Political Quotes

“I congratulate the Senate for enacting the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, H.R. 3714, a bill to strengthen and protect press freedoms around the world. I am proud to cosponsor the Senate companion to this bill, S. 1739. I congratulate and commend my good friend, Senator Dodd, for his leadership on this bill and for his longstanding commitment to freedom of the press. I have worked closely with Senator Dodd for many years on legislation to establish a Federal shield law for journalists, and I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee recently reported Federal shield legislation. I also commend Representative Adam Schiff for championing this important legislation in the House of Representatives. The Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act will amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Secretary of State to include information about freedom of the press practices in other countries in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The bill will also require that this report identify countries in which there are violations of freedom of the press, such as physical attacks on journalists, imprisonment, and censorship by foreign governments. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that more journalists have been killed around the world in 2009 than in any other year since that organization first started tracking this data in 1981.”