House Passes Bill Tying University Federal Funding to Israel Boycott Rules, 237-169

The House voted 237-169 on Thursday to pass the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, legislation that puts federal funding at risk for colleges and universities that engage in what the bill calls a "nonexpressive commercial boycott" of Israel.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), bars institutions receiving federal funds from "refusals to deal" or terminating business relationships with Israeli entities absent a "valid business reason." It also requires universities to submit annual certifications showing that students and faculty have access to academic programs in Israel on the same terms as programs in any other country.

Thirty-three Democrats broke from their party to vote against the bill. Only two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), voted no. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), recently named ranking member of the House subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, voted yes, a vote that Dylan Williams of the Center for International Policy said should carry consequences given "overwhelming Democratic opposition to undermining American rights and institutions to shield Israel from accountability," according to a statement he gave Responsible Statecraft.

The bill does not name the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement directly, but sponsors and committee debate made the target explicit. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) told the Rules Committee that boycotts of Israel are "anti-Semitic in design and discriminatory in their effect," used to "isolate Jewish students" and "silence Jewish faculty."

Democratic opponents argued the bill legislates against conduct that does not exist on American campuses.

"There has not been a single case of an American college or university administration adopting the BDS movement policies that are described in the bill. Not one." — Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), House Rules Committee mark-up

Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, told Responsible Statecraft ahead of the vote that the bill's certification requirement flips the burden onto universities to prove engagement with Israel rather than simply avoid boycotting it. "The goal here is to basically say every university not only cannot refuse cooperation with Israel but must actively seek every opportunity to cooperate with Israel," Friedman said. She has separately warned the bill could invite legal challenges from advocacy groups searching for any gap in a university's Israel ties to allege a false certification.

Critics, including Friedman, argue the bill's broad language could extend anti-boycott protections to Israeli entities operating in West Bank settlements, since the text does not distinguish between Israel proper and the occupied territories. That reading is disputed and not spelled out explicitly in the bill language cited by Responsible Statecraft, but it tracks the pattern of state-level anti-BDS laws, at least 38 of which have passed since 2015 and which courts have sometimes found to conflict with First Amendment protections for boycott activity.

House Education and Workforce Committee Democrats had urged colleagues to vote no, arguing the measure threatens constitutionally protected speech. The bill now moves toward further consideration with its funding threat intact for any university unable or unwilling to certify compliance.