Republican Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina. Josh Hawley of Missiouri, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Jim Justice of West Virginia want to see greater transparency for nonprofits that accept money from hostile nations.
The four teamed up to propose the Foreign Registration Obligations for Nonprofit Transparency (FRONT) Act, which would require nonprofits in the United States that receive funding from foreign principals in countries of concern, such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The bill would also require nonprofits to disclose the activities they use foreign funds to engage in to mitigate future unrest. Budd said he believes recent left-wing riots that have resulted in violence have been funded by hostile foreign nations.
"It's time for American nonprofit organizations to be transparent about where they are getting their funding from," Budd said. "No foreign country with hostile intentions should be meddling in our democratic process."
The group which promoted the anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles is tied to a network of groups bankrolled by a pro-China millionaire, the Daily Caller reported.
Avril Haines, the former director of national intelligence, said people with ties to the Iranian government have posed as activists online following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
"What we're witnessing is not isolated," Budd said. "Safeguarding our political system from continued foreign interference must be a top national security priority to protect the integrity of our democracy."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.