During consideration of the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024” (H.R. 2882), Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) offered an amendment to prohibit funds under the bill from being used by the federal government to label a U.S. citizen’s speech as “disinformation or misinformation” or to coerce online platforms to alter, remove, restrict, or suppress such speech.
The Senate rejected Schmitt’s amendment on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 47 to 51 (Roll Call 109). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the First Amendment specifically states that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” This restrictive clause was designed to protect Americans’ right to free speech from “misconstruction or abuse” of power by the federal government, as expressed in the 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the Bill of Rights.
