Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the importance of local print and digital journalism to the continued welfare, transparency, and prosperity of government at every level and the continuation and freedom of the United States as it is known today.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 282 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the impor- tance of local print and digital journalism to the continued welfare, transparency, and prosperity of government at every level and the con- tinuation and freedom of the United States as it is known today. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 2, 2019 Mr. DESAULNIER (for himself, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. RASKIN, and Ms. LOF- GREN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Oversight and Reform RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard- ing the importance of local print and digital journalism to the continued welfare, transparency, and prosperity of government at every level and the continuation and freedom of the United States as it is known today. Whereas local print and digital journalism is disappearing at a record rate; Whereas trust in journalists is at an all-time low nationally, while many local reporters retain the good will and trust of their communities; Whereas subscriptions to local news have decreased steadily since the spread of the internet; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:07 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR282.IH HR282 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 282 IH Whereas nonjournalistic digital media has been falsely labeled and marketed as news; Whereas corporations are buying local news outlets and cut- ting budgets and staff, leading to less local coverage; Whereas local print and digital journalism are essential to promoting good governance at the local and State level; and Whereas a lack of local news will allow for greater local and statewide political corruption: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) it is in the best interests of Federal, State, 3 and local governments to make all possible efforts to 4 ensure the continuation of robust local digital and 5 print news sources; and 6 (2) Congress should work with news outlets and 7 other relevant stakeholders to ensure that local dig- 8 ital and print news continues to operate in a robust 9 manner for years to come. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:07 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR282.IH HR282 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS