Niagara Leader

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) voted today in favor of two pieces of legislation during the Ways and Means Committee Markup aimed at combating anti-Semitism on college campuses by holding accountable academic institutions that encourage or fail to combat this behavior and protect their students. This markup comes as colleges and universities across the United States have allowed anti-Semitic students to create chaos and threaten fellow students on their campuses because of their Jewish faith.

H.R. 8914, the University Accountability Act, introduced by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), would fine tax-exempt schools that violate students' civil rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This bill passed the full committee by a vote of 24-12.

H.R. 8913, the Protecting American Students Act, introduced by Congressman Drew Ferguson (GA-3), incentivizes institutions to admit more American students into colleges or universities by ensuring that only the same students who are eligible for financial assistance under the Higher Education Act will be counted as part of the endowment tax calculations. This bill passed the full committee by a vote of 24-13.

"Colleges and universities are responsible for protecting all students from hate and violence," said Congresswoman Tenney. "Recently, there has been a disturbing spike in anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence on campuses that threatens the safety of Jewish students. The University Accountability Act and the Protecting American Students Act will hold any institution found to be condoning this behavior accountable by revoking its tax-exempt status, withdrawing its generous tax benefits, and imposing financial penalties. We must ensure our tax dollars do not fund colleges and universities that foster anti-Semitism."

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