No More Free Rides: Rep. Burgess Owens Demands Transparency in University Foreign Funding

In a deep discussion with hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone, Congressman Burgess Owens backs the DETERN Act, a proposal championed by President Trump to expose foreign financial influence in American universities. The act would require schools to report all foreign gifts over $50,000—and over zero from certain countries of concern. Owens criticizes elite institutions like Harvard for taking billions in foreign funds while still relying on taxpayer dollars, all without sufficient accountability. He calls for a return to an education system that produces job-ready, debt-free, patriotic graduates—and warns that schools failing to meet these standards should do so without public funding.

Transcript

Chuck Warren: So President Trump wants universities to reveal foreign gifts, which would mean any gift over zero for certain countries of concern, and currently reducing it from $250,000 to $50,000. You've been supportive of this?

Congressman Owens: That's called the DETERN Act. Exactly.

Chuck Warren: You've been supportive of this?

Have the universities been knocking on your door, pleading with you not to do this?

Congressman Owens: You guys have done your homework. Thanks for that. This is something that's been in law, but guess what? The Biden administration never, ever forced them to do it. Of course, they're not if they don't have to. These colleges are getting billions and billions of dollars from foreign actors.

And we have no idea what is coming in, what they're giving back. So the Turn Act says very simply this. You're going to report to us. You're going to let the American people, if you're going to get taxpayer dollars we need to know where your influences are coming in how much they're paying for you and if there's any pro quo in the process and what we're seeing in higher education and looking at Harvard particularly how arrogant they are about what they do their private school and they have 53 billion dollars in endowment and still think they deserve an entitled to our taxpayer dollars so

we're saying no to that If you want our taxpayer dollars, you're going to make sure you give us the best product. A product that comes out that's not in debt, a product that comes out that can go out and get a good job and loves our country. If you can't do that, do this on your own dime.

And I'm excited about we're finally getting our education back to where we the people expect the greatest things from our kids. We should be the smartest, most productive, most positive and hopeful than anyone in the world. And they've been failing us in that regard. We're going to change that up big time.

Listen to the full episode of Breaking Battlegrounds anywhere you stream your podcasts!