Rep. Jim Banks this week introduced legislation that would require those giving congressional testimony to disclose foreign contributions their employers receive.
Banks, chairman of the Republican Study Committee and member of the House Armed Services Committee, argued the bill would close loopholes in current disclosure requirements by strengthening the “Truth in Testimony” form required for nongovernment witnesses under House rules.
“Congress works best when all the cards are face up on the table,” he said in a statement. “The Truth in Testimony rule has a long conservative tradition going back to Speaker [Newt] Gingrich, and its past time we expose malign foreign influence and take the masks off individuals who testify before Congress while taking money from foreign countries. I urge my colleagues to pass this rule as soon as possible.”
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The proposal would primarily affect Washington, D.C.-area think tanks and universities that provide policy experts for congressional testimony from groups that sometimes receive foreign contributions.
Banks argued failing to disclose foreign funding behind these witnesses and groups could allow foreign entities to influence U.S. law. The Republican Study Committee said in a press release that the U.S. China Security and Economic Commission has found some Washington, D.C., think tanks and universities have received funding from the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Additionally, the Center for International Policy found at least $174 million in foreign funding to think tanks between 2014-2018 alone.
The State Department required all think tanks speaking before the agency to disclose foreign funding. The Washington Post noted the Senate currently does not require witnesses to disclose foreign funding sources.
The rule proposal currently has 40 Republican co-sponsors, and Banks is seeking Democratic counterparts for the legislation, Axios reported.
Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, said in a statement that “policymakers in Congress need to be confident they are receiving advice that isn’t influenced or distorted by foreign or commercial interests.”
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Berman argued the bill would ensure “the dependability of the insights that Congress receives from the experts it relies upon.”
