PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Trade and Environment.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Apr 1, 1993
Free Trade in Ideas Act of 1993 - Amends the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Export Administration Act of 1979, the Trading With the Enemy Act, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 to declare that the authority granted the President under such Acts does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit: (1) the importation from or exportation to any country, or the communication or telecommunication or other form of transmission to any country, of publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, audiotapes and video tapes, artworks, telephone conversations, other voice or data communications, telecasts, and news wire feeds; (2) other forms of telecommunications; (3) other materials which in the United States would be protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; (4) information that is not otherwise controlled under the Export Administration Act of 1979; (5) travel related to importation, exportation, communication, telecommunication, or transmission; (6) transactions for the creation or circulation of such information, or rights to such information, whether commercial or otherwise; (7) other transactions incidental to the above-mentioned activities or transactions; (8) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel to and from any country; (9) any transactions ordinarily incident to travel and maintenance within any country; (10) any transactions incident to the arrangement, promotion, or facilitation of travel to, from, or within a country; (11) any transactions incident to nonscheduled flights or voyages to and from any country; (12) normal banking transactions incident to travel to and from any country; (13) the importation or exportation of publications or other informational materials from any country; (14) financial or other transactions, or travel, incident to activities of scholars, other educational or academic activities, cultural activities and exchanges, or public exhibitions by nationals of one country in another country; or (15) financial or other transactions related to the establishment of U.S. news bureaus in foreign countries, or the establishment of foreign news bureaus in the United States.
People & committees
Rep. Berman, Howard L. [D-CA-26] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Trade and Environment.
Executive Comment Requested from State.
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 26, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.1579 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.1579 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.1579 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.1579 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.