Comer & Foxx Investigate Biden Administration’s Failure to Enforce Foreign Funding Reporting Requirements at American Universities

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) are investigating foreign funding of U.S. higher education institutions after Department of Education reports demonstrate significant donations by foreign nations going back decades. The Biden Administration rolled back investigations into foreign funding in academia that were initiated during the first Trump Administration. In a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Education Denise Carter, the lawmakers request documents and information regarding the Department’s investigations and statutory reporting requirements for funds received from nations abroad.

“The Department of Education’s foreign funding reports show that foreign nations gave more than $57 billion to U.S. institutions since 1981,” wrote the lawmakers. “The Biden Administration rolled back investigations into foreign funding in academia that took place in the first Trump Administration, and many institutions have failed to make disclosures for funds received since 2020.”

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires institutions that receive federal financial assistance to bi-annually file disclosure reports with the Secretary of Education. Under former Secretary Betsy DeVos’s leadership, the Department of Education sought to improve transparency and compliance by opening investigations into twelve institutions related to foreign funding, which uncovered $6.5 billion in previously unreported foreign money. The National Association of Scholars noted that Section 117 compliance was high under the Trump Administration but declined under the Biden Administration.

“American academia remains a target of foreign malign influence, particularly to countries whose interests are antithetical to America and its national security. The Committee seeks to ensure that the Department is safeguarding American education from foreign malign influence efforts that compromise America’s academic freedom and national security,” continued the lawmakers.

Read the letter to Acting Secretary Carter here.