​Rumors have swirled on Capitol Hill that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is drafting legislation to let Americans – whether skeptics of the COVID-19 origin story or late-night talk show hosts – sue the government for monetary damages when they are censored.

Sen. Cruz has now confirmed that he is indeed crafting such a bill, one that would create new legal remedies for those silenced by government pressure. His bill would also restrict “jawboning” – the process by which officials pressure social media companies or news outlets to suppress disfavored views. The Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, which Cruz chairs, held a hearing Wednesday that explored government censorship and how to stop it.

• The first witness was famed legal scholar and Protect The 1st Senior Legal Advisor Eugene Volokh, who presented testimony explaining that “jawboning” can be defined benignly as an act of persuasion. It can also be:

“Government officials trying to coerce through the explicit or implicit threat of retaliation stemming from their position of authority, e.g., through the threat of enforcement or regulation. As a practical matter, the two meanings are closely intertwined, especially since it may be hard to tell whether there is an implicit ‘or else’ behind a request.”

Volokh raised the subtle issue of precisely defining what constitutes government coercion. Sen. Cruz emphasized the “or else” threats implicit in jawboning campaigns by powerful government agencies. On the other hand, Volokh asserted, no law should restrict the ability of government officials to communicate with journalists. For example, a White House press secretary should be allowed to tell journalists that they got a story wrong.

But Volokh made it clear – citing a strong line of legal precedent – that “a government official cannot do indirectly what she is barred from doing directly.” Quoting from the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous opinion in NRA v. Vullo, he said “a government official cannot coerce a private party to punish or suppress disfavored speech on her behalf.”

• Sean Davis, executive director of The Federalist, gave a vivid account of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of speech coercion. Davis described the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) and how it targeted domestic news outlets:

“Despite the fact that GEC was explicitly prohibited by both the U.S. Constitution via the First Amendment and by the very statute which created and authorized the agency from targeting domestic speech, it nonetheless sought to drive us out of business by funding, developing, and distributing technologies and tools to reduce our reach, by bullying advertisers into blacklisting us and many other conservative outlets, and by coercing Big Tech companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google to throttle access to our content. In essence, our own government secretly and without any due process charged us with thought crimes, convicted us, and sentenced The Federalist to death.”

• Alex Berenson, journalist and author – whose reporting on COVID-19 was censored by Twitter – testified that social media companies did not want to censor users, but acted out of fear of the government. (The same dynamic is visible today when the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission publicly hints at regulatory action against broadcasters who air views he dislikes.)

About his ordeal, Berenson reflected on the dilemma of social media companies: 

“They viewed having to sacrifice speech from some users as the price they had to pay to stay in the administration’s good graces. Every company faces this calculus, whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House.”

No American should have to calculate that one’s protected speech might trigger censorship or a regulatory crackdown.

Eugene Volokh added a grace note with a personal reflection that underscored the stakes. Fifty years ago to this day, he said, his parents brought him out of the Soviet Union.
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Volokh concluded simply, that he wanted to “thank the United States of America for letting me in.”

​President Trump last week issued several executive orders that command AI developers to refrain from building in “ideological biases or social agendas” in their artificial intelligence services. The orders deploy the federal government’s procurement power to enforce ideological neutrality on AI Large Language Models (LLMs).
 
The president’s concern is understandable. Google’s AI image-generator Gemini, in an effort to provide racial and gender balance, portrayed both the American founders and Nazi soldiers as Black, the Pope as female, and National Hockey League players as women.
 
What was going on here?
 
“Well, it turned out that Google was aware that Gemini’s data, which draws from the entire internet, was flawed,” said Bobby Allyn, an NPR technology correspondent. “It perpetuated stereotypes. There are more images of male doctors than female doctors. There are more photos of white CEOs than executives of color. So every time someone asked for an image, Google placed secret code into the request that basically said, make the images more diverse.”
 
What had begun as a commendable tweak turned into a monstrous distortion of reality. Conservatives note that LLMs are also apt to give progressive answers on controversial social issues. One conservative reported that ChatGPT refused to create an argument for how fossil fuels enhance human civilization. It was willing to write poems extolling former President Biden but not one about President Trump.
 
On the other hand, when we asked ChatGPT about the 1619 Project, which asserts that America’s true founding began with the importation of slaves and not the Declaration of Independence in 1776, it answered: “The claim that America's ‘real founding’ was in 1619 is a provocative reinterpretation, not a universally accepted historical fact.” We would score that as a solid and unbiased answer.
 
So what is going on with the more biased answers? LLMs compose responses extracted from terabytes of public and copyrighted material vacuumed up from the internet. It is all too easy to forget that humans originate AI’s raw material. It necessarily absorbs the biases of society, of the right as well as the left. The old saying about computer programming – “garbage in, garbage out” – should apply to the contents of the human brain as well.
 
We also do not preclude the built-in biases the president’s executive order aims at. Whether ChatGPT or X, the design parameters often reflect the views of their creators.
 
Though the president’s executive orders aim at a real problem, his approach has two flaws. The first is that when the government uses its purchasing power to manage speech, it is clearly encroaching on First Amendment territory. Over the years, government influence over AI could bend this technology in one political direction or another.
 
This points to the second problem – that language is slippery. The 20th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein warned against the “bewitchment of our intelligence” by language. Words are simply too malleable and subject to interpretation to codify under an order. What are the boundaries of “woke”? Where does the ideological hobbyhorses of the DEI movement end and a simple dedication to racial fairness begin?
 
These are real questions that no government regulation could or should answer. Only time, criticism, free markets, and free speech can do that.

In recent years, we’ve chronicled the rising tide of states – 18 now, with recent legislative victories in Texas and New Hampshire – that have embraced universal school choice.

But what about parents who live the other 32 states? Thanks to decisive action in Congress (yes, you read that correctly), the ability of parents to choose high-quality private schools, whether religiously based schools, STEM-oriented or arts-centered, will gradually increase.

Congress – with the leadership of Rep. Adrian Smith, chairman of the subcommittee of jurisdiction on Ways & Means in the House, and Sen. Bill Cassidy in the Senate – passed the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) just before the July 4th holiday. This bill made available a 100-percent federal income tax credit of $1,700 for donors. This credit is available to donors in all 50 states to support scholarship-granting organizations that allow parents to send their children to a high-quality private school.

There are several aspects of this new law that will transform the American educational landscape from the national level, as governors are doing in the states.

• This tax credit is permanent. It would take a future act of Congress to undo it, something that once granted would be politically difficult to achieve.

 

• It will only take future amendments to the law to increase the tax credit and to broaden the base of donors to include businesses and other well-resourced groups.

 

• The law does limit scholarships to students who live in states in which the governor or designated agency under state law decides to opt-in to the program. But nothing keeps donors living in an “opt-out” state from donating to scholarship organizations around the country.

 

• Even in states in which politicians have been hostile to school choice it will be difficult for governors to turn down free money from the federal government to support private schools options in-state.

We again quote a recent Chicago Tribune editorial, where politicians have long been resistant to competition in education:

“Opponents of school choice believe that education is a zero-sum game, and that private schools are a threat to the public system. We believe the opposite – that a thriving private and charter system and a strong traditional public system create an educational ecosystem that can serve everyone’s needs. There are things private schools can do that public ones can’t, and the same is very much true in reverse.

“School choice remains popular in Illinois, with a clear majority of residents supporting the concept.”

With polls showing overwhelming support for school choice among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, expect to see intense pressure from parents to allow these scholarships in every state.

Another big win came with the passage and signing into law of the Student Empowerment Act, which expands 529 plans – a tax-advantaged investment account designed to encourage saving for future education expenses, such as college or K-12 tuition – to help families save for public, private, religious, and homeschool students and families.

• This bill – passed with the leadership of Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Kevin Hern – will allow parents to transfer any unused funds in a 529 account from leftover college expenses to, for example, the private religious elementary school of grandchildren.

These two measures, coupled with the rising tide of states that have embraced universal school choice, show that the school choice movement – and its support for First Amendment values – is not only here to stay, but to grow as well.

• Both the ECCA and the Student Empowerment Act give religious schools the same access to these programs as any other kind of private school.

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With victories in the states and in Washington D.C., the national success of the school choice movement now appears to only be a matter of time.

Protect The 1st applauded the Senate’s passage of landmark school choice legislation with tax credits as part of the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
 
“A seemingly small provision in the budget reconciliation bill passed by the Senate will uplift American school children and promote the future health of our nation,” said Bob Goodlatte, former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Senior Policy Advisor for Protect The 1st. “With support from the House, for the first time in American history the right of parents to choose the best school for their children will be supported by a federal tax credit.
 
“This day is a great achievement by Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, supported by the longtime leadership of Sen. Bill Cassidy and Sen. Tim Scott,” Goodlatte said. “Their leadership, along with Sen. Ted Cruz, made the day.”
 
Gene Schaerr, Protect The 1st general counsel, said: “The measure is the mustard seed that is sure to grow into a sheltering tree. With 19 states having passed some form of universal school choice, this national bill will facilitate private school scholarships that will elevate the lives of American students and their families for decades to come.
 
“These scholarships will allow children from low-income households to have access to quality education previously reserved for well-to-do families,” Schaerr said. “And it will allow families to exercise their First Amendment rights by selecting the quality religious or secular school of their choice.”
 
Goodlatte added: “The House, having passed this once, now has the happy duty of advancing the measure in its current form and getting it to President Trump’s desk.”

The Senate Finance Committee just released its text for the budget reconciliation bill, a.k.a. the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. The text (see p. 168) builds upon the provisions the House passed a few weeks ago for a national federal scholarship, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA).

The Senate language creates $4 billion a year in permanent tax credits that grant 100 percent, non-refundable credits against individual income taxes for donations to qualified scholarship granting organizations. These scholarships would be available for student families to pay for private-school tuition, books, and teaching materials for home schooling expenses, and educational therapies for children with disabilities.

“Credit goes to all the energetic supporters of this bill in the Senate Finance Committee, including Finance Chairman Mike Crapo and the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Bill Cassidy and Sen. Tim Scott,” said Bob Goodlatte, Senior Policy Advisor to Protect The 1st and former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “Of course, the Senate and the House will need to work out a few differences. Then the way should be clear to get it to the president’s desk.
​
“Those who support this bill will be aligning themselves with the supermajorities of Americans of both parties who want families to have options in the quality and character of their children’s education,” Goodlatte said. “Abundant evidence shows that competition in education is proven to improve the quality of public schools, and it is certainly in the best interests of America’s schoolchildren.”

​Sen. Tim Scott’s latest legislative effort – the High-Quality Charter Schools Act – should be welcomed by anyone who values liberty, educational opportunity, and the full expression of our First Amendment rights. The South Carolina Republican is introducing a 75 percent federal tax credit for charitable donations to nonprofit charter school organizations with proven excellence. The aim is clear – to break down the financial barriers that prevent communities from opening the schools their children need.
 
“No matter their background, race or zip-code, every child deserves access to a good school,” Sen. Scott said in his introduction of this bill. “Millions of families – including thousands across South Carolina – choose charter schools for the high-quality education they provide.” He said that this bill will strengthen the best educational opportunities for families that need it the most.
 
For Protect The 1st, this bill isn’t just sound policy. It is a way to fulfill the promise of the First Amendment. Parents have a right, grounded in part in that Amendment, to guide their children’s education in ways that reflect their values and beliefs across generations. School choice empowers families to act on that right, whether through religious schools, charter schools, or other educational models.
 
The First Amendment protects both free speech and religious liberty. School choice legislation like this honors both. It enables families to seek out educational environments – secular or religious – that align with their convictions, without government interference.
 
We’ve seen this principle in action with the Educational Choice for Children Act. That measure, now part of the reconciliation package before the Senate, would offer similar tax credits for donations to organizations that fund scholarships for private and religious schools. It’s about using private donations to give families more options and students better chances. In Sen. Scott’s bill and the ECCA, money comes from voluntary donations, not state tax dollars.
 
Moreover, contrary to arguments by critics, there is abundant evidence showing that competition from school choice actually improves public schools. Out of 28 studies that explored the causal relationship between school choice and the performance of public schools, 25 found that school choice improves educational attainment in traditional school systems. “In terms of social-scientific validity, that’s a slam dunk,” writes Alexander William Salter, economist at Texas Tech University. When families have options, everyone wins.
 
Sen. Scott’s focus on charter schools adds another dimension, supporting schools that often serve low-income and minority students. It offers alternatives where the public system has failed. Sen. Scott’s bill respects American pluralism and helps close the gap between educational ideals and the lived reality of American families. Perhaps most important, it gives parents greater control over the destiny of their children. It does this by supporting institutions – charter, religious, and independent – that reflect America’s diversity while enabling the fullest exercise of the First Amendment.

​Under the leadership of Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the House Ways and Means Committee approved the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) on Wednesday as part of the tax package in President Trump’s “big, beautiful” reconciliation bill. This measure provides $20 billion in tax credits over the next four years to non-profit Scholarship Granting Organizations to pay private school tuition and educational materials for children throughout the United States.
 
“This is hopeful news for millions of American students and their parents,” said Bob Goodlatte, former Congressman and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Senior Policy Advisor to Protect The 1st. “Giving parents the ability to choose the best school for their children is a powerful expression of the First Amendment across the generations. Whether parents choose a private school that specializes in the sciences and technology, or the arts, or a religious school, they are free to make the best choice for their children.
 
“Our gratitude goes to Chairman Smith and all of his colleagues who stood behind the ECCA,” Goodlatte said. “We are also grateful to the followers of Protect The 1st who answered our call to let House Members know how important this legislation is to the families and children of America.
 
“We urge more Members to get behind the passage of this bill by the full House and the Senate, and its delivery to the president’s desk.”

​James G. Blaine is little remembered today, but in post-Civil War America he bestrode the American political landscape like a colossus. A U.S. Senator, Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, and Republican nominee for President, Blaine (derided by Democrats as the “continental liar from the State of Maine”) was one of those figures – like Daniel Webster or Henry Clay – who were more significant than many presidents.
 
Blaine’s legacy lives on as eponymous “Blaine Amendments” – language in state constitutions that prohibits public funding for schools run by religious organizations. These are the children of Blaine’s proposed but failed U.S. constitutional amendment crafted when many Americans panicked about Irish and Italian immigrants, corrupting America with their “Romanism.” The blatantly anti-Catholic purpose of Blaine’s proposal came at a time when most public schools had an overtly Protestant bent.
 
Blaine amendments are now in the constitutions of 37 states. They remain consequential, denying equal access to public funding for schools run by the Catholic Church and other religious organizations that meet state-mandated standards in English, science, math, and other core subjects.
 
This is problematic for South Carolina, which recently passed the Education Savings Trust Fund Act, which would have allowed low-income families to use state-provided scholarships for private school tuition. But the South Carolina Constitution prohibits using public funds for the “direct benefit” of private educational institutions. The South Carolina Supreme Court was forced to strike down this school voucher program, dealing a harsh blow to families seeking educational freedom.
 
That decision has left families scrambling to find alternatives after their financial support was cut off mid-school year. David Warner, a South Carolina father, described the ruling as “a kick in the stomach,” knowing he now has to tell his son in sixth grade he can no longer afford the school he loves.
 
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), a vocal advocate for school choice, has called school choice the “civil rights issue of our time.” His words resonate with many South Carolina families who view school choice not just as an educational policy, but as a step toward opportunity and empowerment. For many, the local public school might not provide an environment for their children that allows for the transmission of their values. Many public schools are often not even safe.
 
The Protect The 1st Foundation in our amicus brief explained the civil rights principles at stake in this program before the South Carolina Supreme Court. Our brief told the court that the scholarship program “promotes the exercise of First Amendment-protected religious and speech rights by enabling families who could not otherwise afford to do so to choose among a wide variety of schools and find those that align with their own varied beliefs and values …
 
“It is no surprise, then,” Protect The 1st explained, “that the data show that school choice programs like the one challenged here lead to higher graduation rates, better test scores, and greater civic engagement – not only for students who receive scholarships through the program, but also for students who choose to remain in public schools.”
 
If this sounds improbable, consider the research of Alexander William Salter, an economics professor at Texas Tech University. Salter reports that out of 28 studies that explore the link between school choice and district-school outcomes, “25 found that school choice improves educational attainment in traditional school systems. In terms of social-scientific validity, that’s a slam-dunk.”
 
For now, the South Carolina court’s decision closes the door on a program that gave 5,000 students a chance to explore other educational opportunities. Yet, while the court acknowledged there is public demand for school choice, it also pointed out that any change must come from amending the state constitution.
 
South Carolina has amended its constitution 100 times since 1974, including twice in 2022. But even if the Palmetto State removes its Blaine Amendment and opens the way forward for needy children to get a quality education, there will be 36 other states in which quality schools that meet state standards are officially discriminated against.
 
Congress can resolve this matter by overriding Blaine Amendments, enshrining recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions (Espinoza v. Montana and Carson v. Makin) into national law. That ought to be issue one for Speaker Mike Johnson, the new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon.