Congress: 114 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for S 2531.
Sponsor: Kirk, Mark Steven (R-IL)
Combating BDS Act of 2016 This bill authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit investment of its assets in: (1) an entity that such government determines, using credible information available to the public, engages in a commerce or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; or (2) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such an entity. Such government shall provide written notice to such an entity before applying such a measure. Such a measure by a state or local government is not preempted by any federal law. The bill applies to any measure adopted by a state or local government before, on, or after the date of this Act's enactment. The bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to prohibit any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against any registered investment company, or any officer or employee thereof, based solely upon such company divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by persons that such company determines, using credible information available to the public, engage in any commerce or investment-related boycotts, divestments, or sanctions activities targeting Israel.
This bill lets state and local governments divest public assets from companies that boycott Israel or own/control companies that do so. It requires written notice to affected companies before divestment. The bill also shields investment funds from lawsuits if they choose to divest from companies engaged in Israel boycotts. Federal law cannot override these state and local divestment measures.
This is a direct legislative response to the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement targeting Israel. By authorizing—and protecting from legal challenge—state and local divestment from BDS-engaged companies, the bill uses public spending as a tool to isolate and penalize the boycott movement, raising questions about whether such measures infringe on free speech and protest rights.