House Republicans have inched closer to halting the Biden regime’s censorship schemes.

The House debated on Thursday a spending bill to effectively shut down the Department of State’s censorship initiatives. The bill is part of House appropriations for Fiscal Year 2025—and comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) made free speech a central issue in the House.

H.R. 8771 prevents the Department of State from exploiting taxpayer funds to censor Americans. This marks a significant victory for free speech, especially in light of a recent Supreme Court decision that allows the Biden administration to continue to coerce Big Tech platforms into censoring Americans in the lead-up to the pivotal 2024 general elections.

MRC President Brent Bozell hailed the bill’s introduction in a statement thanking Johnson and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), writing on X: “Let’s continue to defund the censorship regime!”

The bill—introduced by Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), the chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee—specifically targets four aspects of Biden’s censorship efforts in the State Department: 

It blocks the agency from attacking U.S. media companies based on mis-, dis- and mal-information.

It defunds initiatives that advocate for censorship.

It prohibits activities that influence consumers or advertisers toward U.S. companies or social media platforms.

It orders the State Department-led Global Engagement Center to re-focus on foreign propaganda and disinformation acts by “foreign state and non-state actors abroad,” rather than American individuals.

The funding bill comes after free speech advocates scolded the U.S. Supreme Court following its outrageous decision in Murthy v. Missouri, a crucial case that sought to block the Biden administration from unleashing its attack dogs to coerce social media platforms to censor Americans ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

In a 6-3 decision, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote on behalf of the majority that the pro-free speech plaintiffs lacked standing to proceed with the case against the Biden administration.

Echoing Bozell’s sentiments, MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider said, “Because the Supreme Court came down with a disastrous opinion, essentially greenlighting Biden's censorship efforts, it is more important now than ever that Congress defund these unlawful practices.”

He added, “All credit to chairmen Cole and Diaz-Balart for fighting for our First Amendment rights.”

Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using MRC Free Speech America’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.