Votes on Antisemitism Bills Postponed

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) postponed a vote on two antisemitism bills this week after concerns about the free speech implications of one of the bills led to amendments that derailed the committee’s mark-up of the legislation.

Both of the bills under consideration – the Antisemitism Awareness Act (S. 558) and the Protecting Students on Campus Act (S. 163) — have bipartisan support. However, the former bill, which would adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism for purposes of civil rights enforcement, has drawn significant criticism alleging that it would violate constitutional free speech rights.

With the support of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) (and in one case Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)), Democrats on the committee were able to win approval of four amendments that would protect free speech rights under the bill by: clarifying the right to criticize Israel for its role in the war in Gaza and to protest on campus; prohibiting visa revocations and deportations of students and faculty exercising their free speech rights; and expressing the sense of the Senate that federal enforcement efforts should not force a school to violate free speech rights.

Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and his Republican colleagues were deeply critical of the amendments under consideration. According to Cassidy, “Supporting these amendments is an effort to kill this bill, which protects Jewish students from antisemitic acts.” Ultimately, the amendments may compromise Republican support for voting the bills out of committee, and it is not yet clear if or when the vote will be rescheduled.

For more information, please contact:
Jody Feder