[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 206 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H6945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMBATING RISE IN BOOK BANS

  (Ms. PRESSLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Books Save Lives 
Act, legislation to combat the rise in book bans.
  This past school year had more than 3,000 instances of books banned 
across 33 States, and in my home State of Massachusetts, libraries saw 
challenges to books quadruple.
  Let me make it plain: Book bans are discriminatory and harmful, and 
Congress must unite against them. As a child who endured sexual abuse, 
when I read Maya Angelou's ``I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' it was 
the first time in my life I knew I was not alone, and it helped me move 
forward. When I say that books save lives, I mean that.
  My bill would recognize this by ensuring libraries offer diverse 
books and treat discriminatory bans as violations of Federal civil 
rights law.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation for all 
the people who are saved by books each and every day.

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