Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes. Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act (HR-5933) is what will help put an end to the flow of money used to promote hate and antisemitism.
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Dear Members of the Senate,
Thank you for your service to our country.
We represent Americans across our great nation who are horrified to learn that Iran and other countries that support terrorism and oppose democratic values have been attacking the American mind for years by pouring billions of dollars into universities to teach poisonous propaganda against the founding principles of our Union [1, 2].
If you are unaware of this, we ask you to visit this government web site: sites.ed.gov/foreigngifts/. Scroll down and click the link that says “February 13, 2024” to download an Excel spreadsheet that lists all the foreign gifts made to 520 American universities for several decades through February 13, 2024.
These universities received over $54 billion in donations from from multiple foreign entities. The largest amount was from Qatar (10.92%, $5.96 billion), who provides financing and sanctuary to multiple terrorist groups backed by Iran [3]. Other sources include Saudia Arabia (6.45%, $3.5 billion), Kuwait (2.49%, $1.36 billion); and mysterious funds channeled through Switzerland (5.21%, $2.85 billion), and the Cayman Islands (.18%, $100.2 million).
Some of these funds have been used to create Middle East departments in universities that have intentionally rewritten history, and sown seeds of hate for democratic values. This has lead to civil rights violations against fellow Americans and has justified violence against our democratic allies [4].
Moreover, since October 7th, terrorist network support groups in the U.S., bankrolled by many of these same regimes [5,6] have organized lobbying and disinformation campaigns that have disrupted the peace and safety of our communities and universities - threatening all of us and, most specifically, our Jewish neighbors.
It is indefensible that the U.S. is participating in “pay for hate” by importing hate that divides us and tears at the fabric of our democracy.
Why would the U.S. become beholden to countries that devalue our central tenet, “that all people are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness?”
As our elected officials with the duty to “support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign, and domestic” we ask you to immediately pass the bipartisan Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act (HR-5933). This will slash the foreign gift reporting threshold from $250,000 to $50,000 per donation; provide transparency to Congress, intelligence agencies, and the public; and create repercussions for non-compliant colleges and universities, such as fines and loss of Title IV funding.
Billions of dollars flowing into the United States must SOLELY be used to promote “a more perfect Union, establish Justice, and insure domestic Tranquility.”
The time is NOW to safeguard the foundational rights of every American and uphold the Constitution of the United States.
Please remove “pay for hate” in the United States.
We implore you to pass the DETERRENT Act today!
Sincerely,
References:
[1] Gatestone Institute, Dark Money Nightmare: How Qatar bought the Ivy League, 12-31-23.
[2] Daily Mail, Cornell Harvard NYU Georgetown received billions of funding from Arab countries over the last 30 years, 10-19-23
[3] United against a nuclear Iran: Qatar, Iran, and the U.S.
[4] Professor Watchlist, Hatem Bazian
[5] CAIR is Hamas: How the federal government proved CAIR is a front for terrorism, Center for Security and Policy, 2016.
[6] Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Congressional Testimony, Israel Imperiled: Threats to the Jewish State, 4-19-2016.