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The House voted on Thursday to pass a bipartisan bill that would cut off federal funding for universities that participate in a boycott of Israel, with dozens of Democrats in favor.
The bill passed 237 to 169, with almost all Republicans and 33 Democrats voting in favor. Democrats who voted “yes” included some of the most vocally pro-Israel and conservative lawmakers in the caucus. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Further, Democrats were complicit in allowing the vote to go forth to begin with. On Tuesday, Representatives Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), both Democrats, surprised caucus leaders when they voted for the GOP’s rule to allow the consideration of several pieces of legislation to go forth — a highly unusual move that delivered House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) the votes he needed to advance the rule.
This included votes on the anti-boycott bill as well as a resolution calling for the passage of Republicans’ voter suppression legislation and condemning the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and socialism “in all its forms.” That resolution passed with 8 Democrats in favor. Golden and Perez voted for both.
The anti-boycott legislation, called the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of higher education from ending or even taking steps to limit commercial relations with Israel that aren’t “based on a valid business reason.” Institutions wouldn’t even be able to boycott entities like illegal Israeli settlements under the legislation.
It also requires schools to prove that students and faculty are not “reasonably obstructed” from participating in academic exchange programs with Israel. If an institution fails either of those checks, it would lose federal funding under the bill.
Many universities are deeply intertwined with Israel; recent reports found, for instance, that the Israeli military is funding and collaborating on at least 70 research projects across U.S. universities. Colleges and universities maintain exchange programs, conduct academic research collaborations, and are even financially intertwined with Israel. The Palestine solidarity movement, by contrast, calls for universities to cut off Israel and participate in an academic boycott similar to the academic boycott of apartheid South Africa.
The measure was introduced by Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx (North Carolina) as well as conservative Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer (New Jersey), who said that the bill is necessary to combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses.
Gottheimer claimed that the bill “doesn’t touch anyone’s speech, protest, or academic debate,” even though a crucial goal of many left-wing and pro-Palestine student groups, especially amid the genocide in Gaza, has been to urge their universities to boycott Israel.
Critics have said that the bill is aimed at suppressing speech critical of Israel.
The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act “is designed to repress free speech and compromise institutional independence and academic freedom by applying political pressure on universities to prevent any consideration of any potential boycotts of the state of Israel,” said lobbying group A New Policy in a statement last year, when the bill was first introduced.
Notably, Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott (Virginia) observed during committee markup of the bill that “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.”
Indeed, many prominent colleges and universities have instead harshly punished students who participated in protests against the U.S.’s complicity with Israel’s genocide in Gaza; some of them even deepened their relationships with Israel after the protests.
The legislation, if passed, would represent an expansion of laws aimed at suppressing pro-Palestine speech. At least 38 states have some form of legislation combatting individuals’ or businesses’ ability to participate in boycotts of Israel.
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