House Passes Bill Blocking Aid to Colleges That Boycott Israel

The House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would block federal aid to any college or university that boycotts Israel.

The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 passed the Republican-led chamber 237 to 169; 33 Democrats broke with the party line to vote in favor, while two Republicans voted against.

Sponsored by New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer and North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx, the bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit any institution that engages in a “nonexpressive commercial boycott” of Israel from receiving federal student aid. Colleges must also ensure that their students are not “unreasonably obstructed” from participating in academic programs in Israel, and that Israeli students and faculty are fully permitted to participate in theirs.

Congressional leaders have said they want to curb campus antisemitism in the wake of the pro-Palestinian protests that erupted in response to Israel’s war in Gaza following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. In her remarks celebrating the bill’s passage, Foxx also alluded to suppressing the “boycott-divest-sanctions” movement against Israel, though BDS is not expressly mentioned in the legislation.

“The antisemitic rot that has corroded college campuses must be eradicated—enough is enough,” she said Thursday. “Today, the House sent a clear message: if an institution of higher education chooses to capitulate to the caustic BDS movement, there will be consequences—starting with this bipartisan legislation.”

Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott, the ranking member of the education committee, said the legislation is unnecessary and could violate the First Amendment.

“No college or university has embraced the BDS movement anyway,” he said. “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.”

The legislation now must pass the Senate and be signed by the president in order to become law.