[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H2992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONDEMNING ATTACKS UPON PRESS IN AMERICA

  (Ms. SCANLON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the 
free press in America.
  I can't believe that I have to say this, but our free press is under 
attack--physical attack. As Americans have taken to the streets to 
demand change in the wake of George Floyd's murder, we have seen our 
First Amendment trampled as hundreds of journalists have been arrested 
and assaulted by law enforcement officers.
  In the past few weeks, members of the press have been detained, 
gassed, shot at. One reporter lost an eye when she was targeted with 
rubber bullets, and the most infamous example was the attack upon 
peaceful protestors and journalists gathered outside the White House.
  Mr. Speaker, a free press is one of the most fundamental and 
cherished values in our country, predating our Constitution. It stems 
from 1735 when John Peter Zenger was arrested and charged with sedition 
for criticizing a corrupt British governor of New York.
  A free press is one of the most basic ways we hold our government 
accountable.
  On the eve of our Nation's birthday, I invite my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to join me in sponsoring H. Res. 999, which condemns 
attacks upon the press and the detention of journalists and reaffirms 
the value of a free press to our democracy.

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