Title: Recognizing "Banned Books Week" and the sweeping attacks on books in the United States today, acknowledging the central role books play in promoting democratic and civil discourse, and urging recognition of the illegitimate tactics being used to ban books in K-12 classrooms, universities, prisons, and libraries.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution expresses concern about the practice of book banning in the United States.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1392 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1392

Recognizing ``Banned Books Week'' and the sweeping attacks on books in 
 the United States today, acknowledging the central role books play in 
promoting democratic and civil discourse, and urging recognition of the 
   illegitimate tactics being used to ban books in K-12 classrooms, 
                 universities, prisons, and libraries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 22, 2022

  Mr. Raskin (for himself, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Escobar, Mr. 
 Grijalva, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-
  Cortez, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
    on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing ``Banned Books Week'' and the sweeping attacks on books in 
 the United States today, acknowledging the central role books play in 
promoting democratic and civil discourse, and urging recognition of the 
   illegitimate tactics being used to ban books in K-12 classrooms, 
                 universities, prisons, and libraries.

Whereas the First Amendment of the Constitution protects freedom of speech and 
        the freedom to read and write;
Whereas Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that 
        ``everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this 
        right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to 
        seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and 
        regardless of frontiers'';
Whereas PEN America has identified more than 1,600 unique books by 1,261 
        different authors, 290 illustrators, and 18 translators that have been 
        banned in the United States during the 2021-2022 school year;
Whereas an increasing number of book bans have departed from best practice 
        guidelines outlined by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the 
        National Council of Teachers of English, and the American Library 
        Association;
Whereas the sharing of all ideas and the freedom to read are essential for a 
        strong democracy;
Whereas books do not require readers to agree with topics or themes but instead 
        allow readers to explore and engage with differing perspectives to form 
        and inform their own views;
Whereas suppressing the freedom to read and denying access to literature, 
        history, and knowledge are inherently illiberal and antidemocratic 
        tactics used by authoritarian regimes against their people;
Whereas book bans often seek to impose restrictions on all students and families 
        based on the political, ideological, or cultural preferences of the 
        individuals calling for book bans;
Whereas book bans have multifaceted, harmful consequences on--

    (1) students who have a right to access a diverse range of stories and 
perspectives;

    (2) students, from historically marginalized backgrounds, whose 
communities are often underrepresented in literature;

    (3) educators and librarians who are operating in some states in an 
increasingly punitive and surveillance-oriented environment with a chilling 
effect on teaching and learning;

    (4) the authors whose works are being targeted; and

    (5) parents who want to raise students in schools that remain open to 
curiosity, discovery, and the freedom to read;

Whereas classic and award-winning literature and books that have been part of 
        school curricula for decades have been challenged, removed from 
        libraries pending review, or outright banned from schools, including 
        ``Brave New World'' by Aldous Huxley, ``The Handmaid's Tale'' by 
        Margaret Atwood, ``Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation'', ``Their 
        Eyes Were Watching God'' by Zora Neale Hurston, and ``To Kill a 
        Mockingbird'' by Harper Lee;
Whereas books, particularly those written by and about outsiders, newcomers, and 
        people from marginalized backgrounds, are facing heightened risk of 
        being banned;
Whereas 674 books referring to LGBTQ+ themes or with LGBTQ+ characters have been 
        banned in the United States this year, including children's books such 
        as ``Families, Families, Families!'' and ``All Are Welcome'', which 
        recognize the equal humanity and dignity of all persons, despite our 
        differences;
Whereas 659 books, both fiction and nonfiction, with protagonists of color or 
        prominent secondary characters of color have been banned in the United 
        States this year, including ``Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True 
        Story'', ``Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington'', 
        ``Thank You, Jackie Robinson'', ``Malala: A Hero For All'', ``Fry Bread: 
        A Native American Family Story'', ``Hair Love'', ``Good Trouble: Lessons 
        from the Civil Rights Playbook'', and ``We Are All Born Free: The 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures'';
Whereas the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has reported a dramatic surge in 
        challenges at libraries and schools to the inclusion of graphic novels 
        such as ``New Kid'', ``Drama'', ``American Born Chinese'', and ``Maus'' 
        that depict the vital diversity of American civic life, and the painful 
        historical realities of the human experience, including in the 
        Holocaust;
Whereas books addressing death, grief, mental illness, and suicide are targeted 
        alongside nonfiction books that discuss feelings and emotions written 
        for teenage and young adult audiences that confront these topics 
        frequently;
Whereas soft censorship, the quiet removal or hiding of books, presents a subtle 
        challenge that may be obscuring the magnitude of the problem;
Whereas educators throughout the country have been targeted for simply teaching 
        students the truth about United States history including, for example, 
        the extreme action by the Oklahoma secretary of education in seeking to 
        revoke the teaching certificate of an educator who merely provided 
        students a link to Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned project, 
        which provides young people across the country access to books that may 
        be banned in their schools;
Whereas the Committee on Oversight and Reform's Subcommittee on Civil Rights and 
        Civil Liberties held hearings on April 7, 2022, ``Free Speech Under 
        Attack: Book Bans and Academic Censorship'', and on May 19, 2022, ``Free 
        Speech Under Attack (Part II): Curriculum Sabotage and Classroom 
        Censorship'', at which students, parents, teachers, librarians, and 
        school administrators testified to the chilling and fear-inducing 
        effects that book bans have on education and the school environment;
Whereas more than 150 bills have been introduced in States across the country 
        that would restrict books and curricula on race and gender in schools 
        since January 2021;
Whereas 19 curriculum gag orders have been enacted in 15 States across the 
        country;
Whereas during the 2021-2022 school year, nearly 140 school districts in 32 
        States issued more than 2,500 book bans, including repeated titles, 
        affecting more than 5,000 individual schools enrolling nearly 4,000,000 
        students, limiting students' access to these books for limited or 
        indefinite periods of time, including--

    (1) in Florida, where at least 566 books in total have been banned in 
21 school districts;

    (2) in Georgia, where at least 23 books in total have been banned in 2 
school districts;

    (3) in Indiana, where at least 18 books in total have been banned in 3 
school districts;

    (4) in Kansas, where at least 30 books in total have been banned in 2 
school districts;

    (5) in Michigan, where at least 41 books in total have been banned in 4 
school districts;

    (6) in Missouri, where at least 27 books in total have been banned in 8 
school districts;

    (7) in New York, where at least 123 books in total have been banned in 
34 school districts;

    (8) in Oklahoma, where at least 43 books in total have been banned in 3 
school districts;

    (9) in Pennsylvania, where at least 457 books in total have been banned 
in 11 school districts;

    (10) in Tennessee, where at least 349 books in total have been banned 
in 6 school districts;

    (11) in Texas, where at least 801 books in total have been banned in 22 
school districts;

    (12) in Utah, where at least 1,211 books in total have been banned in 3 
school districts; and

    (13) in Virginia, where at least 169 books in total have been banned in 
79 school districts;

Whereas an overwhelming majority of American voters oppose book bans;
Whereas an overwhelming majority of American voters support educators teaching 
        about the Civil Rights Movement, the history and experiences of Native 
        Americans, enslaved Africans, immigrants facing discrimination, and the 
        ongoing effects of racism;
Whereas, in 1969, the Supreme Court held in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent 
        Community School District that students do not ``shed their 
        constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the 
        schoolhouse gate''; and
Whereas, in 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Board of Education v. Pico that 
        schools may not remove books based on ``narrowly partisan or political 
        grounds'', as this kind of censorship will result in ``official 
        suppression of ideas'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses concern about the spreading problem of book 
        banning and proliferating threats to freedom of expression in 
        the United States;
            (2) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
        supporting writers' freedom of expression, and the freedom of 
        all Americans to read books without government censorship;
            (3) calls on local governments and educational institutions 
        to follow outlined best practice guidelines when approaching 
        challenges to books; and
            (4) calls on local governments and educational institutions 
        to protect the rights of students to learn and the ability of 
        educators and librarians to teach students including by way of 
        providing students with the opportunity to read a wide array of 
        books reflecting a multitude of viewpoints and perspectives.
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