27 Major Organizations Urge Congress to Include DETERRENT Act in National Defense Authorization Act

27 Major Organizations Urge Congress to Include DETERRENT Act in National Defense Authorization Act 

Coalition calls on House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders to strengthen oversight of foreign funding and protect U.S. universities from malign foreign influence 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On October 5, 2026 a coalition of 27 major organizations announced the submission of a joint letter to the leadership of House & Senate Armed Services Committees, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Jack Reed, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, and House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith, urging them to include the DETERRENT Act (H.R. 1048 and S. 1296) in the National Defense Authorization Act this year during this 119th Congress.

The DETERRENT Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support (241–169) in March 2025 and is now under consideration in the Senate, strengthens Section 117 reporting requirements for foreign donations and contracts to institutions of higher education that receive federal taxpayer funds. The legislation is designed to close longstanding gaps in oversight and ensure that foreign influence in American academia is fully disclosed and subject to accountability.

Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), said: 

“ISGAP’s Follow the Money Project has uncovered systematic efforts to circumvent existing transparency requirements under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. We found that universities have chronically underreported or entirely omitted foreign gifts and contracts from mandatory federal disclosures. It’s paramount that we adopt the DETERRENT Act now to enforce the law and safeguard our institutions. 

Compliance with Section 117 is a national security issue for our country.  The time for voluntary compliance has passed. The Armed Services Committees in both chambers have responsibility for oversight of our national security.  We urge Congress to act decisively to ensure transparency, accountability, and the protection of American academic institutions – from foreign influence and from efforts that undermine Western and liberal values while advancing extremist narratives.”

In May 2026, ISGAP and a coalition of 25 other organizations submitted a letter to Congressional leadership in support of adopting the Deterrent Act this Congress. There must be stricter standards and transparency in our universities to counter foreign malign influence that benefits authoritarian regimes like Russia, China, or Iran and other bad actors. In fact, new data collected by the Department of Education shows hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions between U.S. universities and sanctioned entities on the Department of Defense, Commerce Department, and OFAC lists maintained by the U.S. government. That’s why ISGAP and our coalition partners will continue to advocate for more transparency and safeguards via the adoption of the DETERRENT Act.

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires institutions receiving federal funding to disclose foreign gifts and contracts to the U.S. Department of Education. These disclosures are intended to provide transparency into the scale and sources of foreign funding shaping American higher education. However, recent findings indicate that billions of dollars in foreign funding, particularly from non-democratic states, have gone unreported or underreported, undermining both public transparency and national security safeguards.

Importantly, The DETERRENT Act does not prohibit universities from engaging in international partnerships. Rather, it ensures that such engagements are conducted transparently, with accurate reporting of funding sources and amounts. The coalition emphasizes that while global academic collaboration remains valuable, it must be accompanied by clear accountability and oversight.

Link to the full letter:
https://isgap.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Coalition-Letter-of-27-Organizations-to-SASC-and-HASC-Congressional-Leaders-Corrected.pdf

About ISGAP 
ISGAP is a leading academic institute, dedicated to scholarly research into the origins, processes, and manifestations of global antisemitism and of other forms of prejudice, including various forms of racism, as they relate to policy in an age of globalization. ISGAP disseminates analytical and scholarly materials to help combat hatred and promote understanding.