Title: Opposing fake news and alternative facts.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution expresses that it is the duty of Congress to uphold the Constitution and fundamental rights, including freedom of the press. The resolution urges President Trump to acknowledge his support of the First Amendment and democracy. Additionally, it discourages the issuance by White House officials of fake news and encourages the immediate retraction of inaccuracies.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 284 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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;
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 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 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.'';
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
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) it is the duty of Congress to uphold the Constitution 
        and all of the fundamental rights, including the freedom of the 
        press;
            (2) President Trump must immediately acknowledge 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
            (5) White House spokespersons who offer alternative or 
        inaccurate facts should retract their statements immediately.
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