House Passes DETERRANT Act Tightening Rules on Foreign Gifts to U.S. Colleges
DETERRENT Act
The House passed this bill in March 2025 and sent it to the Senate for review. The bill is now stalled in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Nothing has happened with this legislation since March 2025.
241–169
No action since March 2025
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 5933 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 5933 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
International researchers and faculty on visas at U.S. universities may face increased scrutiny and administrative burden. The bill requires faculty and staff at large research institutions to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, which could disproportionately affect foreign-born scholars who maintain professional ties abroad. Some may find the reporting requirements burdensome or chilling to legitimate international collaboration, while others may benefit from clearer rules of the road.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 241 - 169 (Roll no. 83).
Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 241 - 169 (Roll no. 83).
The House of Representatives voted to approve this bill. It now goes to the Senate.
The House adopted the amendments en gros as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
On Agreeing to the Amendment
Rules Committee
Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 93, the amendment printed in part A of House Report 119-2 is considered as adopted.
On Agreeing to the Amendment
An amendment numbered 2 printed in Part B of House Report 119-2 to delay the enactment of this bill until the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General each certify that the bill will lead to a reduction in overdose deaths.
On Passage
House lawmakers approved a bill to crack down on foreign gifts and contracts accepted by college campuses with a 241-169 bipartisan vote. The DETERRENT Act would tighten reporting requirements under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, lowering the threshold from $250,000 to $50,000.
The DETERRENT Act passed the House with support from Jewish organizations concerned that money from countries such as Qatar and Iran are funding anti-Israel messaging on campuses. The bill lowers the reporting threshold for gifts from most foreign countries from $250,000 to $50,000.
Educators warn that laws like the DETERRENT Act, which bars universities from entering contracts with 'countries of concern' and lowers reporting thresholds to $0 for those nations, are contributing to a 'securitization' of China studies that could chill international academic collaboration.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
DETERRENT Act
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