Senator Bill Cassidy, chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered remarks on Mar. 12 during a committee hearing focused on the risks posed by foreign financial contributions to American universities.
The issue is significant because it concerns national security and the integrity of higher education institutions. The committee discussed how authoritarian regimes, such as China, may use financial gifts to influence research and campus life in ways that could undermine American interests.
“The United States has the best universities in the world,” Cassidy said. He highlighted that major breakthroughs in fields like cancer research and artificial intelligence often occur at these institutions, which sometimes handle sensitive or classified information. Cassidy warned that “our higher education system leads the world, and it’s no accident; it’s a matter of national security.” He cited examples where foreign actors allegedly sought to infiltrate universities through undisclosed partnerships or financial contributions.
Cassidy pointed out incidents such as a Harvard University professor indicted for lying about ties to China’s Thousand Talents Plan and an undisclosed partnership between Georgia Tech and Chinese entities involving sensitive military technology. He also referenced recent campus unrest following antisemitic attacks and stated: “Let me say that again—on American college campuses, we heard ‘death to America.’ That’s not free speech. Those are threats.” Cassidy called for greater transparency through legislation like the DETERRENT Act to close loopholes in reporting foreign gifts.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee works to legislate on public health, education, workforce issues and retirement programs with the goal of protecting health and supporting worker rights according to the official website. In the 119th Congress, Bill Cassidy served as chair of this committee according to the official website. The committee influences federal regulations affecting health and education across the United States according to the official website, provides oversight of federal laws and agencies in health and labor according to the official website, and focuses on federal policy in sectors including health, education, and labor while overseeing agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) according to the official website.
Cassidy concluded his remarks by emphasizing: “We need to know if another country is trying to steal our research or influence our campuses with an anti-American ideology. We need to know when other countries are making financial contributions to our universities. It could be innocent, maybe it’s not. Our students, our professors, our country need to know.”
