H.R. 3966 — Think Tank and Nonprofit Foreign Influence Disclosure Act

This section states nine congressional findings regarding foreign governments' and political parties' attempts—particularly by China through its United Front Work Department and proxies—to influence the U.S. government and political system via undisclosed donations and support to think tanks, cultural organizations, and other nonprofits, which currently lack disclosure requirements unlike institutions of higher education. (The findings cite reports from the Department of Defense, U.S. Intelligence Community, Hoover Institution, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Bloomberg News, and House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and identify specific examples including funding to the Optica Foundation from Huawei and to the Max Baucus Institute from the China-United States Exchange Foundation.)

This section (1) requires certain tax-exempt organizations to report on annual information returns, for each contributor from which aggregate contributions and gifts exceed $10,000 during the year, the name and amount received from governments of foreign countries (as defined in 22 U.S.C. 611(e)), foreign political parties (as defined in 22 U.S.C. 611(f)), or entities (or their agents) directed, controlled, financed, or subsidized in whole or in part by a foreign country specified in 10 U.S.C. 4872(f)(2); (2) directs the Secretary of the Treasury to publicly disclose such information in a searchable database, including the organization's name and aggregate annual amounts received from the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or related entities (or their agents); and (3) applies these requirements to taxable years beginning after enactment.