Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment to the DETERRENT Act, a bill that will work toward preventing foreign influence within America's institutions, colleges, and universities by strengthening section 117 of the Higher Education Act. Section 117 requires colleges and universities to report contracts with and gifts from a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more for per calendar year. My amendment will prohibit repeat-offending institutions from obtaining waivers that will allow them to accept donations or gifts from countries or entities of concern. Some countries and entities, like China, pose a particular concern to the United States, and as such, institutions are required under this act to obtain special waivers if they wish to accept donations, gifts, or contracts from them. My amendment simply adds that if an institution fails to comply with this act for 3 years, they are no longer eligible to receive these waivers. It is kind of a ``three strikes and you are out'' deal. Foreign funds can come with strings attached, as we all know, strings that undermine our own national security. Foreign countries can use investment in America's colleges and institutions to disseminate propaganda, steal secrets and research, and, unfortunately, so much more. This is why countries that raise more concern have more supervision over any of their donations or gifts, including waiver requirements. This is really a commonsense amendment.…”