Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Foreign Influence in Higher Education
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday held a hearing focusing on foreign influence in higher education, which touched on many issues, such as the U.S.-China relationship, research, academic integrity, foreign gift reporting, and more.
Specifically related to federal student aid and the financial aid profession, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate HELP Committee, in his opening remarks called on his colleagues to pass the DETERRENT Act. The DETERRENT Act, which was passed by the House last year, seeks to amend foreign gift and contract reporting requirements for institutions by amending the Higher Education Act (HEA).
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.” The legislation would also 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.
Notably, NASFAA and other higher education groups in the past have opposed the DETERRENT Act, warning of harm that the legislation could have on the privacy of research faculty and staff.
“We need to protect college campuses, and one of the keys to doing that is transparency,” Cassidy said. “Passing the DETERRENT Act is the next step. Let’s close reporting loopholes, increase accountability, and provide transparency to Congress, intelligence agencies, and the public.”
Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) asked one of the hearing’s witnesses, Craig Singleton, senior fellow of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, if the current threshold for foreign gift reporting is appropriate for institutions in today’s geopolitical environment. Currently, under Section 117 of the HEA, institutions that receive federal financial assistance are required to disclose to ED semiannually any gifts from and contracts with a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year.
Singleton said this threshold is not appropriate, and called on institutions to report all of their foreign gifts and contracts, without any threshold.
Notably, a key effort from the Trump administration has been greater transparency in foreign gift reporting. Earlier this year, ED published data submitted from institutions’ 2025 foreign funding disclosures on a new website.
Also related to foreign gift reporting, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) asked another witness, Robert Daly, senior fellow of the Asia Society, on ED’s plans to move its foreign gift reporting responsibilities to the Department of State and whether this move could make compliance more complicated for institutions.
In February, ED announced a new interagency agreement (IAA) where the State Department will support the department in managing the foreign funding reporting portal. The IAA also noted that the State Department will also use its “national security and foreign national academic admissions expertise to review and assess the industry’s compliance with the law, share data with the public and federal stakeholders, and identify potential threats.”
Daly responded, noting that it isn’t clear what aspects of foreign gift reporting are moving to the State Department.
Murray also posed a question to Cassidy on when the Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing with Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Cassidy said the hearing is “in process.”
Throughout the hearing, some Republican senators called for tougher reporting metrics for institutions when it comes to foreign gifts and contracts, warning of concerns related to national security. Meanwhile, other Democratic senators criticized the nature of the hearing, including Sen. Edward Markley (D-Mass.) who said the Trump administration is “weaponizing good faith compliance” with foreign gift reporting to “continue its war on higher education.”
It's unclear when the Senate HELP Committee will hold a markup on the DETERRENT Act. The legislation has already passed the House, and now needs to advance the Senate HELP Committee before a broader Senate vote.
Publication Date: 3/13/2026
You must be logged in to comment on this page.