Sen Mike Lee targets university grants, cites 'woke DEI programs,' anti-Israel riots

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is taking on university subsidies from the federal government as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs expand and schools lose control over antisemitic protests and riots across the country.

The Utah Republican introduced the No Subsidies for Wealthy Universities Act in the Senate on Thursday, with Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., introducing a companion version in the House. The measure is also co-sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan.

"The tax dollars of hardworking American families are going to ultra-wealthy universities, like Columbia and Harvard, supporting woke DEI programs while churning out graduates who despise our country and riot for the destruction of Israel," Lee said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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The senator's bill would address the issue of subsidies and grants being used to bolster DEI and facilitate them by scrutinizing what are referred to as indirect cost reimbursements. While direct costs are easily tracked and are used for items such as lab equipment, indirect costs are more difficult to predict and include the carrying out of such grants.

Lee's measure looks to eliminate the indirect cost reimbursements on these federal subsidies for research for any universities that boast endowments greater than $5 billion. For those with endowments less than $5 billion but still more than $2 billion, they would be capped at 8%. All other institutions would face a 15% cap for the indirect costs.

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He said that the emphasis being placed on DEI at U.S. universities, as well as the current anti-Israel protests and riots, prompted the legislation, slamming both as "a disgrace."

"If they want to trash their reputations as academic institutions, they can do so on their own dime," Lee said.

In his own statement, Cline said, "Billions in taxpayer dollars intended for scientific research at wealthy universities, like Columbia and Harvard, are being hijacked to finance radical DEI agendas."

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"This misuse of funds is a blatant betrayal of American taxpayers. Congress has a duty to intervene, ensuring that these dollars are dedicated to legitimate research purposes, not to advance the Left's political doctrine on our campuses," he wrote. 

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The bill would specifically target the use of indirect costs reported for compensation to DEI staff by requiring the amount for this purpose to be reported to Congress annually. 

Columbia University, which has been the subject of national media attention for the past two weeks due to an anti-Israel encampment that effectively shut down the New York school, racked up the most in indirect costs associated with research grants. The Ivy League school received $471 million in fiscal 2022, per calculations made by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, citing federal data.

Under Lee's proposal, the school would be required to report how much of this money is going to DEI administrators.