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H.R. 5505

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.R. 5505, the Equal Campus Access Act of 2025, was introduced in the House on Sep 18, 2025 by Rep. Tim Walberg (R) with 14 co-sponsors. It last saw action on Jun 25, 2026: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 15.

Record

Text

H.R. 5505 has 14 co-sponsors.

hb5505/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 5505 IH: Equal Campus Access Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-09-18
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 5505  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   September 18, 2025   Mr. Walberg  (for himself,  Mr. Weber of Texas ,  Mrs. Miller of Illinois ,  Ms. Hageman ,  Mr. Moran ,  Mr. Aderholt , and  Mr. Onder ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Education and Workforce    A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to ensure campus access at public institutions of higher education for religious groups.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Equal Campus Access Act of 2025  .
2.
Campus access for religious groups
Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
124.
Campus access for religious groups
None of the funds made available under this Act may be provided to any public institution of higher education that denies to a religious student organization any right, benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other student organizations at the institution (including full access to the facilities of the institution and official recognition of the organization by the institution) because of the religious beliefs, practices, speech, leadership standards, or standards of conduct of the religious student organization.
 .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-09-18
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Sep 18, 2025

hb5505/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (09/18/2025)

Equal Campus Access Act of 2025

This bill prohibits funding made available under the Higher Education Act of 1965 from being provided to any public institution of higher education (IHE) that denies certain campus rights to religious student organizations.

Specifically, the bill prohibits a public IHE from receiving these funds if it denies a religious student organization any right, benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other student organizations at the IHE because of the religious student organization's beliefs, practices, speech, leadership standards, or standards of conduct.

Sponsors

Rep. Tim Walberg (R) sponsors H.R. 5505, and 14 members have co-sponsored it, 6 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 5505 went before 1 committee: Education and Workforce.

Education and Workforce
Education and Workforce
Markup By · Jun 25, 2026 · 824 Bills

Actions

H.R. 5505 has taken 4 actions since Sep 18, 2025, the latest on Jun 25, 2026.

ChamberAction
Jun 25, 2026
House
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session HeldEducation and Workforce Committee
Jun 25, 2026
House
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 15.Education and Workforce Committee
Sep 18, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Sep 18, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.Education and Workforce Committee

Votes

H.R. 5505 has not gone to a roll call.

3 bills are related to H.R. 5505.

Titles

H.R. 5505 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Equal Campus Access Act of 2025 — Display Title
  • Equal Campus Access Act of 2025 — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to ensure campus access at public institutions of higher education for religious groups. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

7 clients hired 8 firms and 24 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 5505 in 8 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Education, Budget/Appropriations, Defense, Foreign Relations, Government Issues, Immigration, Religion.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
PROTECT THE 1ST, INC.501(c)(4) organizationDelaware22$80K
ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOMReligious Liberty, Life, Parental Rights, Free SpeechVirginia11—
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS—District of Columbia11—
AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE—District of Columbia11—
FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION (FIRE)Nonprofit organization specializing in higher education student and faculty civil rights.Pennsylvania11—
J STREET—District of Columbia11—
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN—District of Columbia11—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM11—
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS11—
AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE11—
FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION (FIRE)11—
GOODLATTE GROUP, LLC F.K.A. ROBERT GOODLATTE11$50K
J STREET11—
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN11—
SCHAERR JAFFE LLP11$30K

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 24.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
ALESSANDRO TERENZONI111
ALEX LEHMAN111
BRADLEY FREERICKS111
DARCY HIRSH111
DENA SHER111
EARL HADLEY111
GENE SCHAERR111
GREG GONZALEZ111
HANNAH FAJER111
JENNIFER SCULLY111
JODY RABHAN111
JOHN COLEMAN111
KATHERINE DESCAMP-RENNER111
KATIE DOHERTY111
KRISTOR COWAN111
LILLIAN ADELSTEIN111
MAEVE KLINE111
MATTHEW BARBLAN111
MEGAN STOCKHAUSEN111
MICHAEL FARRELL-ROSEN111

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2026 second_quarter$410K2nd Quarter - Report
J STREETJ STREET2026 second_quarter$170K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATEAMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE2026 second_quarter$80K2nd Quarter - Report
PROTECT THE 1ST, INC.GOODLATTE GROUP, LLC F.K.A. ROBERT GOODLATTE2026 second_quarter$50K2nd Quarter - Report
PROTECT THE 1ST, INC.SCHAERR JAFFE LLP2026 second_quarter$30K2nd Quarter - Report
ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOMALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM2025 third_quarter$20K3rd Quarter - Report
FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION (FIRE)FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION (FIRE)2026 second_quarter$15K2nd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMENNATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN2026 second_quarter$10K2nd Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 5505 under Education, one of its 31 policy areas, and gives it 4 legislative subjects.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 5505’s is Education.

hr5505/policy-areas.txt
EducationAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Legislative Subjects

H.R. 5505 carries 4 of CRS’s legislative subjects, from Education programs funding to School administration.

hr5505/subjects.txt
Education programs fundingHigher educationReligionSchool administration

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 5505, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 153 (Thursday, September 18, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. WALBERG:H.R. 5505.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.[Page H4457]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com