Bill blocks U.S. government money to entities controlled by foreign agents
S. 3610 — No Funding for Foreign Agents Act · Filed by Jim Banks (R-IN) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 8, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill bars U.S. government money—grants, contracts, loans, and vouchers—from flowing to any organization controlled by an agent of a foreign government or person from 21 named countries (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, and 16 others). It applies to both direct payments and indirect assistance via vouchers. The bill aims to prevent hostile foreign actors from capturing U.S. federal funding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward eligibility bar: entities controlled by foreign agents from specified nations cannot receive U.S. government financial assistance. It is a compliance/screening measure, not a subsidy, deregulation, or commemorative act.
What the text implies
- The definition of 'controlled' includes majority or dominant-minority voting interest, potentially capturing minority-owned U.S. entities with foreign investment or board representation.
- Pass-through entities (nonprofits, NGOs) distributing federal funds must screen their sub-recipients; compliance burden may fall on intermediaries, not just direct recipients.
- The list of 21 'covered nations' is fixed in statute; adding or removing nations requires new legislation, creating potential lag if geopolitical status changes.
- Entities organized in the U.S. but controlled by foreign agents are barred; this may affect joint ventures, subsidiaries, or partnerships with foreign ownership structures.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens benefit from a safeguard preventing U.S. taxpayer money from being captured by or flowing to entities controlled by hostile foreign governments or their agents. The restriction protects the integrity of federal spending and reduces the risk that U.S. aid or contracts inadvertently strengthen adversaries or corrupt regimes.
Named in the bill
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti — and 8 more
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jan 8, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 8, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,253 characters) on Oct 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,388 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-21.
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