I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4795 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit an institution 
that participates in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel from 
being eligible for certain funds under that Act, to require an institution 
that participates in certain programs under that Act to certify that 
students are not unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic 
programs in Israel, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2025 
Ms. FOXX (for herself and Mr. GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit 
an institution that participates in a nonexpressive com-
mercial boycott of Israel from being eligible for certain 
funds under that Act, to require an institution that par-
ticipates in certain programs under that Act to certify 
that students are not unreasonably obstructed from par-
ticipating in academic programs in Israel, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Economic and 
Academic Freedom Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. INELIGIBILITY OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU-
CATION PARTICIPATING IN CERTAIN NON-
EXPRESSIVE COMMERCIAL BOYCOTTS. 
(a) INELIGIBILITY.—Part B of title I of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 
124. 
INELIGIBILITY 
OF 
INSTITUTIONS 
PARTICI-
PATING IN CERTAIN NONEXPRESSIVE COM-
MERCIAL BOYCOTTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than July 31 of each 
year, an institution of higher education that participates 
in any program under title IV shall certify to the Secretary 
that the institution will not engage in a nonexpressive 
commercial boycott of a major strategic partner of the 
United States for the period beginning on the date of such 
certification and ending on July 31 of the following year. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY
OF LIST; NOTIFICA-
TION.—Not later than 7 business days after July 31 of 
each year, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) identify and make publicly available on a 
website of the Department a list of all institutions 
of higher education described in subsection (a) that 
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did not submit a certification under such subsection 
for such year; and 
‘‘(2) notify each institution of higher education 
identified pursuant to paragraph (1) of such identi-
fication and inclusion on such list. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) MAJOR STRATEGIC PARTNER.—The term 
‘major strategic partner’ with respect to the United 
States means— 
‘‘(A) a country described in section 4 of 
Public Law 113–296; or 
‘‘(B) an entity licensed or regulated by, or 
organized under the laws of, such a country. 
‘‘(2) NONEXPRESSIVE
COMMERCIAL
BOYCOTT 
OF A MAJOR STRATEGIC PARTNER.—The term ‘non-
expressive commercial boycott of a major strategic 
partner’— 
‘‘(A) means a commercial action (including 
engaging in refusals to deal and terminating 
business activities) that— 
‘‘(i) is intended to limit commercial 
relations with a major strategic partner; 
and 
‘‘(ii) is not based on a valid business 
reason; and 
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‘‘(B) does not include actions described in 
regulations issued to provide for the exceptions 
described in section 1773(a)(2) of the Anti-Boy-
cott Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4842(a)(2)).’’. 
(b) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT.—Section 
487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(30) The institution will comply with the re-
quirements of section 124.’’. 
SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR TITLE VI FUNDS. 
Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new sections: 
‘‘SEC. 639. INSTITUTIONAL CERTIFICATIONS. 
‘‘(a) ANNUAL REQUIREMENT
FOR INSTITUTIONAL 
ELIGIBILITY.—Not later than July 31 of each calendar 
year beginning on or after the date of enactment of the 
Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2025, 
an institution of higher education participating or apply-
ing to participate in any program under this title shall 
submit to the Secretary the certification required under 
subsection (b). An institution that does not submit such 
certification by July 31 of a calendar year shall be ineli-
gible to receive any funds under this title in the first fiscal 
year that begins after such July 31, including any funds 
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under this title that would otherwise have been available 
to the institution in such fiscal year for a grant awarded 
during a previous fiscal year. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—An institution shall certify to 
the Secretary that, for the period beginning on the date 
of such certification and ending on July 31 of the fol-
lowing year, the institution will— 
‘‘(1) permit students and faculty of the certi-
fying institution to participate in academic pro-
grams, including conferences, teaching exchanges, 
cultural exchanges, study abroad programs, joint re-
search, and other collaborative educational activities, 
in a major strategic partner (as defined in section 
124) of the United States in the same manner, and 
under the same terms and conditions, as students 
and faculty of the institution are permitted to par-
ticipate in academic programs in other foreign coun-
tries; and 
‘‘(2) permit students and faculty of postsec-
ondary educational institutions in such a major stra-
tegic partner to participate in academic programs of-
fered by the certifying institution, including con-
ferences, teaching exchanges, cultural exchanges, 
study abroad programs, joint research, and other 
collaborative educational activities, in the same man-
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ner, and under the same terms and conditions, as 
students and faculty of other foreign postsecondary 
educational institutions that are not in such a major 
strategic partner. 
‘‘SEC. 639A. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
‘‘It is the sense of Congress that limitations on coop-
erative efforts by institutions of higher education, con-
sortia of such institutions, or partnerships between non-
profit educational organizations and institutions of higher 
education with a major strategic partner (as defined in 
section 124) of the United States do not serve the secu-
rity, stability, and economic vitality of the United States.’’. 
Æ 
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