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 un-
equivocally 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 en-
joyed and championed freedom of the press; 
Whereas the United States is a democracy, not an autocracy; 
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Whereas the most common ‘‘fake news’’ the American people 
are receiving has come from the President himself, his of-
ficial spokespersons, and his allies in the media; 
Whereas President Donald Trump and his supporters are 
comfortable misrepresenting facts, events, and policies re-
lated 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 vio-
lent 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 im-
plied that Democrats are responsible for organizing cara-
vans of women and children migrants in Central Amer-
ica; 
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 con-
stitutionally dubious National Emergencies Act declara-
tion, the Administration attempted to reprogram tax-
payers’ money appropriated by their Representatives in 
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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 administra-
tions; 
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 nu-
merous polls indicate that our reputation abroad has suf-
fered dramatically since the President was elected; 
Whereas, on numerous occasions, President Trump has cited 
inaccurate numbers related to trade deficits, trade rela-
tions, and the complexion of trade agreements; 
Whereas Vice President Mike Pence claimed that, ‘‘along the 
southern border of the U.S.,’’ the Government appre-
hends ‘‘seven individuals a day who are either known or 
suspected terrorists’’, a statement which has been com-
pletely 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 
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money’’ payments to Stormy Daniels, but evidence later 
showed that he was contemporaneously aware; 
Whereas, on November 25, 2018, President Trump and mem-
bers of his administration expressly denied that there was 
an administration policy of separating refugee families at 
the Southern border, even though discussions around ap-
plying the policy had been ongoing for months in the 
White House; 
Whereas in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puer-
to 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 disput-
able, he blamed other factors unrelated to the Govern-
ment’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, ‘‘Demo-
crats are calling for massive tax hikes and the complete 
elimination of private health care. Many of us have pri-
vate 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.’’; 
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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 dur-
ing the campaign; 
Whereas, in July of 2016, President Trump claimed to ‘‘have 
nothing to do with Russia. I don’t have any jobs in Rus-
sia. I’m all over the world but we’re not involved in Rus-
sia.’’, 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 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) it is the duty of Congress to uphold the 
Constitution and all of the fundamental rights, in-
cluding the freedom of the press; 
(2) President Trump must immediately ac-
knowledge his support of the First Amendment and 
express his support for United States democracy; 
(3) the United States should continue being a 
democracy, not an autocracy; 
(4) White House spokespersons should not 
issue fake news; and 
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(5) White House spokespersons who offer alter-
native or inaccurate facts should retract their state-
ments immediately. 
Æ 
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