Senate vote ahead after 33 Democrats back bill
The 237-169 vote drew 33 Democrats in favor and two Republicans opposed. The bill would require colleges and universities that take part in federal student aid programs to certify annually that they neither participate in boycotts of Israel nor impose restrictions on students taking part in educational programs in Israel or programs involving Israeli counterparts at home. Institutions that receive federal funding for international study and foreign-language programs would face the same certification requirement.
Tim Walberg, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, said federal taxpayer dollars should not support institutions that, in his words, “discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students.” “This legislation is about a simple principle: our colleges and universities should not discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students, and federal taxpayer dollars should never support institutions that engage in such discrimination,” Walberg said.
Democratic co-sponsor Josh Gottheimer, who introduced the bill alongside Republican Virginia Foxx, said the legislation was “narrow and tailored” and necessary to combat antisemitism. “No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they are from or what religion they practice. Yet that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do – targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism,” Gottheimer said.
Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the education committee, called the bill unnecessary and argued it could chill constitutionally protected protest speech. “No college or university has embraced the BDS movement anyway. So, we should combat antisemitism wherever it occurs, but we should not do so by punishing protected speech or conflating a student’s view with university policies,” Scott said.
The legislation reached the floor against a backdrop that has divided House Democrats in recent months. Faculty and student groups at some US universities had intensified calls for institutional participation in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement after the October 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, though most administrations declined the demands. In July, more than 100 House Democrats supported a separate bill cutting off some US military aid to Israel amid accusations that Israel’s military actions in Gaza constituted a genocide.
Democrats who crossed party lines to vote for Thursday’s bill typically face competitive re-election contests in November, or are supporters of Israel.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.