Condemning attempts to use Federal regulatory power or litigation to suppress lawful speech, particularly speech critical of a political party or the President of the United States, and warning against the rise of authoritarianism.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 748 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 748

 Condemning attempts to use Federal regulatory power or litigation to 
  suppress lawful speech, particularly speech critical of a political 
 party or the President of the United States, and warning against the 
                       rise of authoritarianism.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2025

Ms. Ansari (for herself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Amo, Ms. Balint, Ms. Barragan, 
      Mr. Bell, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Boyle of 
   Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Carson, Mr. Casar, Mr. 
Cisneros, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Courtney, 
  Ms. Craig, Mr. Crow, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. 
      Dexter, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Elfreth, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Evans of 
 Pennsylvania, Mr. Figures, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Friedman, 
Mr. Frost, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Goldman of New 
  York, Mr. Green of Texas, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hernandez, Mr. Himes, Ms. 
 Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. 
Jacobs, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. 
 Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, 
   Mr. Landsman, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Latimer, Ms. Lee of 
    Pennsylvania, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Liccardo, Mr. Lynch, Mr. 
    Magaziner, Mrs. McBath, Ms. McBride, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. 
McCollum, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Meng, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Min, Mr. 
Morelle, Ms. Morrison, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. 
  Olszewski, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Pettersen, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, Ms. 
  Randall, Ms. Rivas, Ms. Ross, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. 
Schakowsky, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Simon, Mr. Soto, Ms. Stansbury, 
Mr. Stanton, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. 
  Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Torres of California, 
  Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Tran, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Waters, Mrs. 
Watson Coleman, Mr. Whitesides, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Crockett, 
   Mr. Gomez, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Omar, Mrs. Sykes, and Mr. 
McGarvey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning attempts to use Federal regulatory power or litigation to 
  suppress lawful speech, particularly speech critical of a political 
 party or the President of the United States, and warning against the 
                       rise of authoritarianism.

Whereas freedom of speech and freedom of the press are foundational principles 
        of the United States, enshrined in the First Amendment to the 
        Constitution and by the Founders of this country;
Whereas independent journalists, commentators, comedians, and media outlets have 
        historically played a vital role in holding those in power accountable, 
        regardless of political party;
Whereas the use of indirect or direct government power to silence criticism of a 
        political party or the President of the United States undermines 
        democratic norms and chills public discourse;
Whereas authoritarians and authoritarian regimes throughout history have sought 
        to control or co-opt media, silence dissent, and weaponize regulatory 
        agencies to punish critics, eroding civil liberties and undermining 
        democracy from within;
Whereas efforts to pressure the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), or to 
        bring politically motivated lawsuits, as tools to threaten or punish 
        media figures for their criticism of elected officials or satire mirror 
        tactics used by authoritarian governments to intimidate and silence 
        critics;
Whereas the Trump Administration and President Donald John Trump have issued 
        public calls to use the awesome power of the Federal Government to 
        investigate, fine, or otherwise penalize media figures and networks 
        critical of the President, silencing free speech and echoing 
        authoritarian tactics;
Whereas late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel, who has been an outspoken 
        critic of the Trump Administration, was taken off the air indefinitely 
        following FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatening coercive government action 
        against the Walt Disney Company and American Broadcasting Companies, 
        Inc. (ABC) for Kimmel's remarks;
Whereas major law firms have reportedly been enlisted to file or threaten 
        lawsuits against networks or personalities whose programming is critical 
        of former President Trump, further chilling free expression;
Whereas the firing or forced removal of media personalities under political 
        pressure can have a chilling effect on dissent and signal a dangerous 
        slide toward authoritarian practices rather than democratic 
        accountability; and
Whereas maintaining a free and open press is essential to a healthy democracy 
        and to public accountability, and the erosion of this freedom has 
        historically been a precursor to the rise of authoritarianism and the 
        decline of democratic institutions: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the use of regulatory agencies, including the 
        Federal Communications Commission, and the threat or filing of 
        lawsuits as tools to suppress, intimidate, or punish lawful 
        speech critical of any political party or the President of the 
        United States;
            (2) warns that such practices echo the tactics of 
        authoritarian regimes and pose a serious threat to the 
        democratic traditions and constitutional freedoms of the United 
        States;
            (3) reaffirms its commitment to upholding the First 
        Amendment and protecting the freedom of the press and freedom 
        of expression for all individuals, regardless of political 
        viewpoint;
            (4) calls upon all public officials, regardless of party 
        affiliation, to refrain from using their positions of power to 
        pressure media organizations or individuals into censoring or 
        silencing speech protected by the Constitution;
            (5) urges the Department of Justice, the Federal 
        Communications Commission, and other relevant agencies to 
        ensure that their policies and practices safeguard free 
        expression and do not become tools of political retribution; 
        and
            (6) affirms that a vibrant, independent media and the 
        ability of Americans to criticize their government are 
        indispensable to the preservation of democratic governance and 
        to preventing the rise of authoritarianism.
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