The House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill aimed at better tracking donations from foreign countries. The bill, called the Foreign Funding Transparency Act, would require tax-exempt nonprofits to report funds received from foreign donors to the IRS. The committee approved the bill by a 23-18 vote.
In a written statement, Committee Chair, Republican Jason Smith, said, "Foreign influence and interference have long plagued our tax-exempt sector." Smith added, "Foreign donations have no place in American politics, especially when their sole purpose is to manipulate public discourse, spread propaganda, and support violence."
Smith claimed that many protest movements in the US, while seemingly grassroots, are in fact well-organized and well-funded, with "shadow networks" behind them. "It looks like a grass-roots movement, but when you see how the money flows, it becomes clear it's a machine," he said.
The case of Neville Roy Singham
In explaining the bill's rationale, the committee named Marxist millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who is allegedly known for his closeness to the Chinese Communist Party. Singham, 72, sold his tech company for $785 million in 2017 and has since funneled $278 million into a wide network. It was noted that Singham's funds were channeled mostly through shell 501(c)(3) nonprofits to various tax-exempt organizations.
The committee passage of the bill came a week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a summit in Washington calling for global cooperation to combat far-left political terrorism. Rubio had argued that counterterrorism doctrine has a blind spot regarding "left-wing political extremism."
Singham did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
