The bill passed 219-184, with the majority of the support coming from Republicans who accused Democrats of reversing course in their support for the “common sense” proposal only after Donald Trump was elected to a second term earlier this month.
Speaking on the House floor ahead of the vote, Rep. Jason Smith, GOP chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said his colleagues across the aisle would still be supporting the bill if Vice President Kamala Harris won the presidential United States. And we, as members of Congress, have the duty to make sure that taxpayers are not subsidizing terrorism,” the Missouri lawmaker said. “It’s very, very simple.”
But the proposal has drawn concern from a range of nonprofits who say it could be used to target organizations, including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups, that a future presidential administration disagrees with.
A version of the bill was first introduced after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the House passed a previous version of the bill in April, including with the support of some Democrats.
