•      "Committee Democrats feel it important to note some of the concerns many of our Members had with the bill. First, it is worth noting that while H.R. 5349 is aimed at ensuring educational materials are available to assist in teaching students "about the dangers of communism and totalitarianism, and how they are contrary to the founding principles of freedom and democracy in the United States," it is silent on the documented, continued use of allegations of Communist Party membership, sympathy, or allegiance against innocent, patriotic Americans. One of the bill's explicit purposes is to authorize the creation of the educational resources that help students learn and understand statistics on the numbers of people worldwide who either were killed by communist regimes or currently live in communist states. While Committee Democrats agree that relevant facts should be included, it is also important to include data that conveys that, since the first Red Scare, through the McCarthyism of the 1950s, the Civil Rights Movement up to the present day, politicians, predominantly on the right, have used communist allegations as baseless smears against fellow Americans. The bill's language should encourage American schools to produce critical thinkers that understand when they hear a member of Congress declare that "78 to 81" Democratic Members of Congress are members of the Communist Party, that member is engaging in invidious rhetoric designed not to be true, but to inflame, scare, and pit Americans against each other. Many Committee Democrats could not support such a bill that does not expose this important facet of the subject at hand." Source: Rep. Bobby Scott (Democrat, Virginia, District 3), Committee Democrats Minority Report