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Colleges and universities that receive federal funding could be subjected to monitoring for antisemitism under a new House bill that a duo of Republican and Democratic lawmakers plans to introduce.
The bill would “empower” the Education Department, at its discretion, to send “third-party antisemitism monitors” to college campuses, with costs paid by the institutions. The bill text hasn’t been released yet, so it’s not yet clear how the monitoring would work, or what would trigger such oversight. “Failure to comply with the monitorship” would lead to a loss of federal funding, according to a news release from the bill’s authors.
New York representatives Mike Lawler, a Republican, and Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, are co-sponsoring the College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability (COLUMBIA) Act.
“Rising antisemitism on our college campuses is a major concern and we must act to ensure the safety of students,” Lawler said in a statement. “I’m proud to work with my friend and colleague Ritchie Torres on legislation that will impose a third-party antisemitism monitor on college campuses to ensure protections are in place and oversee any troubling action by college administrators.”
The Education Secretary would appoint the campus monitor and set the terms and conditions for the oversight, according to the news release. The monitor would then release quarterly reports about the institution’s progress toward combating antisemitism and make policy recommendations as needed.
The legislation is the first to be introduced at the federal level in response to recent protests, sparked by an encampment and arrests at Columbia University, that have rocked campuses nationwide.
Torres said in a statement that the crisis at Columbia is “the straw that has broken the camel’s back.”
“Jewish students have told my office that they feel completely abandoned by their university administrators and they view Congress as the only avenue for accountability and safety,” Torres said. “Let’s honor our word to them and get this done.”
