House bill · 112th Congress · Did not become law

Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act

H.R. 2117Introduced Jun 3, 2011Policy area: Education

Where it went

IntroducedJun 3, 2011
Committee actionJun 15, 2011
Passed HouseFeb 28, 2012 · 303–114
Passed Senate—
To the President—
Became law—

Latest action: Feb 29, 2012 — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 2117.

CBO cost estimateThe Congressional Budget Office published “H.R. 2117, Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act” on June 21, 2011. CBO’s description reads “Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on June 15, 2011”.
Read the CBO estimate ↗Source: Congressional Budget Office, June 21, 2011 ↗
Evidence
Field in the Congress.gov record
cboCostEstimates
CBO publication
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/41534
CBO publication date
June 21, 2011
Congress.gov bill record
H.R. 2117, 112th Congress
Congress.gov API record
https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/112/hr/2117
Record last updated by Congress.gov
July 21, 2025
PORKER copy retrieved
September 25, 2026
Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
e59076a8ddd728f6b780c46807dd3e59a62e44a9e01d3fca4e2cb4fd01eb590c
PORKER links to the estimate and does not repeat its dollar figures. Each estimate is for the version of the bill its description names; the bill may have changed since.
Committee reportCongress.gov lists 1 committee report for this bill: H. Rept. 112-177 ↗. The Congress.gov committee record lists a “Reported By” entry for the Education and Workforce Committee on July 22, 2011.
Source: Congress.gov, reported July 22, 2011 ↗
Evidence
Field in the Congress.gov record
committeeReports
Report API records
https://api.congress.gov/v3/committee-report/112/HRPT/177
Congress.gov bill record
H.R. 2117, 112th Congress
Congress.gov API record
https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/112/hr/2117
Record last updated by Congress.gov
July 21, 2025
PORKER copy retrieved
September 25, 2026
Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
e59076a8ddd728f6b780c46807dd3e59a62e44a9e01d3fca4e2cb4fd01eb590c
A committee report is the committee’s own explanation of the bill. PORKER lists it and links to it; reading it is up to you.
Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Ms. FOXX, as printed in the Congressional Record (Page H4036):
Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution
Source: Congress.gov, record updated July 21, 2025 ↗
Evidence
Field in the Congress.gov record
constitutionalAuthorityStatementText
Statement length
54 characters
Congress.gov bill record
H.R. 2117, 112th Congress
Congress.gov API record
https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/112/hr/2117
Record last updated by Congress.gov
July 21, 2025
PORKER copy retrieved
September 25, 2026
Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
e59076a8ddd728f6b780c46807dd3e59a62e44a9e01d3fca4e2cb4fd01eb590c
PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.

Sent to: Education and Workforce Committee, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions CommitteeBills with a CBO estimate Bills with a committee report See it in the Data Web

From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 2117, last updated July 21, 2025. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 25, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.

Vote results

5 recorded roll-call votes on H.R. 2117. The vote that moved the bill is first.

1HOUSE · FEB 28, 2012

Passed the House

303–114PASSED

R 234–0 D 69–114

On Passage · roll 79 · 16 not voting

Procedural votes (4) — motions, rulings and amendments along the way (4 House). Tap to show.

Mostly votes on amendments (3 of 4). They came during the House’s run of votes on Feb 28. Oldest first. Totals are yea–nay.

Amendment 1 to H.R. 2117
On agreeing to the amendment
House · Feb 28, 2012 · roll 75
R 0–236 D 170–11
170–247Failed
Amendment 4 to H.R. 2117
On agreeing to the amendment
House · Feb 28, 2012 · roll 76
R 1–232 D 159–23
160–255Failed
Amendment 5 to H.R. 2117
On agreeing to the amendment
House · Feb 28, 2012 · roll 77
R 21–214 D 178–3
199–217Failed
Send the bill back to committee
Motion to recommit with instructions
House · Feb 28, 2012 · roll 78
R 0–233 D 176–8
176–241Failed

Yea–nay by party (R = Republicans, D = Democrats, I = independents). Counts for present and not-voting members are shown where there were any. Showing all 5 of 5 recorded votes. Sorted by date; within a chamber by roll-call number.

Cosponsors

69 cosponsors — 66 Republicans, 3 Democrats

3 of 69 cosponsors (4%) are from the other party.

Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Steve Austria (R-OH), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Lou Barletta (R-PA), Dan Benishek (R-MI), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jo Bonner (R-AL), Kevin Brady (R-TX), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Michael Burgess (R-TX), Dan Burton (R-IN), John Carter (R-TX), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Howard Coble (R-NC), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Steve Cohen (D-TN), K. Conaway (R-TX), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Jo Emerson (R-MO), Charles Fleischmann (R-TN), J. Forbes (R-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Kay Granger (R-TX), Sam Graves (R-MO), Frank Guinta (R-NH) and 39 more.

More from the sponsor

Other 112th Congress bills sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx.

Sponsor’s state and district

North Carolina in Congress · NC-5 district

Open in Bill Explorer →

Data as of Sep 26, 2026 · bill record checked by PORKER from Congress.gov · votes from Senate.gov and the House Clerk. PORKER is non-partisan.