Protecting Economic and Academic Freedom

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill with Ms. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act.

No student or professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, academic partnerships, or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they are from or what religion they practice.

Yet, that is what boycott, divest, and sanction seeks to do, which targets one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.

My bill prevents discriminatory BDS practices and policies from being enacted at universities that undermine academic freedom by cutting off study abroad, joint research and exchange, restricting students' and faculty's ability to study what and where they choose.

It is narrow, targeted, and doesn't touch anyone's speech. It doesn't touch protest or academic debate. It simply says: If your university that takes federal taxpayer dollars, it can't discriminate against academic partnerships or investments with one country. That is it.

This has been our Federal funding policy for decades. This is why this bill passed out of committee with overwhelming bipartisanship support, including the ranking member and five other Democrats.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan bill.

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