New Support for Freedom to Read Protection Act

The July 8 defeat of Bernie Sanders' Freedom to Read Amendment in the House of Representatives has actually helped build support for restoring the protections for bookstore and library records that were eliminated by the USA PATRIOT Act. The amendment, which which would have cut off funds for FBI searches of bookstore and library records under the PATRIOT Act, initially appeared to have passed. The vote stood at 219-201 when House leaders, under heavy White House pressure, resorted to a bizarre maneuver to extend the voting 23 minutes beyond the allotted time while they pressured party members to switch their votes. In the end, they succeeded and the amendment died on an unprecedented tie vote–210 to 210.

The story was widely reported by the media, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio. Many newspapers published editorials criticizing the unfairness of delaying the completion of the vote. For more on the press reaction to the vote, click here.

The vote also helped persuade six members of Congress to add their name to the list of co-sponsors of Sanders' Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157), raising the total to 151. Sanders introduced his amendment because the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has refused to hold hearings on H.R. 1157. The new co-sponsors are Democrats Robert Brady (PA), Chaka Fattah (PA), Gene Green (TX), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ), Robert C. Scott (VA), and Gene Taylor (MS).