July 22, 2023
This week, Senator Eric Schmitt cosponsored the Free Speech Protection Act, sponsored by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH-4), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. This bill would prohibit federal employees and contractors from using their positions to censor and otherwise attack speech protected by the First Amendment. The bill will impose mandatory severe penalties for those individuals that violate this rule:
“No other administration in history has threatened Americans’ freedom of speech like the Biden Administration, and we have an obligation to the American people to uphold the fundamental principles of our Constitution. When I was Missouri’s Attorney General, I filed Missouri v. Biden which exposed this censorship, and now I’m proud to join Senator Paul and Representative Jordan in working to dismantle this vast censorship enterprise. This censorship should scare every American – regardless of political affiliation, and government does not get to outsource their censorship to social media companies,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.
“Americans are free people and we do not take infringements upon our liberties lightly. The time has come for resistance and to reclaim our God-given right to free expression,” said Senator Rand Paul. “Under my Free Speech Protection Act the government will no longer be able to cloak itself in secrecy to undermine the First Amendment rights of Americans.”
The bill is sponsored by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and co-sponsored by Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) in the U.S. Senate.
In addition to protecting Americans’ First Amendment rights, the bill would also:
• Mandate frequent publicly accessible reports from the heads of executive branch agencies detailing the communications between an executive branch agency and a content provider, as well as prevent agencies from employing any FOIA exemption to prevent disclosure of prohibited communications.
• Ensure that federal grant money is not received by any entity that seeks to label media organizations as sources of misinformation or disinformation.
• Terminate several programs and authorities that threaten free speech and other constitutionally protected rights.
Background:
• Earlier this month, a federal judge issued an injunction restricting the Biden Administration from collaborating with social media companies to censor and suppress constitutionally protected speech.
• Senator Schmitt filed Missouri v. Biden in 2022 when he was serving as Missouri’s Attorney General, alleging a “vast censorship enterprise” between the federal government and social media companies to censor speech online.
• Senator Schmitt has a staunch record of legislation defending Americans’ Freedom of Speech and shrinking the power of the administrative state, which includes:
Introducing the ERASER Act and the COLLUDE Act.
Cosponsoring Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) Guidance Out Of Darkness (GOOD) Act, Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) Public Service Reform Act, and Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act.
