Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement in response to reports that New College of Florida discarded hundreds of books including Nine and Counting: the Women of the Senate, a book co-authored by Senators Murray and Collins, with seven of their then-colleagues, in 2001:

"We were stunned to discover that the state of Florida chose to discard Nine and Counting from its collection of books at New College-this is a book we penned together with our Senate colleagues to tell our stories as women senators, at a time when there were far fewer of us, to help inspire the next generation of women to pursue public service. We stand against the senseless banning of books. Such actions go against our constitutional values and the idea that our universities should be places where the freedom of speech is allowed to flourish and perspectives of all kinds are heard.

"As Senators from different political parties, we don't always agree, but we understand the importance of always maintaining an open dialogue-throwing away books like Nine and Counting teaches our students exactly the opposite at a time when understanding and a willingness to hear each other out are needed more than ever. We encourage whoever facilitated the removal of Nine and Counting to take the time and read the book. Perhaps they might not be so quick to discard stories like ours next time."

Senators Collins and Murray are both senior members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

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