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U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala., joined Senator Tim Scott, R-S.C., and several of their colleagues in introducing the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, which would rescind federal funding from colleges and universities that encourage antisemitism or facilitate antisemitic events on campus.
This legislation comes as the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and the General Services Administration recently announced the cancellation of about $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.
“Any American educational institution authorizing, facilitating, or otherwise supporting pro-terrorism activities should lose every cent of federal funding and subsidization. I’m proud to join my colleagues in strengthening the Trump Administration’s efforts to ensure Jewish students across our country are safe and secure on college campuses. We must continue to send a resounding message that antisemitism has no place in America,” said Senator Britt.
“The intention of taxpayer dollars for universities is to educate students, not promote and foster hate. We’ve witnessed campuses across our nation turn into cesspools for anti-Jewish, anti-Israel activists,” said Senator Scott. “Let’s make one thing clear: federal funding is a privilege and not a right. Rooting out hate wherever it rears its ugly head will always be in fashion. I remain dedicated to defending the rights of Jewish students to attend class peacefully.”
Congressman Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., led the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Senator Britt has been an outspoken and strong supporter of the Jewish community and Israel, traveling with a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues to meet with leaders across the region and emphasize the United States’ unequivocal support for Israel immediately following the October 7 atrocities,” Britt’s release stated.
Recently, Senator Britt reintroduced the Antisemitism Awareness Act which directs the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism when investigating antisemitic acts on campus. “Now more than ever, we must send a resounding message that antisemitism has no place in America—we must stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters across our country, and abroad,” stated the Senator on the legislation.
Senator Britt was also a cosponsor of the Antisemitism Awareness Act and Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act in the 118th Congress.
In November 2024, Senator Britt penned an open letter to Jewish college students amid an alarming rise in antisemitism on college campuses. In her letter, she voiced her support for Jewish students and condemned universities that have failed to confront antisemitism on their campuses: “I want to make clear to each and every Jewish student on an American campus: I and my colleagues won’t stand for this. While your administrators may not have your backs, we do. And we always will.”
