High Country Times

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) are addressing antisemitism at taxpayer-funded institutions nationwide. Their recent communications with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Columbia University’s Interim President Katrina Armstrong underscore their commitment to eliminating discrimination in medical centers and schools.

The House is urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure universities receiving federal funding comply with civil rights laws, as part of a broader effort to combat antisemitism on college campuses. The Committees on Energy and Commerce, along with Education and the Workforce, sent a joint letter to HHS Secretary Becerra seeking information on complaints of "unacceptable antisemitic behavior" from educational institutions benefiting from federal grants.

Federal funding through National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants mandates that recipient institutions remain free from discriminatory harassment, according to NIH policy. "These concerns stem from the unacceptable antisemitic behavior witnessed across college campuses – including encampments, calls for violence, and severe interruption to the learning and research environments," reads the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

The letter highlights that while the HHS Office for Civil Rights provides guidance on permissible campus activities under federal civil rights laws, further action is necessary. Rep. Virginia Foxx stated: "When a doctor takes the Hippocratic Oath, he or she pledges to do no harm and to treat all patients with respect. Unfortunately, it seems that there are HHS-funded medical institutions – including Columbia – that aren’t living up to that standard as they allow antisemitism to run rampant."

Columbia University received $611 million in NIH grants in fiscal year 2024, according to HHS data. Lawmakers have requested details from Columbia on any complaints related to a "hostile environment based on antisemitic discrimination" along with how such complaints were addressed.

Columbia University did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Evan Bernstein, VP of community relations for Jewish Federations of North America, commented: "We've been seeing health organizations, practices, schools, and associations take radical political positions whose only practical effect is to exclude Jews... We're hearing more concerns about this from our Federation communities across America."