[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

  (Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, it is the fashion amongst many of us to blame 
the press for our troubles, and that's, of course, because the press 
reports our troubles. At their best, the media keeps us honest, it 
keeps us in our constitutional lanes, and it reports our failures. It 
is essential for democracy. There is a reason why freedom of the press 
is not the Second or Fourth or 10th Amendment. It's the First 
Amendment.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I am profoundly concerned over the Department of 
Justice's overbroad and chilling behavior with respect to the 
Associated Press. Seeking records for 20 phone lines, giving the AP no 
notice, refusing at this point to discuss their behavior feels to me 
like overreach.
  Mr. Speaker, it's time for the Department of Justice to stand back. 
You can imagine that there is somebody out there today who has a 
failure to report who is chilled and says, I will not do that because 
of the approach that the Department of Justice has taken.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to serve in the very core of democracy, but 
this Chamber rests on foundations, and a key part of that foundation is 
a free and competent press.

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