IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 284 

Opposing fake news and alternative facts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2019 

Mr. ESPAILLAT submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Opposing fake news and alternative facts. 

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution states that 

‘‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 

of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 

abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the 

right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 

the Government for a redress of grievances’’; 

Whereas the free press clause of the First Amendment unequivocally protects both individuals’ and organizations’ 

right to express an opinion and share information, and 

applies to a wide variety of media; 

Whereas the United States has historically and proudly enjoyed and championed freedom of the press; 

Whereas the United States is a democracy, not an autocracy; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HRES 284 IH 

Whereas the most common ‘‘fake news’’ the American people 

are receiving has come from the President himself, his official spokespersons, and his allies in the media; 

Whereas President Donald Trump and his supporters are 

comfortable misrepresenting facts, events, and policies related to almost every issue in our country; 

Whereas President Trump consistently misleads the public on 

matters of immigration in order to evoke the idea that 

immigrants are evil and should be our enemies; 

Whereas, in January 2019, on a trip to McAllen, Texas, 

President Trump said, ‘‘there has never (been) so many 

apprehensions ever in our history,’’ in contradiction of 

statistics proving this claim to be false; 

Whereas President Trump falsely claimed the border city of 

El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime until they built a fence, and then it became 

one of the safest cities in the country; 

Whereas President Trump has falsified statistics regarding 

the drug trafficking channels to influence public support 

for his wall; 

Whereas President Trump and his allies have baselessly implied that Democrats are responsible for organizing caravans of women and children migrants in Central America; 

Whereas, throughout the 2016 Presidential campaign and 

thereafter, President Trump said that ‘‘Mexico will pay 

for the wall,’’ yet, on March 26, 2019, following a constitutionally dubious National Emergencies Act declaration, the Administration attempted to reprogram taxpayers’ money appropriated by their Representatives in 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HRES 284 IH 

Congress for projects in the Department of Defense to 

instead pay for a wall along the Southern border; 

Whereas President Trump has distorted information in the 

realm of foreign affairs and international trade as a 

means to demean our allies, gain leverage in negotiations, 

and disparage foreign policy decisions of past administrations; 

Whereas President Trump has continuously manipulated the 

American people into believing that asylum seekers will 

not follow the guidelines set by the Universal Declaration 

of Human Rights, as well as the United Nations Protocol 

Relating to the Status of Refugees; 

Whereas, throughout his tenure, President Trump has 

claimed without evidence that the United States is more 

respected internationally due to his leadership, but numerous polls indicate that our reputation abroad has suffered dramatically since the President was elected; 

Whereas, on numerous occasions, President Trump has cited 

inaccurate numbers related to trade deficits, trade relations, and the complexion of trade agreements; 

Whereas Vice President Mike Pence claimed that, ‘‘along the 

southern border of the U.S.,’’ the Government apprehends ‘‘seven individuals a day who are either known or 

suspected terrorists’’, a statement which has been completely denied by the intelligence community and border 

security agencies; 

Whereas President Trump has demonstrated an inability to 

tell the truth about his personal misconduct and finances; 

Whereas, in 2019, when asked by a member of the press, 

President Trump denied that he knew about the ‘‘hush 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HRES 284 IH 

money’’ payments to Stormy Daniels, but evidence later 

showed that he was contemporaneously aware; 

Whereas, on November 25, 2018, President Trump and members of his administration expressly denied that there was 

an administration policy of separating refugee families at 

the Southern border, even though discussions around applying the policy had been ongoing for months in the 

White House; 

Whereas in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico with tremendous force, President Trump 

misprized the number of casualties caused by the storm 

and when the true scope of the loss was no longer disputable, he blamed other factors unrelated to the Government’s response; 

Whereas in relation to countless topics and individuals—from 

David Duke to attempting to purchase the Buffalo 

Bills—the President is on record having shown awareness 

for a subject he later patently denies being familiar with; 

Whereas, in March 2019, President Trump claimed, ‘‘Just 

this week, more than 100 Democrats in Congress signed 

up for a socialist takeover of American health care. Their 

radical Government-run plan, if you call it that, would 

lead to colossal tax increases—increases like you’ve never 

seen before—and take away private coverage from over 

180 million Americans.’’; 

Whereas, in February 2019, President Trump said, ‘‘Democrats are calling for massive tax hikes and the complete 

elimination of private health care. Many of us have private health care. That means you can stand in line for 

five days as you wait for a doctor that is not nearly as 

talented as your doctor.’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HRES 284 IH 

Whereas, since announcing his candidacy, Donald Trump has 

promised to protect coverage for preexisting conditions, 

but every legislative, political, and judicial position taken 

by his party has moved to weaken coverage for patients 

with preexisting conditions; 

Whereas, in 2018, President Trump deceptively stated that 

nobody in his campaign ever talked to any Russians during the campaign; 

Whereas, in July of 2016, President Trump claimed to ‘‘have 

nothing to do with Russia. I don’t have any jobs in Russia. I’m all over the world but we’re not involved in Russia.’’, which turned out to be false, as he was pursuing 

a Trump Tower in Moscow project at the time; and 

Whereas President Trump falsely claimed that President 

Obama had illegally wiretapped Trump Tower when there 

was no evidence of such conduct: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) it is the duty of Congress to uphold the 

4 Constitution and all of the fundamental rights, in5 cluding the freedom of the press; 

6 (2) President Trump must immediately ac7 knowledge his support of the First Amendment and 

8 express his support for United States democracy; 

9 (3) the United States should continue being a 

10 democracy, not an autocracy; 

11 (4) White House spokespersons should not 

12 issue fake news; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HRES 284 IH 

1 (5) White House spokespersons who offer alter2 native or inaccurate facts should retract their state3 ments immediately. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS