[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 118 (Monday, July 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5793-H5796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING WIDENING THREATS TO FREEDOMS OF THE PRESS AND EXPRESSION 
                            AROUND THE WORLD

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 345) recognizing widening threats to freedoms of 
the press and expression around the world, reaffirming the centrality 
of a free and independent press to the health of democracy, and 
reaffirming freedom of the press as a priority of the United States in 
promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in commemoration 
of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

[[Page H5794]]

  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 345

       Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights, adopted at Paris, December 10, 
     1948, states, ``Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion 
     and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions 
     without interference and to seek, receive and impart 
     information and ideas through any media and regardless of 
     frontiers.'';
       Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly 
     proclaimed May 3 of each year as ``World Press Freedom 
     Day''--
       (1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom of 
     the press;
       (2) to evaluate freedom of the press around the world;
       (3) to defend the media against attacks on its 
     independence; and
       (4) to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives 
     while working in their profession;
       Whereas, on December 18, 2013, the United Nations General 
     Assembly adopted Resolution 68/163 on the safety of 
     journalists and the problem of impunity, which unequivocally 
     condemns all attacks on, and violence against, journalists 
     and media workers, including torture, extrajudicial killing, 
     enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation 
     and harassment in conflict and nonconflict situations;
       Whereas the theme for World Press Freedom Day 2019, is 
     ``Media for Democracy: Journalism and Democracy in Times of 
     Disinformation'';
       Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who recognized the importance of 
     the press in a constitutional republic, wisely declared, ``. 
     . . were it left to me to decide whether we should have a 
     government without newspapers, or newspapers without a 
     government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the 
     latter.'';
       Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 
     (Public Law 111-166; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note), signed into law by 
     President Barack Obama in 2010, expanded the examination of 
     the freedom of the press around the world in the annual 
     country reports on human rights practices of the Department 
     of State;
       Whereas the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, published by 
     Reporters Without Borders, warns, ``The number of countries 
     regarded as safe, where journalists can work in complete 
     security, continues to decline, while authoritarian regimes 
     tighten their grip on the media.'';
       Whereas, Freedom House's publication ``Freedom in the World 
     2019'' noted that global freedom of expression has declined 
     each year for the past 13 years;
       Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     in 2018--
       (1) at least 54 journalists were killed around the world 
     for their work, of which at least 34 were singled out for 
     murder;
       (2) the 2 deadliest countries for journalists on assignment 
     were Afghanistan and Syria;
       (3) the most dangerous subject for a journalist to report 
     on was politics, followed by war;
       (4) 251 journalists worldwide were in prison, with Turkey, 
     China, and Egypt responsible for more than half of the jailed 
     journalists;
       (5) 13 percent of the journalists in jail were female, an 
     increase from 8 percent in 2017;
       (6) 70 percent of the journalists who were imprisoned 
     around the world faced antistate charges, such as belonging 
     to or aiding groups deemed by authorities as terrorist 
     organizations; and
       (7) the number of journalists imprisoned on charges of 
     false news rose to 28 globally, compared with 9 such 
     imprisonments in 2016;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China maintains one of the 
     worst media environments in the world and seeks to curtail 
     political speech inside and outside the country including 
     by--
       (1) targeting independent and foreign media in China 
     through systematic harassment including the denial of visas 
     to foreign journalists, imprisonment, the denial of medical 
     care to imprisoned journalists, and curtailing access to 
     legal representation;
       (2) pervasively monitoring and censoring online and social 
     media content, including through the banning of virtual 
     private networks;
       (3) using the full force of the State to stifle internal 
     dissent including dissent online, particularly dissent that 
     could lead to political change and content that criticizes 
     China's leaders, however trivial, reportedly even to the 
     point of censoring comparisons of Xi Jingping's looks with 
     Winnie the Pooh;
       (4) spreading propaganda to foreign audiences through the 
     United Front Work Department and related activities;
       (5) seeking to intimidate American-based journalists 
     working for Radio Free Asia and reporting on gross human 
     rights violations in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
     Region by jailing or otherwise harassing members of their 
     families; and
       (6) championing a ``sovereign Internet'' model and 
     exporting technology to enhance the ability of like-minded 
     authoritarian regimes to suppress dissent online and monitor 
     the activity of their people;
       Whereas, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, 
     recipients of the 2018 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award were 
     arrested in December 2017 for investigating the murder by the 
     Burmese military of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn 
     Dinn in Rakhine State and were unjustly detained for 500 days 
     before they were released on May 7, 2019, as part of a mass 
     amnesty of 6,520 prisoners;
       Whereas freedom of the press has been under considerable 
     pressure in recent years throughout Southeast Asia, including 
     in the Philippines, where the Government has waged a campaign 
     of judicial harassment against the news website Rappler and 
     its editor, Maria Ressa;
       Whereas, Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-
     Nafjan, recipients of the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write 
     Award, who wrote in opposition to Saudi Arabia's repressive 
     Guardianship system, have been subjected to imprisonment, 
     solitary confinement, and torture by the Government of the 
     Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since May 2018 in an apparent effort 
     to suppress dissent and silence the voices of women;
       Whereas, Washington Post journalist and United States 
     resident Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by a team of Saudi 
     operatives while visiting the Saudi Arabian consulate in 
     Istanbul, Turkey;
       Whereas the Senate unanimously approved a resolution 
     stating that Mr. Khashoggi's murder was carried out at the 
     behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman;
       Whereas journalist Mimi Mefo Takambou was jailed for 4 days 
     in Cameroon in November 2018 on charges of spreading false 
     news while investigating the death of an American missionary, 
     where 4 out of the 7 total journalists imprisoned in Cameroon 
     were jailed for spreading false news, which is a rising trend 
     in Cameroon and elsewhere around the world;
       Whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     at least 26 journalists were killed in Honduras since 2007, 
     making it one of the most deadly countries for journalists in 
     the Americas, and where journalist Leonardo Gabriel Hernandez 
     was murdered in March 2019 after receiving threats related to 
     his work;
       Whereas in Nicaragua, Miguel Mora and Lucia Pineda Ubau, 
     the directors of the country's only 24-hour cable news 
     network, have been jailed since December 2018 on charges of 
     fomenting hate, spreading fake news, and terrorism, and 
     prominent journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro has fled the 
     country as President Daniel Ortega cracks down on free 
     expression in a bid to silence dissent and end the protests 
     against him;
       Whereas in Mexico, which remains the most dangerous country 
     in the Western Hemisphere for journalists--
       (1) murders, death threats, and legal impunity cause 
     journalists to self-censor their reporting out of fear;
       (2) investigative journalist Carlos Dominguez Ramirez, who 
     wrote frequently on local politics and corruption, was 
     brutally murdered in front of family members on January 13, 
     2018, in Nuevo Laredo, and a politician he was investigating 
     was subsequently arrested in connection with this heinous 
     act; and
       (3) Rafael Murua Manriquez was abducted and murdered in 
     January 2019 after reporting threats from an official in the 
     municipal government for critical reporting;
       Whereas Slovakian journalist Jan Kuciak and his partner 
     Martina Kusnirova were murdered in February 2018, allegedly 
     in retaliation for his investigative reporting of tax fraud 
     in connection to a businessman with close ties to Slovakia's 
     ruling party, where the perpetrator awaits trial, just 4 
     months after the murder of another European journalist, 
     Malta's Daphne Caruana Galizia, for her reporting on 
     corruption;
       Whereas the world's growing cadre of ethical and hard-
     hitting investigative journalists, including those 
     contributing to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting 
     Project--
       (1) adhere to the highest professional standards;
       (2) uncover abuses and corruption being committed in their 
     own countries; and
       (3) deserve the international community's support and 
     praise for taking on the risky job of fostering 
     accountability and transparency in their respective 
     countries;
       Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for 
     Global Media, the United States Government provides financial 
     assistance to several editorially independent media outlets, 
     including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 
     Radio Free Asia, Radio y Television Marti, and the Middle 
     East Broadcast Networks--
       (1) which report and broadcast news, information, and 
     analysis in critical regions around the world; and
       (2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and 
     imprisonment for their work; and
       Whereas freedom of the press--
       (1) is a key component of democratic governance, activism 
     in civil society, and socioeconomic development; and
       (2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and 
     participation in civil society and democratic governance: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) condemns threats to freedom of the press and free 
     expression around the world;
       (2) remembers the bravery of journalists and media workers 
     around the world who, despite threats to their safety, play 
     an essential role in--
       (A) promoting government accountability;
       (B) defending democratic activity; and
       (C) strengthening civil society;
       (3) remembers journalists who have lost their lives 
     carrying out their work;

[[Page H5795]]

       (4) calls on governments abroad to implement United Nations 
     General Assembly Resolution 163 (2013) by thoroughly 
     investigating and seeking to resolve outstanding cases of 
     violence against journalists, including murders and 
     kidnappings, while ensuring the protection of witnesses;
       (5) condemns all actions around the world that suppress 
     freedom of the press;
       (6) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of the press to 
     efforts of the United States Government to support democracy, 
     mitigate conflict, and promote good governance around the 
     world; and
       (7) calls on the President and the Secretary of State--
       (A) to preserve and build upon the leadership of the United 
     States on issues relating to freedom of the press, on the 
     basis of the protections afforded the American people under 
     the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
       (B) to improve the rapid identification, publication, and 
     response by the United States Government to threats against 
     freedom of the press around the world;
       (C) to urge foreign governments to transparently 
     investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of attacks 
     against journalists; and
       (D) to highlight the issue of threats against freedom of 
     the press in the annual country reports on human rights 
     practices of the Department of State and through diplomatic 
     channels.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on H. Res. 345.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank Representative Schiff and 
Representative Chabot for introducing this resolution which recognizes 
that the freedoms of the press and expression are being threatened 
globally.
  A free press is an essential pillar in every democracy. It shines 
light on corruption, speaks truth to power, and holds the government 
accountable. However, in recent years, there has been a growing assault 
on a free press.
  Mr. Speaker, there are far too many shocking examples of journalists 
being silenced, imprisoned, tortured, and even murdered around the 
world, with each abuse only furthering a 13-year decline in the freedom 
of expression.
  The price of protecting these rights has become extremely high. 
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2018, 54 
journalists were killed and 64 went missing.
  At a time when the world looks to the United States to be champions 
for a free press, some call our journalists the enemy of the people. 
This administration's attack on the media undermines the First 
Amendment and creates a culture of intimidation and hostility towards 
journalists.
  By accusing media outlets of producing fake news, journalists find 
themselves less safe, and our country is less informed. So H. Res. 345 
condemns threats to independent media and calls on governments to 
continue to address journalists' safety. It also reiterates the vital 
importance of a free press in the U.S. and to well-functioning 
democracies abroad, as well.
  It is our duty now, more than ever, to protect the freedom of the 
press and the public's right to information. I ask all Members to 
support this bipartisan resolution, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution to condemn 
dangerous threats to freedom of the press and freedom of expression 
around the world, understanding that the media has a responsibility of 
fairness without bias and an independent media is a cornerstone of an 
educated society and a necessary pillar to a healthy democracy.
  Unfortunately, freedom of the press and freedom of expression are not 
protected in many countries.
  Dictators fear anything that challenges their power. They go to great 
lengths to restrict the rights of their citizens and control their own 
people. They attack human rights activists and protesters who march in 
the street.
  The last thing that a tyrant wants is to be exposed as a corrupt and 
immoral leader. As a result, they intimidate, arrest, and sometimes 
kill members of the media for doing their jobs.
  According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 251 reporters 
worldwide were being held in prison in 2018. More than half of them 
were being held in Turkey, China, and Egypt.
  Last year, over 54 journalists were killed in the line of duty. 
Thirty-four of them were murder victims.
  Of course, sadly, we are all familiar with the heinous killing of 
Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who was murdered 
by Saudi agents.
  These crimes are completely unacceptable. Republicans and Democrats 
stand together as Americans in condemning foreign governments that 
attack journalists and crack down on press freedoms.
  This resolution allows us to speak in a unified voice to express our 
support for those who want to report the news without fearing for their 
lives. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting this 
bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Schiff), who is the author of this bill and the 
chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 345, a 
resolution to recognize the central importance of press freedom in a 
democratic society and calling attention to threats to press freedom 
around the globe.
  I am proud to sponsor this bipartisan legislation, which I introduced 
with my colleague, Congressman   Steve Chabot, with whom I co-chair the 
Press Freedom Caucus. I thank, as well, Mr. Engel and Ranking Member 
McCaul for moving forward this resolution.
  Every day, journalists around the world bring forward vital 
information and stories, sometimes from behind the curtain of the 
world's most repressive regimes and amid war zones. Journalists expose 
corruption, malfeasance, and abuse that the wealthy and powerful may 
seek to conceal. For that, they face harassment, threats, persecution, 
assaults, and even death.
  The purpose of this resolution today is to call attention to those 
threats and to make clear that Congress supports press freedoms here 
and around the world.
  Recent years have been some of the most dangerous and deadly in 
memory for journalists. As we confront a rising tide of 
authoritarianism around the world, threats to press freedom are 
proliferating in many countries from repressive governments. Elsewhere, 
inadequate security and a lack of accountability have made journalists 
vulnerable to criminal or terrorist actors.
  The resolution before the House today lists just a small sample of 
the cases in which journalists around the world have been killed or 
imprisoned for their work. I would like to speak to just a few of these 
cases and those that have occurred in the short months since the 
resolution's introduction.
  Among them, of course, is the case of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi 
human rights advocate, U.S. resident, and Washington Post columnist who 
last year was brutally murdered and dismembered at the orders of the 
highest reaches of the Saudi Government.
  Jamal's murder has been a rallying cry of sorts, but it stands alone 
in the worldwide attention it has received. All the same, it is 
tragically far from unique.
  Fewer are aware of the cases involving Loujain Al-Hathloul, Nouf 
Abdulaziz, and Eman Al-Nafjan, three Saudi women who wrote critically 
of the kingdom's treatment of women and who have been imprisoned for 
more than a year; or of the acute threat to journalists in the 
Philippines where the regime of Rodrigo Duterte has attacked 
independent media with a campaign of judicial harassment and 
investigation, including the online media outlet Rappler lead and its 
editor, Maria Ressa; or in China, where authorities target independent 
and foreign media for harassment and detention, including the labor 
reporter Wei

[[Page H5796]]

Zhili, who was arrested in March. Authorities also block American-based 
journalists and others who have sought to report on human rights 
violations and mass detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang province.
  Turkey has become the leading jailer of journalists under the rule of 
President Erdogan, where, just last month, Turkish authorities charged 
two Bloomberg journalists who reported on the economic crisis in Turkey 
with undermining the Turkish economy and sought to imprison them.
  In Iran, economics reporter Marzieh Amiri was arrested covering May 
Day demonstrations and has been held since, with little information 
about her well-being or the status of the charges against her.
  In Mexico, reporters can pay with their lives for reporting on the 
crimes of drug cartels or corrupt local officials, including 
investigative journalists like Carlos Rodriguez, who was murdered in 
front of his family, or, more recently, Norma Sarabia, who was murdered 
in her home in Tabasco state and whose killers remain at large.
  Of course, many Americans are all too well aware of the case of 
Austin Tice, an American working as an independent journalist in Syria 
who was kidnapped by forces aligned with the Syrian regime in 2012 and 
today is believed to still remain a hostage nearly 7 years later. We 
continue to do all we can to obtain information about his whereabouts 
and to secure his safe return.

  Mr. Speaker, today, by passing this legislation, the House can send a 
message to journalists who face persecution for their work that we 
stand with them and value their contributions. For those who seek to 
intimidate and silence them, we send the message that we are watching.
  The voice of people seeking justice cannot be silenced forever. We 
will stand strongly with all those around the world fighting for 
accountability and truth.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman Schiff and Congressman 
Chabot for their bipartisan work on this issue. The United States must 
continue to provide a strong voice for a free press and independent 
media across the globe emphasizing fairness. Supporting a free press 
must remain an essential part of America's foreign policy, and I urge 
all Members to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for 
the purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 345 is an important resolution that honors 
journalists and calls on the United States and governments abroad to 
protect the freedom of the press. I commend Mr. Schiff and Mr. Chabot 
for this.
  Press freedom is fundamental in democracies and enhances public 
accountability, transparency, and participation in governance. I 
strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committee on 
the Judiciary, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 345, in 
commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.
  This resolution recognizes widening threats to freedoms of the press 
and expression around the world, affirms the centrality of a free and 
independent press to the health of democracy, and holds freedom of the 
press as a central principle in promoting democracy, human rights, and 
good governance in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 
2019.
  In this resolution, the House of Representatives:
  Expresses concern about threats to freedom of the press and free 
expression around the world on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day;
  commends journalists and media workers around the world, despite 
threats to their safety, for their essential role in--
  promoting government accountability;
  defending democratic activity; and
  strengthening civil society;
  pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives carrying out 
their work;
  calls on governments abroad to implement United Nations General 
Assembly Resolution 163 (2013), by thoroughly investigating and seeking 
to resolve outstanding cases of violence against journalists, including 
murders and kidnappings, while ensuring the protection of witnesses.
  Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 345 also condemns all actions around the world 
which suppress freedom of the press; and recognizes the importance of a 
free and independent press in supporting democracy, mitigating 
conflict, and promoting good governance around the world.
  Finally, the resolution calls on the President and the Secretary of 
State:
  To preserve and build upon the leadership of the United States on 
issues relating to freedom of the press, on the basis of the 
protections afforded the American people under the First Amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States;
  to improve the rapid identification, publication, and response by the 
United States Government to threats against freedom of the press around 
the world;
  to urge foreign governments to transparently investigate and bring to 
justice the perpetrators of attacks against journalists; and
  to highlight the issue of threats against freedom of the press in the 
annual country reports on human rights practices of the Department of 
State and through diplomatic channels.
  I stand in strong support of this resolution and I urge my colleagues 
to join me in voting to pass H. Res. 345, to commemorate the importance 
of World Press Freedom Day.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 345, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``A resolution 
responding to widening threats to freedoms of the press and expression 
around the world, reaffirming the centrality of a free and independent 
press to the health of democracy, and reaffirming freedom of the press 
as a priority of the United States in promoting democracy, human 
rights, and good governance on World Press Freedom Day.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________