[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6903]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               PRESS Act

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I thank my friend Senator Wyden for 
coming to the floor to champion something I have been very supportive 
of and he has carried, the bipartisan PRESS Act, a bill every person in 
this room--whether they are Senators, journalists, citizens--should 
want to see become law.
  No democracy can survive without a free and open and thriving press. 
The free press keeps governments accountable to the people, exposes 
abuse and wrongdoing, informs the public about what is happening in 
government.
  But if government can unduly harass the press or when leaders smear 
journalists as enemies of the people and when there are too few 
protections for journalists, our democracy is at the very real risk of 
eroding away.
  We have seen in some countries--in Hungary, Orban--a dictator tells 
his friends to buy the press so there can be no real freedom and no 
real counterargument. And they do. They buy newspapers, televisions, et 
cetera.
  And so we have to protect the press. It is sacred--sacred--to 
America. The PRESS Act is a commonsense and strongly bipartisan bill to 
ensure journalists can do their job without with facing undue 
harassment.
  I am so proud to support this act. Senate Democrats all support this 
bill. And the bill has already passed the House unanimously. I hope 
every single Senate Republican joins us to pass it today. I know many 
of them are ready to do the right thing. I think it has a majority 
support in both parties.
  This bill, again, is common sense and balanced. It would prohibit the 
Federal Government from using subpoenas or search warrants or other 
measures to force journalists or third parties to reveal confidential 
information without their knowledge. It has exceptions carefully 
tailored to address matters of national security. And it would ensure 
that the decision to seize journalists' records and compel them to 
reveal sources falls to the Federal courts, not to the Department of 
Justice. It is more important now than ever before, when we have heard 
so many in the incoming administration talk about going after the press 
one way or another.
  And 99 percent of the work to enact the PRESS Act into law is already 
done; all we need is for no Senator to stand in the way today.
  So thank you, Senator Wyden, for championing this bill. Thank you to 
the many reporters, news organizations, press leaders, and press 
associations for championing this bill.
  Being a journalist is a hard job. It is hard enough. Journalists 
shouldn't have to fear baseless government harassment on top of that 
for just doing their jobs. So let's pass the bipartisan PRESS Act and 
send it to the President's desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, before he leaves the floor, let me just 
thank the Senate majority leader. We have talked about this often. And 
I am particularly struck by the readings of the Founding Fathers 
because several of the Founding Fathers seem to think that a free press 
was at least as important as government. So the case that you are 
making today, Mr. Leader, is well stated.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Again, let me thank the Senator from Oregon for his 
leadership. Thank you.