FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Senate Democrats brought the PRESS Act to the floor for a unanimous consent vote today. As expected, Sen. Tom Cotton gave a speech objecting to the bill and so it failed to pass.
Sen. Schumer still has the time and the power to bring the bipartisan PRESS Act up for real consideration by the Senate before the congressional term ends — either by attaching it to a year-end spending bill or bringing it up for a stand-alone vote.
The following statement can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Director of Advocacy Seth Stern:
"We need more than speeches about the PRESS Act’s importance. We need action. Senate Democrats had all year to move this bipartisan bill and now time is running out. Leader Schumer needs to get the PRESS Act into law — whether by attaching it to a year-end legislative package or bringing it to the floor on its own — even if it means shortening lawmakers’ holiday break. Hopefully, today was a preview of more meaningful action to come."
The PRESS Act, which has widespread support among both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, would protect reporters across the political spectrum from being spied on by the government, and from being threatened with jail time to force them to testify against their sources. It passed the House unanimously in early 2024.
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