion or with “investments of concern” above $250 million. Under this provision, institutions would need to annually disclose to the Department of Education (ED) investments with a “country of concern” or a foreign entity of concern. Then, those institutions’ reports would be made publicly available in a searchable database.
If institutions are found to not be compliant with the legislation’s foreign gift reporting requirements, they could be fined or could lose their Title IV eligibility.
The legislation was reintroduced this Congressional session by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), and cosponsored by two Democrats and multiple Republicans, including Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chair of the House Education & Workforce Committee. During the previous 118th Congress, the DETERRENT Act passed the House by a vote of 246-170.
In February, the House Education & Workforce Committee advanced the bill to the House floor. On Thursday, Walberg praised the House passage of the DETERRENT Act, saying the lack of transparency around foreign relationships with American institutions is concerning.
"I’m glad to see the DETERRENT Act once again pass the House with bipartisan support and urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this vital piece of legislation,” Walberg said in a statement. “Doing so will help defend against our adversaries while also holding our institutions to a higher standard than ‘taking foreign money first, asking questions later’."
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the House Education & Workforce Committee, remained critical of the legislation, arguing that it would “impose burdensome and unnecessary penalties on institutions” and also noted that the bill would seek to impose new responsibilities on ED after having its staff reduced by half.
“It’s almost as if you’re trying to dismantle the agency, but at the same time, recognize how critical its role is and are piling on additional duties,” Scott said. “You can’t argue that the Department of Education is unnecessary and then hand it more work, expecting it to function without the staff, resources, or leadership it needs.”
NASFAA, along with other higher education organizations, have previously opposed the DETERRENT Act because it is unclear why endowments at certain private institutions would be specifically called out as a national security concern, among other concerns.
It’s currently unclear when the Senate will consider the DETERRENT Act. Stay tuned to Today’s News for more updates on this legislation.
Publication Date: 3/28/2025
Timothy D | 3/28/2025 10:35:37 AM
I don't really support or oppose this bill, as it does not impact our institution, but I wonder if Representative Scott was as critical of the Biden administration when they forced the GE/FVT regulations on institutions, which also would penalize institutions and be unnecessary and burdensome to financial aid administrators.
You must be logged in to comment on this page.