What This Bill Does
This bill requires certain nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations that spend money to influence U.S. government policy or public opinion to report foreign funding to the Attorney General. The bill aims to create transparency about which think tanks and policy organizations receive money from foreign sources.
##
Who It Affects
- Nonprofit organizations and not-for-profit social welfare organizations that influence U.S. policy or public opinion
- University-affiliated policy research centers that meet certain criteria
- The Attorney General (who receives and maintains the reports)
- Members of Congress and executive branch officials who receive briefings from these organizations
- The general public (who can access the reports)
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Key Provisions
- A covered organization must report foreign gifts, donations or contributions of $10,000 or more to the Attorney General within 90 days of receiving that amount (Sec. 4(a)(1))
- A covered organization must report within 90 days when it signs or changes a contract, agreement or memorandum of understanding with a foreign entity (Sec. 4(a)(2))
- Reports must include the foreign source's identity, the amount of money, any conditions attached to the funding, and any changes made to the organization's structure or research because of the foreign funding (Sec. 4(b))
- When a covered organization provides briefings or testimony to Congress or executive branch officials, it must clearly label who provided foreign funding for that work (Sec. 6(a))
- The Attorney General must make all reports publicly available through a database on the Department of Justice website (Sec. 8(b))
- Organizations that fail to comply face civil penalties of at least $1,000 per day of violation (Sec. 8(c))
##
What Changes
If this becomes law, think tanks and policy organizations receiving substantial foreign funding must disclose that funding publicly. Congressional members and executive branch officials will receive written notices about foreign funding tied to any briefings or research presented to them. The public will be able to search a government database to see which think tanks receive foreign money and under what conditions.
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Important Definitions
- **Covered entity**: A nonprofit or not-for-profit organization that spends more than 20 percent of its resources trying to influence U.S. government policy or public opinion, or a university-affiliated center that conducts policy research or hosts events with government officials
- **Foreign principal**: A foreign government, foreign political party, a person living outside the U.S., or any organization based in or operating from a foreign country
- **Gift, donation or contribution**: Money, property or in-kind gifts given directly or indirectly by a foreign source
- **Restricted or conditional gift or contract**: Funding that includes conditions about who works at the organization, what research topics are studied, what gets published, or the foreign source's ability to review or approve the organization's work
- **Nonprofit organization**: A tax-exempt organization under federal tax law
- **Not-for-profit social welfare organization**: A tax-exempt social welfare organization under federal tax law
##
Effective Date
The law takes effect 120 days after the bill is signed into law.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1087
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 30, 2023
Mr. GRASSLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 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-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Think Tank Trans-
4
parency Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
6
In this Act:
7
(1) CONDUCT INTENDING TO DIRECTLY OR IN-
8
DIRECTLY INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY OR PUBLIC
9
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OPINION.—The term ‘‘conduct intending to directly
1
or indirectly to influence public policy or public opin-
2
ion’’ means, with respect to a covered entity, any ac-
3
tivity that the covered entity engaging in believes
4
will, or that the covered entity intends to, in any
5
way influence any agency or official of the Govern-
6
ment of the United States, or any section of the
7
public within the United States, with respect to—
8
(A) formulating, adopting, or changing the
9
domestic or foreign policies of the United
10
States; or
11
(B) the political or public interests, poli-
12
cies, or relations of a government of a foreign
13
country or a foreign political party.
14
(2) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’ means
15
any agreement for the acquisition by purchase, lease,
16
or barter of property or services by the foreign prin-
17
cipal, for the direct benefit or use of either of the
18
parties.
19
(3) COUNTRY
OF
CITIZENSHIP.—The term
20
‘‘country of citizenship’’, with respect to a foreign
21
principal, includes—
22
(A) the principal residence for a foreign
23
principal who is a natural person; or
24
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•S 1087 IS
(B) the country of incorporation or the
1
principal place of business for a foreign prin-
2
cipal which is a legal entity.
3
(4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
4
tity’’—
5
(A) means a nonprofit organization or a
6
not-for-profit social welfare organization that—
7
(i) spends more than 20 percent of
8
the resources of the organization within
9
any given calendar year on conduct intend-
10
ing to directly or indirectly influence public
11
policy or public opinion; or
12
(ii) is affiliated with, or is a subunit,
13
of an institution, as defined in section 117
14
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
15
U.S.C. 1011f), that is subject to that sec-
16
tion and that—
17
(I) engages in or publishes sub-
18
stantial policy-related research or
19
scholarship; or
20
(II) hosts, sponsors, or otherwise
21
promotes annual, or on a more fre-
22
quent basis, events featuring report-
23
ers, journalists, or United States or
24
foreign government officials; and
25
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(B) excludes—
1
(i) an ‘‘institution’’, as defined in sec-
2
tion 117 of the Higher Education Act of
3
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011f), that is subject to
4
that section; and
5
(ii) an entity organized and operated
6
exclusively for religious purposes.
7
(5) FOREIGN PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘‘foreign
8
principal’’ includes—
9
(A) a government of a foreign country or
10
a foreign political party;
11
(B) a person outside of the United States,
12
unless it is established that—
13
(i) the person is an individual and a
14
citizen of the United States; or
15
(ii) the person—
16
(I) is not an individual and is or-
17
ganized under or created by the laws
18
of the United States or of any State
19
or other place subject to the jurisdic-
20
tion of the United States; and
21
(II) has its principal place of
22
business within the United States;
23
and
24
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(C) a partnership, association, corporation,
1
organization, or other combination of persons
2
organized under the laws of or having its prin-
3
cipal place of business in a foreign country.
4
(6) GIFT, DONATION, OR CONTRIBUTION.—The
5
term ‘‘gift, donation, or contribution’’ means any
6
gift of money, property, or in-kind contribution given
7
directly or indirectly to a covered entity by a foreign
8
principal.
9
(7) NOT-FOR-PROFIT SOCIAL WELFARE ORGANI-
10
ZATION.—The term ‘‘not-for-profit social welfare or-
11
ganization’’ means an organization described in sec-
12
tion 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
13
and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such
14
Code.
15
(8) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term
16
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de-
17
scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
18
Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section
19
501(a) of such Code.
20
(9) RESTRICTED
OR
CONDITIONAL
GIFT
OR
21
CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘restricted or conditional gift
22
or contract’’ means any endowment, gift, grant, con-
23
tract, award, present, or property of any kind that
24
includes provisions regarding—
25
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•S 1087 IS
(A) the employment, assignment, com-
1
pensation, or termination of researchers, schol-
2
ars, or experts;
3
(B) the earmarking of funds for depart-
4
ments, centers, research or lecture programs, or
5
new positions for researchers, scholars, or ex-
6
perts;
7
(C) the subject matter, nature, or contents
8
of research, analysis or any information pub-
9
lished or disseminated to officials of the United
10
States Federal Government, the media, or the
11
public; or
12
(D) any other condition or expectation re-
13
garding either the ability of the foreign prin-
14
cipal to review in advance, approve, veto, or
15
modify budgets, programs, events, or presen-
16
tations, or the contents of information or mate-
17
rials to be published or disseminated.
18
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
19
Congress finds the following:
20
(1) Think tanks have provided Congress and
21
the executive branch with a wealth of research and
22
scholarship that largely has benefitted the public in
23
the United States by improving the drafting, enact-
24
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•S 1087 IS
ment, and enforcement of policy in the United
1
States.
2
(2) There is broad bipartisan agreement that
3
think tanks possess enormous influence on the pas-
4
sage and enforcement of policies, particularly those
5
that relate to foreign policy.
6
(3) In recent years, foreign funding of think
7
tanks has increased substantially.
8
(4) Congress, the executive branch, and espe-
9
cially the people of the United States have a right
10
to—
11
(A) know which think tanks receive foreign
12
funds; and
13
(B) assess for themselves the extent that
14
foreign influence should be considered when
15
analyzing the credibility and value of research
16
and scholarship produced by such think tanks
17
that receive foreign funds.
18
(5) The United States House of Representa-
19
tives has recognized the national security issues in-
20
herent in undue foreign influence of entities with
21
covert sources of foreign funding that testify before
22
Congress. Since 2015, representatives of entities
23
who testify before the United States House of Rep-
24
resentatives have been required to disclose relevant
25
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•S 1087 IS
foreign funding sources directed to them or their
1
employers in Truth-in-Testimony disclosure forms
2
required under clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI of the Rules
3
of the House of Representatives.
4
(6) Almost 30 years ago, Congress enacted sec-
5
tion 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
6
U.S.C. 1011f) (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘section
7
117’’) in light of concerns about the growing finan-
8
cial relationship between universities in the United
9
States and foreign sources. In enacting that legisla-
10
tion, Congress balanced academic freedom and na-
11
tional security by mandating financial transparency
12
through required reporting of contracts with, and
13
gifts from, any foreign source.
14
(7) Section 117 does not prohibit institutions of
15
higher education from taking foreign money, but
16
rather mandates accurate and transparent disclo-
17
sures of sources and amounts received by those in-
18
stitutions to the Department of Education. In 2019,
19
the Department of Education took concrete steps to
20
enforce section 117 by ensuring the integrity of re-
21
porting requirements, confirming the correct report-
22
ing and categorization of donations, and prohibiting
23
the use of domestic conduits and intermediaries to
24
avoid the disclosures of foreign gifts.
25
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•S 1087 IS
(8) Between 2011 and 2021, the Russian Fed-
1
eration (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘Russia’’) gave
2
not less than $160,000,000 to universities in the
3
United States. The People’s Republic of China
4
(hereinafter referred to as ‘‘China’’) alone gave not
5
less than $2,700,000,000 to universities during the
6
United States during the same time frame.
7
(9) Russia and China each have repressive and
8
deeply troubling records relating to human rights,
9
and both have engaged in cyber espionage targeting
10
individuals in the United States.
11
(10) Russia and China pose grave threats to
12
the national security interests of the United States,
13
yet those countries have successfully lavished billions
14
of dollars to cultivate strong ties with institutions of
15
higher education and research across the United
16
States.
17
(11) Although the Center for International Pol-
18
icy conducted a study in 2020 that concluded that
19
think tanks focused on Federal policy received not
20
less than $174,000,000 in funding from foreign gov-
21
ernmental entities between 2014 and 2018, there is
22
currently no means to determine the actual level or
23
extent of foreign influence on those think tanks.
24
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(12) What is clear is the vast amount of foreign
1
funding that United States-based think tanks re-
2
ceive, and that such foreign funding affects the di-
3
rection of their policy recommendations.
4
(13) There is significant concern in Congress
5
about potential contractual stipulations tied to for-
6
eign funding that could be leveraged by foreign pow-
7
ers to exert even greater influence over the research
8
and policy recommendations of think tanks that the
9
Federal Government and the public in the United
10
States would otherwise believe to be independent.
11
(14) There is broad bipartisan agreement that
12
undue foreign influence obscured through the use of
13
proxies—or hidden by the powerful brand of a highly
14
respected think tank—threatens the national secu-
15
rity interests of the United States. There is also
16
broad agreement that transparency is the most im-
17
portant and effective tool for reducing the harm of
18
foreign influence targeting United States public pol-
19
icy or public opinion.
20
(15) As such, this bill aims to provide critical
21
transparency regarding the foreign funding provided
22
to, and the related contractual agreements with,
23
think tanks whose work includes influencing United
24
States policies or public opinion.
25
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•S 1087 IS
SEC. 4. CONTEMPORANEOUS DISCLOSURE REPORTS.
1
(a) REPORTING CONDITIONS.—
2
(1) GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR CONTRIBUTIONS.—
3
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
4
section 7, a covered entity that receives a gift,
5
donation, or contribution from a foreign prin-
6
cipal during a calendar year in an aggregate
7
amount of $10,000 or greater shall file a disclo-
8
sure report with the Attorney General in ac-
9
cordance with subsection (b) not later than 90
10
days after each disclosure date.
11
(B) DISCLOSURE DATE DEFINED.—In this
12
paragraph, the term ‘‘disclosure date’’ means—
13
(i) the first date during any calendar
14
year by which a covered entity has received
15
a gift, donation, or contribution from a
16
foreign principal in an aggregate amount
17
of $10,000 or greater; and
18
(ii) any other date during such cal-
19
endar year by which a covered entity has
20
received a gift, donation, or contribution
21
from a foreign principal in an aggregate
22
amount of $10,000 or greater since the
23
most recent disclosure date for such cal-
24
endar year.
25
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•S 1087 IS
(2) CONTRACT,
MEMORANDUM
OF
UNDER-
1
STANDING, OR AGREEMENT.—Except as provided in
2
section 7, a covered entity that enters into or modi-
3
fies a contract, memorandum of understanding, or
4
agreement with a foreign principal shall file a disclo-
5
sure report with the Attorney General in accordance
6
with subsection (b) within 90 days of the entering
7
into or modification of such contract, memorandum,
8
or agreement.
9
(b) CONTENTS OF CONTEMPORANEOUS DISCLOSURE
10
REPORT.—
11
(1) GIFTS, DONATIONS, OR
CONTRIBUTIONS
12
ONLY.—The report required under subsection (a)(1)
13
shall detail the following:
14
(A) The identities of the foreign principal
15
and the primary point of contact of the foreign
16
principal for engaging with the covered entity,
17
including the name and title of such point of
18
contact.
19
(B) The date on which the foreign prin-
20
cipal provided a gift, donation, or contribution
21
to the covered entity.
22
(C) The aggregate dollar amount of such
23
gift, donation, or contribution attr
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]