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Thirty-three House Democrats joined Republicans this week in voting to restrict federal funding for colleges and universities that participate in certain boycotts of Israel, but the bill’s Democratic co-sponsor, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, did not cast a vote.
The House passed the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, H.R. 4795, by a vote of 237-169. The measure received support from 203 Republicans, 33 Democrats and one independent, while 167 Democrats and two Republicans voted against it. Twenty-seven members did not vote.
Gottheimer, who co-sponsored the legislation with Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., had publicly advocated for the measure and spoke in favor of it on the House floor. His name, however, appears in the official House roll call as “Not Voting.”
The bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make institutions participating in certain “nonexpressive commercial boycotts” of Israel ineligible for federal student aid. It also includes provisions concerning academic programs and exchanges involving Israel.
Gottheimer and Foxx introduced the legislation as a measure intended to prevent discrimination against Israeli institutions, students and academic partnerships. In remarks supporting the bill, Gottheimer argued that universities receiving federal taxpayer dollars should not discriminate against Israel or Israeli academic institutions.
The 33 Democrats who voted for the legislation included Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, Kathy Castor of Florida, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ritchie Torres of New York and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.
The 33 Democrats voting for the bill were:
- Jake Auchincloss — Massachusetts
- Kathy Castor — Florida
- Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. — California
- Jim Costa — California
- Joe Courtney — Connecticut
- Henry Cuellar — Texas
- Donald G. Davis — North Carolina
- Lois Frankel — Florida
- Laura Gillen — New York
- Jared Golden — Maine
- Vicente Gonzalez — Texas
- Greg Landsman — Ohio
- George Latimer — New York
- Susie Lee — Nevada
- John W. Mannion — New York
- Jared Moskowitz — Florida
- Donald Norcross — New Jersey
- Jimmy Panetta — California
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez — Washington
- Josh Riley — New York
- Brad Schneider — Illinois
- Hillary Scholten — Michigan
- Kim Schrier — Washington
- Brad Sherman — California
- Darren Soto — Florida
- Haley Stevens — Michigan
- Tom Suozzi — New York
- Shri Thanedar — Michigan
- Dina Titus — Nevada
- Ritchie Torres — New York
- Juan Vargas — California
- Eugene Vindman — Virginia
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz — Florida
Supporters said the legislation would prevent universities from using federal funds while engaging in discriminatory boycotts involving Israel. Opponents argued that conditioning federal education funding on institutional policies involving Israel could raise First Amendment and academic-freedom concerns.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, argued that the legislation could punish protected speech. Other Democrats who opposed the measure said they support combating antisemitism and oppose the BDS movement but objected to using federal funding as a means of regulating university conduct.
The vote comes amid broader federal scrutiny of colleges and universities over Israel-related protests, antisemitism and institutional policies. The legislation represents another attempt by Congress to use federal funding requirements to influence how higher education institutions handle Israel-related academic and commercial activity.
The measure now moves to the Senate, where its future remains uncertain.
