Think tanks shouldn’t take money from foreign governments because members of Congress rely on their reports, according to a 17-term Virginia Republican congressman.
Frank Wolf wrote to the Brookings Institution about a story that found foreign governments had given tens of millions to think tanks, sometimes to try to influence policy papers, according to the New York Times.
“When a lobbyist comes before an office, it is well known that they are representing a client or foreign government — and under the law they have to disclose it,” Wolf wrote.
“However, think tanks are supposed to be different; they are considered to be independent sources of information, and their policy recommendations are expected to be in the national interest rather than their special interest.”
Wolf is retiring at the end of this term.
Brookings collects 12 percent of its funding from foreign governments, with the biggest donations coming from Qatar, which has supported terrorist factions, the Times found.
Brookings president Strobe Talbott said the money had no effect.
“We do not sell influence to anyone, foreign or domestic. If we were for hire to advance outside interests, we would be in violation of the academic freedom of our scholars’ work and our institutional mission,” Talbott told the Times.
Because of Congress’ reliance on prestigious think tanks’ supposedly nonpartisan reports, Israeli leaders said the Middle East funding of think tanks might have skewed US policy away from Israel.
“Qatar has been a major bankroller for Hamas and other terrorist organizations,” a government official told the Jerusalem Post.
“The fact that the same Qatari government is also a major provider of funds for a respectable Washington think tank raises a whole series of questions about that think tank’s relationships and impartiality.”
