High Country Times

Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act, formally known as H.R. 1048. In response to the passage, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan, issued a statement addressing concerns related to foreign relations within U.S. universities.

Walberg expressed that "the lack of transparency around foreign relationships with our nation’s universities should concern every American as we see stolen research, antisemitic propaganda, and academic censorship." He emphasized the importance of a clear stance against American universities aiding foreign entities that may threaten national security. "We should be loud and clear; no American university should be helping the Chinese Communist Party or other entities continue to threaten U.S. national security," Walberg stated.

The Chairman expressed satisfaction that the Act once again received bipartisan support in the House and encouraged the Senate to approve the legislation. He stated, "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. 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’."

The Act aims to address and mitigate the influence of foreign powers on American educational institutions, holding them to higher ethical standards regarding foreign funding and partnerships.

For additional context and explanatory resources, a video explainer, a fact sheet, and a comparison of myth versus fact have been made available.