Protecting Speech From Government Interference Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak in support of my amendment to the Protecting Free Speech from Government Interference Act.

As we all know, the First Amendment is the foundation of our Republic. It protects our right to speak, to worship, and to express ourselves without fear of government retribution.

Unfortunately, we have seen an alarming trend of government officials attempting to censor and silence viewpoints with which they disagree, which are frequently conservative viewpoints.

This censorship often takes the form of using private companies to do the government's bidding, otherwise known as government-by-proxy censorship. The government can pressure or coerce these companies to silence certain viewpoints, effectively bypassing the protections afforded by the First Amendment. This is an egregious violation of our constitutional rights and it must be stopped.

That is why I am proud to offer my amendment, which will strengthen the Protecting Free Speech from Government Interference Act.

My amendment requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to Congress evaluating compliance with this Act by Federal agencies and employees in the executive branch, including any instances of censorship.

My amendment will shine a light on the Orwellian practice of using taxpayer dollars to suppress speech through leveraging private companies and hold the government accountable for any attempts to circumvent Americans' First Amendment freedoms.

I thank Chairman Comer for his leadership on this critical issue and for his support of my amendment. Together, we can make sure that the government is held accountable and that our fundamental rights are protected.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting my amendment and the Protecting Free Speech from Government Interference Act.

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment that is offered at the desk.

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, the gentleman from New York's remarks in opposition to my amendment are puzzling.

I think my commonsense amendment should pass with broad bipartisan support as it simply requires transparency and accountability via the mechanism of a report to Congress. That is not a novel idea. It is actually a very good one. It keeps the average American citizen informed.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

I thank my friend from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) for his support for my amendment to the Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act.

It is clear that this should be a bipartisan issue, and we must come together to protect Americans' fundamental right of free speech.

My Democrat colleague on the other side of the aisle's opposition to my amendment is disappointing but not surprising. The Democrats have consistently shown that they are willing to use any means necessary to censor speech with which they disagree, whether it is through government officials or private companies. My amendment simply requires transparency and accountability from the executive branch, and I fail to see how anyone can be opposed to that.

Again, I urge all my colleagues to support my amendment to the Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act. We must take a stand against government-by-proxy censorship and ensure that the First Amendment is upheld for all Americans.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Chair, it is funny to hear about how the Democrats are colluding in order to censor free speech on social media when the administration in control of the Federal Government at the time of the alleged horrific censorship that my Republican colleagues are citing was a Republican administration.

It was the administration of President Donald Trump in October of 2020 when the Hunter Biden laptop story was paused for 24 to 48 hours. Yet, somehow, I gather that the FBI is supposed to be a Democratic- leaning organization and agency doing the Democrats' bidding. Well, you could have fooled me back in 2016 when the Director of the FBI announced 10 days before the election that he was reopening an investigation into the Democratic candidate for President while an investigation was also ongoing into the Republican candidate for President and yet that remained quiet. Explain to me how that is the FBI doing the bidding of the Democrats.

This whole thing, this amendment and this bill, have no place in this Congress. The amendment would just simply add more burdensome bureaucracy to what is already a fruitless effort of a bill. Therefore, we oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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