[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6118-S6119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Freedom of the Press

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise before you today to express the 
importance of freedom of the press both around the world and here at 
home. Journalists take risks--often great risks--to tell the stories of 
war, genocide, hunger, poverty, and corruption around the world while 
facing unprecedented rates of intimidation and violence.
  Freedom of expression is the bedrock of our democracy, but we must 
not take it for granted. It is how we hold ourselves to the standards 
set by the Founders and hold ourselves accountable and how we protect 
our institutions from falling into traps set by those who seek to abuse 
power.
  Earlier this year, I introduced S. Res. 501, a resolution recognizing 
threats to freedom of the press and freedom of expression. This 
resolution was introduced with Senators Rubio and Wyden, and I thank my 
colleagues for their leadership on this important issue.

  This resolution highlights the importance of the freedom of the 
press, condemns attacks against journalists, and reaffirms press 
freedom as a priority

[[Page S6119]]

for the U.S. Government. This resolution is in honor of the 46 
journalists who were killed in 2017 for their reporting, for the 262 
journalists who were imprisoned around the world last year, and, as 
part of that 262, the 21 journalists who were jailed just in 2017 for 
``false news,'' which more than doubled the 2016 record.
  These journalists are mothers and fathers and sons and daughters who 
put their lives and, indeed, their freedom on the line to shed a light 
on some of the world's toughest stories. I would like to tell the story 
of one of the journalists who lost his life last year, Chris Allen, 
while he bravely reported from a conflict area. I acknowledge Chris's 
parents, Joyce Krajian and John Allen, who are here with us today.
  Chris grew up in Narberth, PA, and graduated from the University of 
Pennsylvania. Chris's parents say he was an explorer from an early age 
and had a keen interest in history. He went on to pursue his master's 
degree at Oxford. He was encouraged to go to places where history was 
being made. Chris embraced this calling and became a freelance 
journalist--first in eastern Ukraine, where he embedded with pro-
Ukranian forces and reported for outlets like the Independent and the 
Guardian, in order to help give his audience a glimpse of the conflict 
up close.
  His mother Joyce and his father John have shared this memory of 
Chris:

       This desire to bring to light untold stories from uncovered 
     regions of the world and the plights of their peoples--that's 
     what motivated Chris. He wanted to know the thoughts and 
     feelings of those encountering conflict firsthand.

  So said his parents.
  After 3 years in Ukraine, Chris decided to embed with the South Sudan 
opposition forces near the Ugandan border. On August 26, 2017, we 
understand that Chris walked overnight with these fighters and two 
other journalists to the town of Kaya. Chris was killed shortly after 
dawn while he photographed a gun battle between opposition and 
government forces. Chris was just 26 years old.
  In the early years of his professional life, Chris had already 
committed himself to the vital job of covering dangerous places and 
exposing stories of vulnerable people whose countries were embroiled in 
war. In the year that has passed since his death, despite commitments 
from the South Sudanese Government to investigate, Joyce and John have 
no official information about how he was killed, and no one has been 
held accountable for the loss of their son. They have seen South 
Sudanese Government officials smear Chris's reputation and threaten 
other foreign journalists with the same fate. This is unthinkable for 
any parent to have to endure.
  Chris Allen's parents have more questions than they have answers. 
Chris and others like him have lost their lives in the pursuit of 
truth, with no accountability or justice. Other journalists sit in 
prison today for daring to speak truth to power. We have a 
responsibility to advance these core American values--the values of 
freedom of expression and freedom of the press. These values continue 
to serve as an example to the world.
  As I mentioned earlier, our bipartisan resolution reaffirms press 
freedom as a priority for the United States. What does this mean 
exactly?
  First, advocating for media freedom should be a feature of the U.S. 
Government's interactions with other governments where the media is 
censored, silenced, or threatened. I have had tough conversations over 
the years, as I know many of my colleagues have had, with foreign 
government officials about human rights and the rule of law. I know it 
can be difficult to advance these values while always cooperating on 
other issues like security or other political issues, but we must press 
these issues. Whether it is advocating for the release of two Reuters 
journalists who were detained under antiquated laws in Myanmar, 
pressing for an investigation into Chris Allen's death, or pushing for 
reforms to allow media workers to operate more freely, the U.S. 
Government must be consistent and persistent.
  Perhaps more importantly, we must model the respect for free 
journalism and empower journalists here at home. Investigative 
journalism helps to hold accountable government officials, elected 
representatives, business leaders, and others. It exposes fraud and 
waste and corruption, which corrode our society. It helps us to connect 
with the men and the women in uniform who serve our Nation overseas and 
to understand the conflicts in which they fight. It shows us the 
atrocities of terrorist groups like ISIS and the abuses of dictatorial 
regimes like that of Bashar al-Assad's. Journalists amplify the voices 
of the most vulnerable among us and provide for us a window into the 
homes and into the hearts of people a world away.
  Instead of respecting these professionals, President Trump has called 
them the ``enemy of the people.'' When we hear powerful voices 
denigrate tough reporting as ``fake news'' or bar reporters from doing 
their jobs by blocking access, we all must condemn it. Reporters, 
writers, photographers, and media workers in the United States have not 
been intimidated and will continue to carry the torch of core American 
values like freedom of the press. On both sides of the aisle, we have a 
responsibility to rebuke any anti-press narratives by any public 
officials. This narrative is not only antithetical to the values our 
Founders laid out in the Bill of Rights, but it is dangerous.
  I urge my colleagues to support S. Res. 501 this week and to speak up 
for media freedoms every day.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.