H.R. 4795, Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026

H.R. 4795 would require, as a condition of program participation agreements between institutions of higher education and the Department of Education, that the institutions not engage in “nonexpressive commercial boycotts” of Israel and entities organized, licensed, or regulated under Israeli law. A nonexpressive commercial boycott would include the refusal to deal or the termination of business activities intended to limit commercial relations with Israel, unless supported by a valid business reason. Institutions that violate their program participation agreements could lose eligibility to participate in federal student aid programs, including Pell grants and student loans.

The bill also would require institutions that receive funding from or plan to apply for funding from certain international education and foreign language programs at the Department of Education to certify annually that they will allow their students and faculty to participate in academic programs in Israel on the same terms as programs in other foreign countries. Additionally, institutions would have to allow students and faculty from Israeli institutions to participate in their academic programs as they would participants from any other foreign institution. Institutions that fail to make this certification would lose eligibility for those international education and foreign language programs.

CBO expects that institutions would comply with the new requirements; thus, enacting the bill would not affect institutional eligibility for funding from the Department of Education. Finally, based on the costs of similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost the Department of Education less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Garrett Quenneville. The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Director of Budget Analysis.