WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Elections Ranking Member Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) and full Committee Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) delivered remarks at the Subcommittee on Elections hearing entitled "A Growing Threat: The Impact of Disinformation Targeted at Communities of Color."

As Ranking Member Steil highlighted:
"Yes, some bad actors seek to influence voters and advance their agenda through half-truths and out-right lies. But free speech means that the answer to speech we don't like—or even speech that is harmful—is more speech, not less. And I would add—or a government 'truth commission' to tell us what we can think or say. That doesn't mean that each of us doesn't have a responsibility to the truth and to speak honestly. We do. Unfortunately, many voters have lost faith in our elections because of the false narratives being pushed by many on the left."

He continues by providing several examples of how many on the Left have contributed to "misinformation" in our elections process, including:

  • President Biden receiving 4 Pinocchios by the Washington Post for his claims about Georgia's election law.
  • President Biden claiming this year's midterm elections would be illegitimate if Democrats' partisan voting legislation, like H.R., 1 aren't passed by Congress.
    • Vice President Harris doubling down on these false claims.
  • Stacey Abrams' New Georgia Project conducting blatantly partisan "voter education" in Atlanta public high schools, teaching anti-voter ID lessons.
  • Partisan targeting that occurred with the use of private elections administration funding—including so-called Zuckerbucks—by election administrators.
    • The Center for Tech and Civic Life, working with Mark Zuckerberg and others on the left, poured over $350 million into heavily Democratic areas.

Watch Mr. Steil's full opening remarks here.

As Ranking Member Davis highlighted:
"We need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture when it comes to truth, free speech, and what each of us is 'allowed' to think or say. When we see information that we believe is untrue, we need to speak the truth even louder. Unfortunately, many on the left would rather police speech, claiming this sort of nanny-state activity is for our constituents' protection. This type of censorship poses a serious threat to our republic. Silencing those whose opinions you do not agree with is a propaganda and control tactic used by repressive regimes like the Chinese Communist Party, Cuba, and Russia, who believe that freedom of expression is a privilege, not a right."

He continues by providing several examples of how the Left's efforts to define the "truth" and silence any dissent have backfired, including:

  • Democrat lawyer Marc Elias, who illegally funded the discredited Steele dossier while working as Hillary Clinton's top lawyer, was sanctioned by the 5th Circuit in March of last year for his aversion to the truth.
  • The Durham investigation continuing to show that the idea of "Russian collusion" in the 2016 election was entirely made up.
  • The Left, even the New York Times, having to backtrack and confirm that the original story about Hunter Biden's laptop was true.

Watch Mr. Davis' full opening remarks here.

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