Vote NO on H.R.7661 - Protect Our Right to Read

I am your constituent. I am writing today to express my deep opposition to H.R. 7661. This bill would transform the federal government into a national censor — dictating which books, stories, and ideas children and communities may access in public schools and federally supported educational settings. That is not the role of a free government. It is the behavior of one that fears ideas. Let me be clear: Reading is a fundamental right — not a privilege handed out by politicians. Every American child deserves access to the broadest possible range of literature: enduring classics, contemporary works, and books that reflect the full diversity of American life. A democracy does not shrink its library shelves when confronted with complexity. It expands them. Decisions about education belong to parents, educators, and local communities — not federal bureaucrats in Washington. H.R. 7661 imposes a one-size-fits-all federal mandate on a nation that is vast, diverse, and constitutionally grounded in local control of schools. It overrides community judgment and substitutes political ideology for professional expertise. That is federal overreach, plain and simple. Censorship and discrimination have no place in American education. Books that explore identity, history, culture, and lived experience do not harm students — they prepare them. They foster empathy, critical thinking, and civic understanding. Silencing underrepresented voices does not protect children; it impoverishes their education and narrows their worldview. H.R. 7661 freezes free expression and free inquiry. By threatening schools with the loss of federal funding if certain books are available, this bill coerces compliance through fear. It pressures districts to purge shelves, intimidates educators into self-censorship, and deprives students of literature that reflects their realities. That is not guidance. It is punishment for intellectual freedom. Congress must decide whether it stands with the First Amendment and the long American tradition of free inquiry — or with state-imposed restrictions on ideas. For the sake of intellectual freedom, educational integrity, and the constitutional rights of readers everywhere, we demand that you oppose H.R. 7661. Protect the right to read. Protect the freedom to learn. Reject federal censorship. History will remember which side you chose.