Title: Expressing support for the First Amendment to the Constitution and its bipartisan impact regarding the protection of free speech as well as academic freedoms for all students and faculty.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for the First Amendment to the Constitution and its bipartisan protection of free speech and academic freedoms for all students and faculty.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 770 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 770

Expressing support for the First Amendment to the Constitution and its 
 bipartisan impact regarding the protection of free speech as well as 
            academic freedoms for all students and faculty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 3, 2021

 Mr. Murphy of North Carolina (for himself, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Jordan, 
  Mr. Bost, Ms. Stefanik, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Mann, Mr. Budd, Mr. 
     Davidson, Ms. Letlow, Mr. Babin, Mr. Norman, Mr. Steube, Mr. 
   Fitzgerald, Mr. Cline, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Weber of Texas, Ms. 
    Tenney, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. 
 Bilirakis, Mr. Owens, Mr. Bishop of North Carolina, and Mr. C. Scott 
  Franklin of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the First Amendment to the Constitution and its 
 bipartisan impact regarding the protection of free speech as well as 
            academic freedoms for all students and faculty.

Whereas the Constitution is the law of the land;
Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution specifies 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 restrictions on speech at elementary and secondary schools, and public 
        institutions of higher education amount to suppression and student 
        censorship, which is a violation of the Constitution;
Whereas Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in 1943 about the role of 
        schools in our society, stating that they ought not to strangle the free 
        mind at its source nor teach youth to discount important principles of 
        our Government as mere platitudes;
Whereas supporting and enforcing these protections is a bipartisan issue that 
        benefits students of any political or personal ideology, and balancing 
        and protecting the rights of different parties help make a campus more 
        conducive to learning, which also promotes the best academic experience 
        and outcomes for each and every student at any learning institution;
Whereas the American Civil Liberties Union supports the idea that the right to 
        free speech is not just about the law but also a vital component of 
        civic education;
Whereas the Bipartisan Policy Center believes a free and open society depends 
        upon the free and open exchanges of ideas and perspectives;
Whereas teachers, college administrators, and boards of trustees are often too 
        timid to push back against the culture of intolerance on their campuses, 
        and high percentages of students are afraid to express their views on 
        controversial issues;
Whereas a 2019 Young American Foundation poll found that 46 percent of polled 
        students stated they have stopped themselves from sharing their ideas or 
        opinions in the classroom, while half of students attributed their self-
        censorship to being judged by their classmates;
Whereas the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) reports that 
        just under a third of students say that their college administration 
        makes it either very or extremely clear that they will protect free 
        speech on campus;
Whereas FIRE also found, in a 2021 survey, that 83 percent of students report 
        self-censoring their viewpoints at least some of the time in the 
        classroom and 21 percent report censoring their viewpoints often;
Whereas free speech and academic freedom are both clearly under attack today by 
        institutions, creating a toxic environment for students across the 
        entire political spectrum;
Whereas the American Council of Trustees and Alumni President Michael Poliakoff 
        stated in 2021 that higher education is in crisis, and at some 
        institutions, the erosion of freedom of speech and the degradation of 
        the curriculum puts them into a moral freefall;
Whereas a 2020 Gallup-Knight Foundation study revealed that 81 percent of 
        students support a campus environment where students are exposed to all 
        types of speech, even if they may find it offensive;
Whereas echoing the late Congressman John Lewis, who stated that without freedom 
        of speech and the right to dissent, important evolutions like the civil 
        rights movement would have been a bird without wings, and this freedom 
        pertains to all issues critical to the future of our democracy and 
        academics; and
Whereas the newly founded and nonpartisan Alumni Free Speech Alliance fights to 
        protect the rights of faculty and students across the ideological 
        spectrum from suppressive institutions: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives expresses support for 
the First Amendment to the Constitution and its bipartisan impact 
regarding the protection of free speech as well as academic freedoms 
for all students and faculty.
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