FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New York, Dec. 18, 2024 — Congressional leaders in the House released a year-end spending bill yesterday that includes plenty of meaningless pet projects but not the most important press freedom bill in modern history, the PRESS Act.
But it isn’t over yet for the PRESS Act. Sen. Chuck Schumer could still include it in the Senate version of the spending bill, negotiate for the act’s passage before the holidays, or bring the measure to the floor by keeping the Senate in session past its anticipated end on Dec. 20.
The following statement can be attributed to Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF):
“Congressional leaders found space in the end-of-year spending bill to give a football stadium to Washington, D.C. and rename buildings after former members of Congress. But they didn’t include the PRESS Act.
After campaigning and fundraising for months, warning of existential threats to our democracy, including the death of freedom of the press, Sen. Schumer and the other Senate Democrats must take advantage of the entire time they have left in power to pass the PRESS Act, even if that means senators have to work through the holidays just like most regular Americans.
The PRESS Act is bipartisan, it’s already passed the House, and it would provide essential protections for independent journalists no matter their politics. The Senate must not let this opportunity to pass the PRESS Act get away. If the rights of journalists are further curtailed in the next administration after years of inaction from those in power, Senate leadership will share a lot of the blame.”
The PRESS Act is a federal reporter-source shield bill that would protect journalists across the political spectrum from being spied on by the government and threatened with jail time to force them to testify against their sources.
