,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #djg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september
 #ah 7legislative day1 ,september #af71 
#bjbe,mr4 ,markey 7for himself and ,mr4 
,wyden7 submitted the following         
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  
,transportation  ,,resolution           
,expressing the sense of the ,senate    
that the comments by ,federal           
,communications ,commission ,chairman   
,brendan ,carr on ,wednesday1 ,september
 #ag1 #bjbe1 threatening to penalize    
,,abc and ,disney for the political     
commentary of ,,abc late night host     
,jimmy ,kimmel were dangerous and       
unconstitutional4  ,whereas the ,first  
,amendment to the ,constitution of the  
,united ,states provides that ,congress 
shall make no law ''' abridging the     
freedom of speech1 or of the press1     
protections that extend to political    
speech and commentary1 even when        
controversial or offensive2 ,whereas the

 ,federal ,communications ,commission   
7,,fcc7 is charged with overseeing the  
public airwaves in a manner consistent  
with the ,constitution and does not have
 authority to censor programming or     
punish broadcasters for their editorial 
decisions2 ,whereas1 on ,september #ag1 
#bjbe1 ,chairman ,brendan ,carr publicly
 threatened ,,abc and its parent        
company1 ,disney1 and its affiliates1   
over a monologue delivered by comedian  
,jimmy ,kimmel1 stating that we can do  
this the easy way or the hard way1 in   
clear reference to the ,,fcc's          
regulatory power2 ,whereas1 following   
these comments1 ,,abc's largest         
affiliate group announced it would      
preempt ,mr4 ,kimmel's programming1 and 
shortly thereafter1 ,,abc and ,disney   
suspended ,mr4 ,kimmel1 demonstrating   
the coercive effect of ,chairman ,carr's
 unconstitutional threats and the       
chilling impact on free expression in   
broadcasting2 ,whereas1 in ,mr4 ,carr's 
role as chairman1 ,carr has repeatedly  

claimed in public statements and past   
social media posts to support the ,first
 ,amendment and defend free speech1     
including the following statements3 7#a7
 ,this is nothing more than a brazen    
attempt by government officials to      
silence political speech they don't     
like44  7#b7 ,from internet memes to    
late-night comedians1 from cartoons to  
the plays and poems as old as organized 
government itself--,political ,satire   
circumvents traditional gatekeepers and 
helps hold those in power accountable4  
,not surprising that it's long been     
targeted for censorship44  7#c7 ,free   
speech is not a threat to               
democracy--censorship is42 and ,whereas1
 by using his official position to      
pressure private broadcasters over their
 protected commentary1 ,chairman ,carr  
has betrayed the trust of his office1   
abused the power of his position1       
undermined the independence of the      
press1 and violated the constitutional  
principles he is sworn to uphold3 ,now1 

therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate--    
7#a7 condemns ,chairman ,brendan ,carr  
for abusing his position as a ,federal  
regulator to threaten ,disney and ,,abc 
over constitutionally protected speech2 
7#b7 affirms the importance of the      
,first ,amendment and the independence  
of broadcasters and journalists from    
government coercion2 and  7#c7 calls    
upon ,chairman ,carr to immediately     
retract his threats and recommit himself
 to respecting the constitutional       
limitations on his office4