WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, introduced the Protect the First Amendment Act, which would end the ability of the federal government to circumvent the first amendment by restricting funding to companies that suppress the lawful speech of American citizens and business owners, under the guise of misinformation. This legislation is a result of the Committee’s in-depth investigation into the Biden Administration’s abuse of taxpayer dollars to support the Censorship-Industrial Complex and its effects on small businesses. Chairman Williams issued the following statement on the introduction of the bill.

“Using taxpayer dollars to fund the suppression and demonization of small businesses is un-American,” said Chairman Williams. “Sadly, the Biden Administration funneled money away from hardworking Americans to develop and promote companies that censored lawful speech, hurting small businesses. After our investigation uncovered serious concerns, I am proud to introduce legislation that safeguards taxpayer dollars, protects small business owners’ freedom of speech, and restores the principles of the First Amendment.” 

Click here to view the bill.

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Background:

Last Congress, the House Committee on Small Business launched a 14-month investigation into whether the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) funded or promoted entities that interfered with small businesses’ ability to compete online due to their lawful speech.  Throughout the investigation, the State Department repeatedly slow-rolled Congressional document requests, disregarded prioritized information, and provided incomplete and inadequate document productions. 

In June 2024, the Committee issued a subpoena to the State Department and the Global Engagement Center after more than a year of delayed and incomplete responses to its document requests. That same month, the Committee held a hearing examining the federal government’s funding and promotion of entities that suppress lawful speech and harm small business competitiveness online.

In September 2024, the Committee released an interim staff report detailing its findings based on the limited documents received and other available information. In December 2024, the State Department announced that the Global Engagement Center would be shutting down.

Read the full CIC Report here.

Full timeline of investigation here.

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