Foreign contribution reporting requirements for colleges, universities proposed

Nebraska’s colleges and universities would be required to report any funding received from foreign governments or individuals under a proposal considered by the Education Committee Jan. 27. 

LB378, introduced by Omaha Sen. Bob Andersen, would establish the Foreign Accountability and College Transparency in Sourcing Act and require public and private postsecondary institutions to provide quarterly reports detailing funds of more than $50 received from a foreign source. A foreign source is defined in the bill as a foreign government, legal entity established under the laws of a foreign government or an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States.

Under the bill, the attorney general would be responsible for enforcing the act, imposing civil penalties for noncompliance and posting the reports on the attorney general’s website.

Andersen said U.S. postsecondary institutions have received millions of dollars from the Chinese government or others acting on its behalf over the last four years. China and other adversarial nations have shown a pattern of manipulating the higher education system by stealing intellectual property, spying on students and promoting anti-democratic philosophies through campus programs, he said. 

“The Legislature annually provides over $800 million in funding for public institutions of higher education and funding for private colleges and universities through programs such as the Nebraska Opportunity Grant,” Andersen said. “We have a duty to oversee the activities of these institutions, and this bill would ensure needed oversight of their other funding sources.” 

John Murante testified in support of a bill on behalf of State Shield, an organization that works to combat threats to the U.S. posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Murante said that while similar federal disclosure requirements currently exist, a recent report revealed that almost 200 U.S. colleges and universities have failed to report approximately $13 billion in foreign funds. Enacting disclosure requirements at the state level could ensure better enforcement, he said. 

Additionally, Murante said, LB378 would not prevent postsecondary universities from accepting funds or contracts from foreign sources, allowing continued collaboration with foreign nonprofits and peer institutions in research and business. 

“Our goal is not to hinder those programs but rather increase transparency in cases where these foreign governments might have more nefarious intent,” he said. 

Testifying in opposition to the bill was Matt Blomstedt on behalf of the University of Nebraska. 

Blomstedt said federal law already requires higher education institutions to report foreign funds of $250,000 or more biannually. Provisions of LB378 could create duplicate requirements and cause administrative burdens for colleges and universities, he said. 

“This added workload could divert resources from core academic and research missions, all while duplicating the existing federal and state requirements,” Blomstedt said. 

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.