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Think Tank and Nonprofit Foreign Influence Disclosure Act
12/29/2022, 10:03 PM
Summary of Bill HR 7124
Under this bill, think tanks and nonprofits would be required to disclose any foreign funding they receive that exceeds $50,000 in a calendar year. This information would need to be reported to the Department of Justice, which would then make it publicly available on their website.
The bill also includes provisions to ensure that foreign funding does not influence the research, analysis, or policy recommendations of these organizations. It requires think tanks and nonprofits to certify that they have policies in place to prevent foreign influence and to disclose any foreign government officials who serve on their boards or advisory committees. Overall, the Think Tank and Nonprofit Foreign Influence Disclosure Act aims to protect the integrity of research and policy analysis conducted by think tanks and nonprofits by increasing transparency around their funding sources and potential foreign influence.
Congressional Summary of HR 7124
Think Tank and Nonprofit Foreign Influence Disclosure Act
This bill requires tax-exempt charitable organizations to disclose in annual reports contributions and gifts exceeding $50,000 received from foreign governments and foreign political parties. The reports must disclose the names of such governments and political parties and the aggregate amounts of contributions and gifts.
The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to make publicly available in a searchable database information on gifts and contributions received from foreign governments and political parties and the aggregate amount received in each year from (1) China, the Chinese Communist Party and its officials, and state-owned Chinese entities; (2) Russia, Russian officials, and state-owned Russian entities; and (3) persons identified pursuant to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN) Human Readable Lists.
Treasury must also report on the foreign influence of tax-exempt organizations with a focus on the role of foreign influence in the funding of such organizations to influence the U.S. energy sector or aid terrorist groups in a conflict zone.
