A resolution recognizing threats to freedom of the press and expression around the world and reaffirming freedom of the press as a priority in efforts of the Government of the United States to promote democracy and good governance.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, I rise before you today to express the importance of freedom of the press both around the world and here at home. Journalists take risks--often great risks--to tell the stories of war, genocide, hunger, poverty, and corruption around the world while facing unprecedented rates of intimidation and violence.

Freedom of expression is the bedrock of our democracy, but we must not take it for granted. It is how we hold ourselves to the standards set by the Founders and hold ourselves accountable and how we protect our institutions from falling into traps set by those who seek to abuse power.

Earlier this year, I introduced S. Res. 501, a resolution recognizing threats to freedom of the press and freedom of expression. This resolution was introduced with Senators Rubio and Wyden, and I thank my colleagues for their leadership on this important issue.

This resolution highlights the importance of the freedom of the press, condemns attacks against journalists, and reaffirms press freedom as a priority

for the U.S. Government. This resolution is in honor of the 46 journalists who were killed in 2017 for their reporting, for the 262 journalists who were imprisoned around the world last year, and, as part of that 262, the 21 journalists who were jailed just in 2017 for ``false news,'' which more than doubled the 2016 record.

These journalists are mothers and fathers and sons and daughters who put their lives and, indeed, their freedom on the line to shed a light on some of the world's toughest stories. I would like to tell the story of one of the journalists who lost his life last year, Chris Allen, while he bravely reported from a conflict area. I acknowledge Chris's parents, Joyce Krajian and John Allen, who are here with us today.

Chris grew up in Narberth, PA, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Chris's parents say he was an explorer from an early age and had a keen interest in history. He went on to pursue his master's degree at Oxford. He was encouraged to go to places where history was being made. Chris embraced this calling and became a freelance journalist--first in eastern Ukraine, where he embedded with pro- Ukranian forces and reported for outlets like the Independent and the Guardian, in order to help give his audience a glimpse of the conflict up close.

His mother Joyce and his father John have shared this memory of Chris:

This desire to bring to light untold stories from uncovered

regions of the world and the plights of their peoples--that's

what motivated Chris. He wanted to know the thoughts and

feelings of those encountering conflict firsthand.

So said his parents.

After 3 years in Ukraine, Chris decided to embed with the South Sudan opposition forces near the Ugandan border. On August 26, 2017, we understand that Chris walked overnight with these fighters and two other journalists to the town of Kaya. Chris was killed shortly after dawn while he photographed a gun battle between opposition and government forces. Chris was just 26 years old.

In the early years of his professional life, Chris had already committed himself to the vital job of covering dangerous places and exposing stories of vulnerable people whose countries were embroiled in war. In the year that has passed since his death, despite commitments from the South Sudanese Government to investigate, Joyce and John have no official information about how he was killed, and no one has been held accountable for the loss of their son. They have seen South Sudanese Government officials smear Chris's reputation and threaten other foreign journalists with the same fate. This is unthinkable for any parent to have to endure.

Chris Allen's parents have more questions than they have answers. Chris and others like him have lost their lives in the pursuit of truth, with no accountability or justice. Other journalists sit in prison today for daring to speak truth to power. We have a responsibility to advance these core American values--the values of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. These values continue to serve as an example to the world.

As I mentioned earlier, our bipartisan resolution reaffirms press freedom as a priority for the United States. What does this mean exactly?

First, advocating for media freedom should be a feature of the U.S. Government's interactions with other governments where the media is censored, silenced, or threatened. I have had tough conversations over the years, as I know many of my colleagues have had, with foreign government officials about human rights and the rule of law. I know it can be difficult to advance these values while always cooperating on other issues like security or other political issues, but we must press these issues. Whether it is advocating for the release of two Reuters journalists who were detained under antiquated laws in Myanmar, pressing for an investigation into Chris Allen's death, or pushing for reforms to allow media workers to operate more freely, the U.S. Government must be consistent and persistent.

Perhaps more importantly, we must model the respect for free journalism and empower journalists here at home. Investigative journalism helps to hold accountable government officials, elected representatives, business leaders, and others. It exposes fraud and waste and corruption, which corrode our society. It helps us to connect with the men and the women in uniform who serve our Nation overseas and to understand the conflicts in which they fight. It shows us the atrocities of terrorist groups like ISIS and the abuses of dictatorial regimes like that of Bashar al-Assad's. Journalists amplify the voices of the most vulnerable among us and provide for us a window into the homes and into the hearts of people a world away.

Instead of respecting these professionals, President Trump has called them the ``enemy of the people.'' When we hear powerful voices denigrate tough reporting as ``fake news'' or bar reporters from doing their jobs by blocking access, we all must condemn it. Reporters, writers, photographers, and media workers in the United States have not been intimidated and will continue to carry the torch of core American values like freedom of the press. On both sides of the aisle, we have a responsibility to rebuke any anti-press narratives by any public officials. This narrative is not only antithetical to the values our Founders laid out in the Bill of Rights, but it is dangerous.

I urge my colleagues to support S. Res. 501 this week and to speak up for media freedoms every day.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 545, S. Res. 501.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to; that the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be agreed to; that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.