[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 179 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 179

         To uphold the protections of the freedom of the press.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 8, 2017

 Mrs. Lawrence (for herself, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Rush, Ms. 
  McCollum, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Conyers, Ms. 
 Kaptur, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Foster, and Mr. Welch) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
         To uphold the protections of the freedom of the press.

Whereas the First Amendment prohibits any law that infringes on the freedom of 
        the press;
Whereas the American public has relied on the press for over 200 years to stay 
        informed of current events taking place across the country;
Whereas 6 justices ruled in favor of the Freedom of the Press in New York Times 
        Co. v. United States, with Justice Black concurring, ``Only a free and 
        unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.'';
Whereas the press is often considered to be the ``Fourth Branch of Government'' 
        and serves the crucial role of Government watch dog ;
Whereas the press plays a crucial role covering Congress and the executive 
        branch;
Whereas the press has been targeted by unwarranted attacks claiming that they 
        are publishing false news;
Whereas without the diligent work of media outlets, many Americans will be left 
        without a method to stay informed;
Whereas inflammatory language disparaging the press is detrimental to the 
        media's perception by the United States public and leads to unnecessary 
        debate over the validity of news;
Whereas political parties should refrain from partisan attacks against stories 
        they consider ``fake news'';
Whereas the executive branch should refrain from using social media to further 
        alienate reputable news sources by disseminating untrustworthy news;
Whereas the executive branch should not proclaim that reputable press is the 
        enemy of the American public, nor should they threaten the deterioration 
        of relations between the Government and the press;
Whereas the executive branch should not praise friendly outlets while 
        criticizing those considered unfavorable:
Whereas the divide caused by unwarranted attacks on the media will further 
        separate our country and distort reality; and
Whereas in order for the country to move forward in its best interest, we must 
        respect the factual integrity of individuals reporting on real events 
        taking place across the country: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
freedom of the press must be upheld when confronted with unfair 
attacks.
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