[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19554]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       FREEDOM OF SPEECH SHOULD APPLY TO ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of freedom 
of speech. Democrats are telling Republicans that we are no longer 
allowed to use the words ``government-run health care'' in 
communication with our constituents. Yes, that's correct. Republicans 
will be forced to use only Democrat-approved language when describing 
their attempted government takeover of health care to our constituents, 
or else.
  Democrats told Republicans that if we do not use the words Democrats 
give us to describe their health care reform bill, then Members will 
have to pay the postage personally. Apparently, the Democrats feel they 
can control what the public thinks about their bill by dictating how we 
talk about it. I know America is smarter than that.
  Call the Speaker at 202-224-3121 if you think this censorship should 
stop. The last time I checked, this was still America where freedom of 
speech is our hallmark.

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