# H.R. 4795 (119th): Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026

Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 This bill prohibits institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs from engaging in boycotts against Israel. Specifically, IHEs may not engage in a commercial action intended to limit commercial relations with Israel, or with an entity licensed by, regulated by, or organized under the laws of Israel, that is not based on a valid business reason. Further, IHEs receiving, or applying to receive, Title VI funds (federal funding for foreign language and international education programs) must annually certify that (1) students and faculty are allowed to participate in academic programs located in Israel in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as programs in other foreign countries, and (2) students and faculty at postsecondary institutions located in Israel may participate in such IHE’s academic programs in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as students and faculty from other foreign countries.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: academic_freedom. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: boycott_restriction. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: economic_freedom. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: foreign_policy. Category: war_peace. Lane tag: prudential.
Lane: freedom. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 295: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill combines a plausible anti-discrimination and equal-access goal for academic exchange with a restriction on institutional economic and associational choices regarding a named foreign state. Reasonable people dispute whether the measure is a just check on discriminatory boycotts or an overreach on lawful institutional conduct, so the classification is mixed rather than a direct restraint of evil or direct advance of moral harm.
Theological note: The bill raises issues of civil justice, prudent stewardship of institutions, and the freedom of institutions to act on conscience and association, alongside the duty to deal honestly and justly with all nations. Scripture gives no direct verdict on institutional commercial boycotts of a particular nation, so this is a matter of prudential civil judgment to be weighed through general equity rather than a clear moral directive.

## Recorded votes

Roll 295: On Passage. Yea 237 · Nay 169 · Other 27.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-4795-119/