Political Quotes

“I thank my friend Senator Wyden for coming to the floor to champion something I have been very supportive of and he has carried, the bipartisan PRESS Act, a bill every person in this room--whether they are Senators, journalists, citizens--should want to see become law. No democracy can survive without a free and open and thriving press. The free press keeps governments accountable to the people, exposes abuse and wrongdoing, informs the public about what is happening in government. But if government can unduly harass the press or when leaders smear journalists as enemies of the people and when there are too few protections for journalists, our democracy is at the very real risk of eroding away. We have seen in some countries--in Hungary, Orban--a dictator tells his friends to buy the press so there can be no real freedom and no real counterargument. And they do. They buy newspapers, televisions, et cetera. And so we have to protect the press. It is sacred--sacred--to America. The PRESS Act is a commonsense and strongly bipartisan bill to ensure journalists can do their job without with facing undue harassment. I am so proud to support this act. Senate Democrats all support this bill. And the bill has already passed the House unanimously. I hope every single Senate Republican joins us to pass it today. I know many of them are ready to do the right thing. I think it has a majority support in both parties. This bill, again, is common sense and balanced.…”