Disclose GIFT Act

Disclose Getting Involved in Foreign Transactions Act or the Disclose GIFT Act

This bill requires certain institutions of higher education (IHEs) to disclose gifts or contracts between covered individuals (e.g., researchers) and foreign sources. This bill applies to an IHE that (1) is an eligible institution for purposes of federal student aid programs, and (2) has received more than $50,000,000 in federal funds in any of the previous five calendar years to support research and development or that receives certain other federal funds.

Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to maintain

• a policy requiring faculty, professional staff, and other staff engaged in research and development to annually disclose gifts received from, or contracts entered into with, a foreign source;
• a publicly available and searchable database with the disclosed information; and 
• a plan to identify and manage potential information gathering by foreign sources through espionage targeting faculty, professional staff, and other staff engaged in research and development that may arise from gifts received from, or contracts entered into with, a foreign source.

The bill requires the Department of Education to investigate possible violations of this bill and outlines the various penalties for each violation.