House passes bill blocking aid to colleges that boycott Israel

September 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM2 min

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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 by a vote of 237 to 169 on Thursday. The bill would bar federal student aid to colleges that engage in a commercial boycott of Israel. The measure now moves to the Senate.

Key Facts

The House passed the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 by a vote of 237 to 169.
33 Democrats voted in favor and two Republicans voted against the bill.
The bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit federal student aid for institutions engaged in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel.
The legislation now requires passage in the Senate and the president's signature to become law.

Vote Breakdown

The Republican-led House approved the measure 237 to 169, with 33 Democrats joining the majority and two Republicans opposing it. The bill was co-sponsored by New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer and North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx. The legislation 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 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.

Legislative Rationale

Congressional leaders have said they want to curb campus antisemitism in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests that erupted in response to Israel's war in Gaza following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. In remarks celebrating the bill's passage, Foxx alluded to suppressing the boycott-divest-sanctions movement against Israel, though BDS is not expressly mentioned in the legislation. Foxx said the antisemitic rot that has corroded college campuses must be eradicated and that institutions choosing to capitulate to the caustic BDS movement will face consequences. The bill's authors consider BDS activity discriminatory and link it to antisemitism.

Opposition and Next Steps

Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott, the ranking member of the education committee, said the legislation is unnecessary and could violate the First Amendment. Scott said no college or university has embraced the BDS movement and that antisemitism should be combated without punishing protected speech or conflating a student's view with university policies. Democrat Jerrold Nadler, who opposed the document, said that even with his rejection of the BDS movement, the right to political expression must be protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The legislation now must pass the Senate and be signed by the president in order to become law.