This meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order.

In 1928, the City of Chicago banned a book, known as 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,' from all of its public libraries.

This meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order.

This issue should have nothing to do with political party. This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue.

I don't mind disagreeing with Republicans about how to fix an immigration system. I do mind doing nothing about it.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

We need to take any hint of censorship seriously, because free speech is not only crucial to democracy but imperative for the survival of our civilization.

We want our schools and libraries to be open and welcoming settings for education, not cultural battlefields.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), and the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla) are necessarily absent.

I think that is a positive step forward.

We need to work together as a country to try to create clear standards for access to books.

I don't mind disagreeing with Republicans about how to fix an immigration system. I do mind doing nothing about it.

In 1928, the City of Chicago banned a book, known as 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,' from all of its public libraries.

Congress passed the Comstock Act, a law that mandated up to 5 years in prison for any person who sold or distributed a book that was, quote, 'obscene, lewd, or lascivious.'

In the 1850s, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' the classic antislavery novel, was banned throughout the Southern United States.

But for 30 years, Congress has failed to pass immigration reform, and as a consequence, many of the things that are happening on the border and across our Nation are the result.

I could not be more proud of this legislation, and I implore everyone in this room to please, please be on the right side of history and push back against these book bans in every and any way possible.

I think that is a positive step forward.

there are lines that cannot be crossed. Violence is one of those lines. Humiliation is one of those lines.

Something's better than nothing. America is under siege, and we need to fix this problem.

This meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order.

Two decades later, in 1873, Congress passed the Comstock Act, a law that mandated up to 5 years in prison for any person who sold or distributed a book that was, quote, 'obscene, lewd, or lascivious.'

today we take a moment to remember the anniversary of September 11, 2001. Many people recall vividly that day where they were. I was in this building outside that door and a few steps down the hallway. I can recall seeing, on a small…

Unfortunately, there is a long history in our country of banning books we now consider classic works of literature.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Ossoff), and the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla) are necessarily absent.