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US SR443

Resolution

Status

Introduced

10/8/2025

Primary Sponsor

Brian Schatz

Click for details

Origin

Senate

119th Congress

AI Summary

  • Senate resolution expressing concern about book banning in the United States, citing PEN America data of 6,870 book ban instances between July 2024 and June 2025, affecting 3,751 unique titles by 2,589 authors

  • Cites Supreme Court precedents including Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) and Board of Education v. Pico (1982) establishing students' First Amendment rights and prohibiting book removal on partisan or political grounds

  • Documents state-level bans including Florida (2,304 books in 33 districts), Texas (1,781 books in 7 districts), and Tennessee (1,622 books in 8 districts), with books disproportionately targeting LGBTQ+ themes and topics of race

  • Notes federal actions including removal of at least 596 books from Department of Defense Education Activity schools and nearly 400 books from the U.S. Naval Academy library following Executive orders

  • Calls for return of books removed from Defense Department schools since January 2025, repeal of related Executive orders, and urges local governments to follow best practice guidelines when addressing book challenges

Legislative Description

A resolution expressing concern about the growing problem of book banning, and the proliferation of threats to freedom of expression in the United States.

Last Action

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

10/8/2025

Committee Referrals

Judiciary10/8/2025

Full Bill Text

No bill text available