119-sres407

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 407 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 407

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the comments by Federal 
Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday, September 
 17, 2025, threatening to penalize ABC and Disney for the political 
 commentary of ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel were dangerous and 
 unconstitutional.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025

 Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
 and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the comments by Federal 
Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday, September 
 17, 2025, threatening to penalize ABC and Disney for the political 
 commentary of ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel were dangerous and 
 unconstitutional.

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides 
 that ``Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, 
 or of the press,'' protections that extend to political speech and 
 commentary, even when controversial or offensive;
Whereas the Federal Communications Commission

    (FCC) 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 decisions;
Whereas, on September 17, 2025, Chairman Brendan Carr publicly threatened ABC 
 and its parent company, Disney, and its affiliates, over a monologue 
 delivered by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, stating that ``we can do this the 
 easy way or the hard way,'' in clear reference to the FCC's regulatory 
 power;
Whereas, following these comments, ABC's largest affiliate group announced it 
 would preempt Mr. Kimmel's programming, and shortly thereafter, ABC and 
 Disney suspended Mr. Kimmel, demonstrating the coercive effect of 
 Chairman Carr's unconstitutional threats and the chilling impact on free 
 expression in broadcasting;
Whereas, in Mr. Carr's role as chairman, Carr has repeatedly claimed in public 
 statements and past social media posts to support the First Amendment 
 and defend free speech, including the following statements:

    (1) ``This is nothing more than a brazen attempt by government 
officials to silence political speech they don't like.''.

    (2) ``From internet memes to late-night comedians, from cartoons to the 
plays and poems as old as organized government itself--Political Satire 
circumvents traditional gatekeepers and helps hold those in power 
accountable. Not surprising that it's long been targeted for censorship.''.

    (3) ``Free speech is not a threat to democracy--censorship is.''; and

Whereas, by using his official position to pressure private broadcasters over 
 their protected commentary, Chairman Carr has betrayed the trust of his 
 office, abused the power of his position, undermined the independence of 
 the press, and violated the constitutional principles he is sworn to 
 uphold: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the Senate--

    (1) condemns Chairman Brendan Carr for abusing his position 
 as a Federal regulator to threaten Disney and ABC over 
 constitutionally protected speech;

    (2) affirms the importance of the First Amendment and the 
 independence of broadcasters and journalists from government 
 coercion; and

    (3) calls upon Chairman Carr to immediately retract his 
 threats and recommit himself to respecting the constitutional 
 limitations on his office.
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