[House Report 118-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                     {      118-255

======================================================================

 
                     CRUCIAL COMMUNISM TEACHING ACT

                                _______
                                

October 25, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Ms. Foxx, from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 5349]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Education and the Workforce, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 5349) to develop and disseminate a 
civic education curriculum and oral history resources regarding 
certain political ideologies, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Crucial Communism Teaching Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

  The purposes of this Act are the following:
          (1) To help families, civic institutions, local communities, 
        local educational agencies, high schools, and State educational 
        agencies to prepare high school students to be civically 
        responsible and knowledgeable adults.
          (2) To ensure that high school students in the United 
        States--
                  (A) learn that communism has led to the deaths of 
                over 100,000,000 victims worldwide;
                  (B) understand the dangers of communism and similar 
                political ideologies; and
                  (C) understand that 1,500,000,000 people still suffer 
                under communism.

SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF CIVIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM AND 
                    ORAL HISTORY RESOURCES.

  The independent entity created under section 905(b)(1)(B) of the 
FRIENDSHIP Act (40 U.S.C. 8903 note; 107 Stat. 2331 note), also known 
as the ``Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation'', shall--
          (1) develop a civic education curriculum for high school 
        students that--
                  (A) includes a comparative discussion of certain 
                political ideologies, including communism and 
                totalitarianism, that conflict with the principles of 
                freedom and democracy that are essential to the 
                founding of the United States;
                  (B) is accurate, relevant, and accessible, so as to 
                promote the understanding of such political ideologies; 
                and
                  (C) is compatible with a variety of courses, 
                including social studies, government, history, and 
                economics classes;
          (2) develop oral history resources that may be used alongside 
        the curriculum described in paragraph (1) and that include 
        personal stories, titled ``Portraits in Patriotism'', from 
        diverse individuals who--
                  (A) demonstrate civic-minded qualities;
                  (B) are victims of the political ideologies described 
                in paragraph (1)(A); and
                  (C) are able to compare the political ideologies 
                described in paragraph (1)(A) with the political 
                ideology of the United States; and
          (3) engage with State and local educational leaders to assist 
        high schools in using the curriculum described in paragraph (1) 
        and the resources described in paragraph (2).

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

  The terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) shall apply to this Act.

                                PURPOSE

    One-fifth of the world's population still lives under 
single-party communist regimes such as China, Cuba, North 
Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Venezuela.\1\ Yet, studies 
consistently reveal that America's high school and college 
students do not know basic facts about the history of 
communism. To increase awareness of the atrocities of 
communism, H.R. 5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, 
directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) to 
develop a civic education curriculum and oral history resources 
for high school students to promote understanding of how 
communism conflicts with the principles of U.S. democracy.
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    \1\https://victimsofcommunism.org/about/https://www.worldbank.org/
en/home.
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                            COMMITTEE ACTION

                             118TH CONGRESS

First Session--Hearings

    On February 8, 2023, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce held a hearing on ``American Education in Crisis.'' 
The purpose of the hearing was to examine the state of American 
education, including the need to increase transparency and 
accountability, to update the education system to serve the 
needs of students and families, and to protect and restore the 
rights of parents to have a say in their children's education; 
issues around civics education were also discussed. Testifying 
before the Committee were Ms. Virginia Gentles, Director, 
Education Freedom Center, Independent Women's Forum, Arlington, 
VA; Dr. Monty Sullivan, President, Louisiana Community and 
Technical College System, Baton Rouge, LA; Mr. Scott Pulsipher, 
President, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT; 
and Mr. Jared Polis, Governor, State of Colorado, Denver, CO.
    On July 13, 2023, the Committee's Subcommittee on Higher 
Education and Workforce Development held a hearing on 
``Exposing the Dangers of the Influence of Foreign Adversaries 
on College Campuses.'' The purpose of the hearing was to 
discuss the ways in which foreign actors are influencing 
institutions of higher education (IHEs), the impacts of this 
influence, and potential policy solutions to address these 
issues. Testifying before the Subcommittee were Mr. Paul Moore, 
J.D., Senior Counsel, Defense of Freedom Institute, Washington, 
D.C.; Mr. John C. Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian 
Americans Advancing Justice, Washington, D.C.; and Mr. Craig 
Singleton, China Program Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, 
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, D.C.
    On September 19, 2023, the Committee's Subcommittee on 
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a 
hearing on ``Academic Freedom Under Attack: Loosening the CCP's 
Grip on America's Classrooms.'' The purpose of the hearing was 
to examine the covert influence of foreign governments and 
organizations, particularly the Chinese Communist Party, on 
U.S. K-12 Schools. Testifying before the Subcommittee were Mr. 
Mike Gonzalez, Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation, Washington, 
D.C.; Ms. Gisela Perez Kusakawa (J.D.), Executive Director, 
Asian American Scholar Forum, New York, NY; Mrs. Nicole Neily, 
President and Founder, Parents Defending Education, Arlington, 
VA; and Mr. Ryan Walters, State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, Oklahoma State Department of Education, Oklahoma 
City, OK.

Legislative Action

    On September 5, 2023, Rep. Salazar (R-FL) introduced H.R. 
5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, with Reps. Elise 
Stefanik (R-NY), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Carlos Gimenez (R-
FL), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Alexander Mooney (R-WV), Mike Bost 
(R-IL), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Earl L. 
``Buddy'' Carter (R-GA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Doug LaMalfa (R-
CA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Scott 
Fitzgerald (R-WI), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Gus M. 
Bilirakis (R-FL), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-
NY), David G. Valadao (R-CA), A. Drew Ferguson, IV (R-GA), Lisa 
C. McClain (R-MI), C. Scott Franklin (R-FL), Monica De La Cruz 
(R-TX), Michael Waltz (R-FL), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Richard 
McCormick (R-GA), Keith Self (R-TX) as original co-sponsors. 
The bill was referred solely to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce. On September 14, 2023, the Committee considered 
H.R. 5349 in legislative session and reported it favorably, as 
amended, to the House of Representatives by a recorded vote of 
33-9.
    The Committee considered the following amendments to H.R. 
5349:
    1. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) offered an Amendment in the 
Nature of a Substitute (ANS) that made technical changes. The 
amendment was adopted by voice vote.

                                SUMMARY

    Originally introduced in 2021, the Crucial Communism 
Teaching Act directs the Victims of Communism Memorial 
Foundation (VOC) to develop a civic education curriculum and 
oral history resources for high school students to promote 
understanding of communism that conflicts with the principles 
of U.S. democracy. Rep. Marie Salazar (R-FL) introduced H.R. 
5349 on September 5 with 27 original co-sponsors.\2\
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    \2\https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/
5349?s=1&r=1&q=%7B%22search%
22%3A%5B%22Crucial%22%2C%22Communism%22%2C%22Teaching%22%2C%22Act%22%
5D%7D.
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                            COMMITTEE VIEWS

Introduction

    Communism has a long, dark history of political 
suppression, persecution, and violence. It has led to the 
deaths of over 100 million victims worldwide and currently 
tramples the human rights of over 1.5 billion people across the 
globe. Unfortunately, younger generations of Americans are 
increasingly unaware of communism's abuses. H.R. 5349, the 
Crucial Communism Teaching Act, makes educational materials 
available through the VOC to help educate students about how 
communist ideology is contrary to the founding principles of 
freedom and democracy in the United States.

Background on communism

    One-fifth of the world's population still lives under 
single-party communist regimes such as in China, Cuba, North 
Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Venezuela.\3\ Regimes such as these 
utilize the same tools as previous communist regimes to 
maintain state control. For instance, it is estimated that two 
million citizens in China, mostly consisting of the Uyghurs and 
other ethnic minorities, are being held in Chinese Communist 
Party ``re-education'' camps.\4\ Cuba and North Korea also 
imprison tens of thousands of citizens in hard labor camps 
reminiscent of the Soviet Union's Gulag system.\5\
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    \3\https://victimsofcommunism.org/about/; https://
www.worldbank.org/en/home.
    \4\https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/24/china/xinjiang-prisons-china-
intl-hnk-dst/index.html.
    \5\https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-
rights-practices/cuba/.
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    As the VOC has outlined, these totalitarian rulers and 
their regimes possess six key characteristics: an official 
ideology, a one-party authoritarian state, a monopoly on 
violence, control of all information and mass media, a 
government-planned and centrally controlled economy, and the 
use of a communist party-controlled terroristic security 
service. These features are used to exert the level of control 
needed to suppress or eliminate any threat to the communist 
regime and its totalitarian leadership. Communism seeks to 
eliminate individualism, family, and civil society and to 
establish state control of society and communal ownership of 
property. Since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, creating and 
maintaining communist governments has resulted in the deaths of 
over 100 million people and the subjugation of hundreds of 
millions more.\6\
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    \6\https://victimsofcommunism.org/communism-101/.
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Background on young Americans' knowledge of communism

    Studies consistently reveal that America's high school and 
college students do not know basic facts about the history of 
communism. For example, nearly half (47 percent) of Gen Z say 
they are unaware that the Chinese Communist Party is 
responsible for more deaths than Nazi Germany. Twenty-seven 
percent do not know whether China is democratic or communist. 
Furthermore, positive attitudes toward communism and socialism 
are relatively high, particularly among younger generations. 
Twenty-eight percent of Gen Z hold a favorable opinion of the 
term ``communism'' compared to just 6 and 3 percent for the 
Baby Boomer Generation and the Silent Generation. Eighteen 
percent of Gen Z thinks communism is a fairer system than 
capitalism and deserves consideration in America, while 31 
percent of Gen Z support the gradual elimination of the 
capitalist system in favor of a more socialist system.\7\
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    \7\https://victimsofcommunism.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/
10.19.20-VOC-YouGov-Survey-on-U.S.-Attitudes-Toward-Socialism-
Communism-and-Collectivism.pdf.
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Background on the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

    The VOC is an educational, research, and human rights 
nonprofit organization devoted to commemorating the more than 
100 million victims of communism around the world and to 
pursuing the freedom of those still living under totalitarian 
regimes. VOC was authorized unanimously by Congress and signed 
into law by President Clinton in 1993. The Foundation's mission 
is to educate future generations about the ideology, history, 
and legacy of communism while advocating for the freedom of 
those still held captive by communist regimes.\8\
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    \8\https://victimsofcommunism.org/about/.
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    VOC equips teachers through its annual National Seminar for 
Middle and High School Educators and with professional 
development workshops based on its new digital curriculum, 
Communism: A History of Repression, Violence, and Victims. Its 
Online Teacher Certification provides 24 hours of professional 
development credit for educators who want to effectively teach 
their students the history of communism. VOC also holds events 
on college campuses, including conferences, film screenings, 
lectures, and expert panels in all 50 states to help educate 
about communism and socialism. Additionally, VOC raises 
awareness through its speaker's bureau, local commissions, 
public information campaigns, and digital media campaigns. In 
partnership with YouGov, it also publishes the survey ``U.S. 
Attitudes Toward Socialism, Communism, and Collectivism'' to 
better understand national trends and generational differences 
regarding free enterprise, socialism, and basic 20th-century 
history.\9\
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    \9\https://victimsofcommunism.org/programs/education/.
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Background on H.R. 5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act

    Originally introduced in 2021, the Crucial Communism 
Teaching Act directs the VOC to develop a civic education 
curriculum and oral history resources for high school students 
to promote understanding of certain political ideologies (e.g., 
communism and totalitarianism) that conflict with principles of 
U.S. democracy. Rep. Marie Salazar (R-FL) introduced H.R. 5349 
on September 5 with 27 original co-sponsors.\10\
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    \10\https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/
5349?s=1&r=1&q=%7B%22search%
22%3A%5B%22Crucial%22%2C%22Communism%22%2C%22Teaching%22%2C%22Act%22%
5D%7D.
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Conclusion

    It is imperative that Americans of all generations have a 
clear understanding of communism's dangers and abuses. Schools 
should also have access to optional resources to help educate 
students about communism. H.R. 5349 will ensure that the VOC 
creates resources that can help illuminate the dangers of 
communism and how it conflicts with the principles of freedom 
and democracy.

             H.R. 5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act


                       SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY

Section 1. Short title

     Names the bill as the ``Crucial Communism Teaching 
Act''.

Section 2. Purposes

     Establishes the purpose of the Act: to help 
prepare high school students to be civically responsible and to 
ensure that high school students learn that Communism has led 
to the deaths of more than 100,000,000 victims worldwide, 
understand the dangers of communism and similar political 
ideologies, and understand that 1,500,000,000 people still 
suffer under communism.

Section 3. Development and dissemination of civic education curriculum 
        and oral history resources

     Instructs the VOC to develop a civic education 
curriculum for high school students that is accurate, relevant, 
accessible, and compatible with a variety of courses including 
social studies, government, history, and economic classes.
     States the curriculum must include a comparative 
discussion of certain political ideologies that conflict with 
the principles of freedom and democracy.
     Instructs the VOC to develop oral history 
resources to be used alongside the curriculum with personal 
stories, titled ``Portraits in Patriotism,'' from individuals 
who demonstrate civic-minded qualities, are victims of such 
ideology, and can compare such ideologies with the political 
ideology of the United States.
     Instructs the VOC to engage with state and local 
education leaders to assist high schools with the 
implementation of such curriculum.

Section 4. Definitions

     For terms defined in Section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and used in this 
Act, applies the definitions of those terms in Section 8101 to 
their use in this Act.

                       EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

    The amendments, including the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, are explained in the body of this report.

              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    Section 102(b)3 of Public Law 104-1 requires a description 
of the application of this bill to the legislative branch. H.R. 
5349 instructs the VOC to develop a civic education curriculum 
to help prepare high school students to be civically 
responsible and to ensure that high school students learn that 
Communism has led to the deaths of more than 100,000,000 
victims worldwide, understand the dangers of communism and 
similar political ideologies, and understand that 1,500,000,000 
people still suffer under communism. H.R. 5349 is applicable 
only to the VOC and therefore does not affect the legislative 
branch.

                       UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

    Pursuant to Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-344 (as amended 
by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995, Pub. L. No. 104-4), the Committee adopts as its own the 
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office (CBO) pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. The 
Committee reports that because this cost estimate was not 
timely submitted to the Committee before the filing of this 
report, the Committee is not in a position to make a cost 
estimate for H.R. 5349, as amended.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 5349 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

                            ROLL CALL VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee Report to include for 
each record vote on a motion to report the measure or matter 
and on any amendments offered to the measure or matter the 
total number of votes for and against and the names of the 
Members voting for and against.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    In accordance with clause (3)(c) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the goal of H.R. 5349 
instructs the VOC to develop a civic education curriculum to 
help prepare high school students to be civically responsible 
and to ensure that high school students learn that Communism 
has led to the deaths of more than 100,000,000 victims 
worldwide, understand the dangers of communism and similar 
political ideologies, and understand that 1,500,000,000 people 
still suffer under communism.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    No provision of H.R. 5349 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

  STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the body of this report.

            REQUIRED COMMITTEE HEARING AND RELATED HEARINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives the following hearings held 
during the 118th Congress were used to develop or consider H.R. 
5349: on February 8, 2023, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce held a hearing on ``American Education in Crisis'' 
and on July 13, 2023, the Committee's Subcommittee on Higher 
Education and Workforce Development held a hearing on 
``Exposing the Dangers of the Influence of Foreign Adversaries 
on College Campuses.''

               NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CBO COST ESTIMATE

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received 
the following estimate for H.R. 5349 from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 5349 would direct the Victims of Communism Memorial 
Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by the FRIENDSHIP 
Act, to develop a civic education curriculum that examines the 
history of communism and totalitarianism and includes a 
comparison of different political ideologies. The bill also 
would require the foundation to engage with state and local 
officials in using the curriculum. Because the costs to 
implement the bill are solely the responsibility of the 
foundation and require no additional federal action, CBO 
estimates that enacting the bill would have no impact on the 
federal budget.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Garrett 
Quenneville. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 5349. 
However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when, as with the present report, 
the committee adopts as its own the cost estimate of the bill 
being prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H.R. 5349, as reported by the Committee, makes no changes 
in existing law.

                             MINORITY VIEWS

    H.R. 5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act introduced by 
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) authorizes the Victims of 
Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a civic education 
curriculum for high school students to reflect that communism, 
totalitarianism and similar political ideologies are ``in 
conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy.''\1\
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    \1\Crucial Communism Teaching Act, H.R. 5349, 118th Cong. 
Sec. 3(1)(A) (2023).
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    While the General Education Provisions Act bans the 
Department of Education (ED) from the dictating curricula,\2\ 
Committee Democrats have advocated for bills in the past 
authorizing independent entities to develop resources for use 
in schools on certain topics of interest. For example, in the 
116th Congress, the Committee provided assistance in the 
drafting of H.R. 943, the Never Again Education Act, which 
authorized the Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 
to ``develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and 
accessible resources to promote understanding about how and why 
the Holocaust happened in a program of holocaust 
education.''\3\ The Committee managed the bill on the floor 
under suspension of the House Rules where it passed 393-5. H.R. 
943 passed the Senate unanimously and was signed into law May 
29, 2020.\4\
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    \2\General Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232a (``No 
provision of any applicable program shall be construed to authorize any 
department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to 
exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, 
program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational 
institution, school, or school system, or over the selection of library 
resources, textbooks, or other printed or published instructional 
materials by any educational institution or school system, or to 
require the assignment or transportation of students or teachers in 
order to overcome racial imbalance.'').
    \3\H.R. 943, 116th Cong., Sec. 4(c)(1) (2019).
    \4\Never Again Education Act, Pub. L. No. 116-141, 134 Stat. 636 
(2020).
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    While H.R. 5349 bill was reported out of Committee on a 
bipartisan vote, Committee Democrats feel it important to note 
some of the concerns many of our Members had with the bill.
    First, it is worth noting that while H.R. 5349 is aimed at 
ensuring educational materials are available to assist in 
teaching students ``about the dangers of communism and 
totalitarianism, and how they are contrary to the founding 
principles of freedom and democracy in the United States,''\5\ 
it is silent on the documented, continued use of allegations of 
Communist Party membership, sympathy, or allegiance against 
innocent, patriotic Americans. One of the bill's explicit 
purposes is to authorize the creation of the educational 
resources that help students learn and understand statistics on 
the numbers of people worldwide who either were killed by 
communist regimes or currently live in communist states.\6\ 
While Committee Democrats agree that relevant facts should be 
included, it is also important to include data that conveys 
that, since the first Red Scare, through the McCarthyism of the 
1950s, the Civil Rights Movement up to the present day, 
politicians, predominantly on the right, have used communist 
allegations as baseless smears against fellow Americans.\7\ The 
bill's language should encourage American schools to produce 
critical thinkers that understand when they hear a member of 
Congress declare that ``78 to 81'' Democratic Members of 
Congress are members of the Communist Party,\8\ that member is 
engaging in invidious rhetoric designed not to be true, but to 
enflame, scare, and pit Americans against each other. Many 
Committee Democrats could not support such a bill that does not 
expose this important facet of the subject at hand.
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    \5\Press Release, Salazar Reintroduces Crucial Communism Act, Sept. 
6, 2023, https://
salazar.house.gov/media/press-releases/salazar-reintroduces-crucial-
communism-teaching-act.
    \6\Crucial Communism Teaching Act, H.R. 5349, 118th Cong. 
Sec. 2(2)(A)-(C) (2023).
    \7\See, e.g., National Constitution Center, On this day, massive 
raids during the Red Scare, Constitution Daily Blog, (Jan. 2, 2023) 
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this- day-massive-raids-during-
the-red-scare; McCarthyism and the Red Scare, The Age of Eisenhower, 
UVA Miller Ctr., https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-
resources/age-of-eisenhower/mcarthyism-red-scare; Communism, The Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University, 
(``As King rose to prominence he frequently had to defend himself 
against allegations of being a Communist, though his view that 
`Communism and Christianity are fundamentally incompatible' did not 
change.'' (internal citations omitted)) https://
kinginstitute.stanford.edu/communism; Aaron Blake, ``Republican Rep. 
Allen West Says Many Congressional Democrats Are Communists'', Wash. 
Post (Apr, 11, 2012), https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/
post/republican-rep-allen-west-suggests-many-
congressional-democrats-are-communists/2012/04/11/
gIQApbZiAT_blog.html?hpid=z3.
    \8\Blake, supra n. 6.
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    In another tactic straight from the GOP playbook, H.R. 5349 
is silent on the documented, continued ploy to frame any 
progressive policy as communist. Whether it is Social Security, 
Medicare, Medicaid, or the Affordable Care Act, right-wing 
politicians seemingly never waste an opportunity to denigrate 
any policy they disagree with as communist.\9\ As such, it is 
understandable why American students may not have a full 
understanding of what communism is, as a student of political 
rhetoric in the United States over the last half century might 
argue it could be defined as whatever policy Republicans are 
opposing at any given moment.\10\ Further, as right-wing 
rhetoric has effectively erased distinctions between communist, 
socialist, and social democratic systems and policies, the 
bill's directive to include information on similar political 
ideologies, suggests such distinctions may not be present in 
resources authorized under the bill. A bill purporting to teach 
children about the dangers of communism should not be a Trojan 
horse to denigrate policies like universal single-payer health 
systems or robust social safety nets; our peace-loving, 
democratic allies in Canada, the United Kingdom, or Northern 
Europe should not be denigrated as communist states.\11\ If we 
are authorizing resources to define what communism is, the 
first task will be distinguishing all the things communism is 
not. H.R. 5349 does not require such distinctions in the 
resources authorized to be created under it, and without such 
standards in place, many Members could not support the bill.
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    \9\See, e.g., Ed Kilgore, ``Do Republicans Know What Communism 
Is?''. New York Magazine, Mar. 2, 2022, https://nymag.com/
intelligencer/article/do-republicans-know-what-communism-is.html.
    \10\Id., see 169 Cong. Rec. H635-43 (debate of H. Res. 9).
    \11\E.g., Id. at H643 (statement of Rep. Anna Eshoo) (``In 1935, 
Republican Representative Robert Rich said here in this chamber, 
`Roosevelt is a socialist, not a Democrat.' In 1946, during the Truman 
Administration, Republican Senator Robert Taft called a national health 
insurance bill `the most socialistic measure that this Congress has 
ever had before it.' In the 1960 election, Republican Senator Barry 
Goldwater called the platform of John F. Kennedy `a blueprint for 
socialism.' In 1964, when Lyndon Johnson passed Medicare, George H.W. 
Bush called it `socialized medicine.' In 1976, Barry Goldwater claimed 
that Jimmy Carter would bring about a `suicidal slide toward 
socialism.' In 1993, Newt Gingrich called the Clinton health care plan 
`socialism now or later.' Barrack Obama was routinely called a 
socialist, including by three of the Republican candidates in the 2012 
election. And several Members of this House have called Joe Biden's 
bipartisan infrastructure law `socialist.''').
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    Finally, during consideration of H.R. 5349, Ranking Member 
Scott offered an amendment to simply insert ``fascism'' where 
appropriate throughout the bill to ensure that any curricula 
developed under the bill would address the ideology of fascism 
as well as communism and totalitarianism. This was in order 
under the Rules of the House as the bill already directed the 
scope of the curricula to touch on both totalitarianism, and 
similar political ideologies which are ``in conflict with the 
principles of freedom and democracy.''\12\ Committee Democrats 
argue that the dangers of fascism have just as much potential 
as communism to upset the freedom and democracy Americans enjoy 
now. And, as we see more and more explicit policies that 
experts suggest are telltale stepping stones to the acceptance 
of fascist and totalitarian regimes being espoused in public 
(e.g., banning of books, state capture of the academy, 
silencing of opposition, political scapegoating of immigrants, 
fusing of religion and nationalism, blind allegiance to a 
strongman leader not bound by the rule of law), it is obvious 
students need to be taught to recognize these signs.\13\ The 
mere fact that Committee Republicans could not accept such an 
amendment, without a significant justification, only reinforced 
the previously mentioned concerns some Committee Democrats had 
with the bill.
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    \12\Crucial Communism Teaching Act, H.R. 5349, 118th Cong. 
Sec. 3(1)(A) (2023).
    \13\See, e.g., James Roosevelt, Jr. et al., Opinion, ``We're Reach 
Fascism's `inflection point'--again'', The Hill, Feb. 8, 2023, https://
thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3849326-were-reaching-fascisms-
inflection-point-again/; Akilah Allenye, Book Banning, Curriculum 
Restrictions, and the Politicization of U.S. Schools, Ctr. for Am. 
Progs., Sept. 19, 2022, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/book-
banning-curriculum-restrictions-and-the-politicization-of-u-s-schools/; 
Lauren Leader & Donna Brazile, Opinion, State Republicans have gone 
from opposing Democrats to opposing democracy, The Hill, May 1, 2023, 
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3980491-republicans-have-gone-
from-opposing-democrats-to-opposing-democracy/; 169 Cong. Rec. H3089-90 
(statement of Rep. Chuy Garcia); Kit O'Connell, ``Christofascism is 
Everyone's Problem'', Tex. Observer, Nov. 3, 2022; Colin Dwyer, Donald 
Trump: `I Could . . . Shoot Somebody, And I Wouldn't Lose Any 
Voters''', Natl. Pub. Radio, Jan. 23, 2016.
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    For the sake of the American experiment, we must assume 
that H.R 5349 is well intentioned.\14\ But as a famous anti-
Communist President once said, ``trust, but verify.''\15\ To 
the extent that Committee Republicans refused to except the 
most innocuous amendment that would only further those good 
intentions gave some Committee Democrats pause to analyze the 
bill in the broader context of how communism has been used 
rhetorically throughout the history of American politics. It is 
our hope that any resources developed to teach American 
children about communism would insist on the same thorough 
analysis, and we stand ready to work with Committee Republicans 
to improve this bill as the legislative process continues.
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    \14\Jefferson's Manual, Sec. 363 (``The consequences of a measure 
may be reprobated in strong terms; but to arraign the motives of those 
who propose to advocate it is a personality, and against order.'').
    \15\David K. Shipler, ``Reagan and Gorbachev Sign Missile Treaty 
and Vow to Work for Greater Reductions'', N.Y. Times, Dec. 9, 1987.
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                                   Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
                                           Ranking Member.
                                   Frederica S. Wilson.
                                   Mark Takano.
                                   Mark DeSaulnier.
                                   Pramila Jayapal.
                                   Raul M. Grijalva.
                                   Suzanne Bonamici.
                                   Jahana Hayes.

                                  [all]