Briefs

FOIA “A SERVICE,” BUSH REAFFIRMS

In a move that took many by surprise, President George W. Bush signed an executive order Dec. 14 aimed at improving disclosure of information under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Under the executive order, U.S. agencies are required within 30 days to designate a senior official as chief FOIA officer, who will be tasked with reviewing the agency’s FOIA programs and coming up with ways to improve them. The thrust of the executive order is procedural and does not change current interpretation or application of exemptions.

“FOIA requesters are seeking a service from the Federal Government and should be treated as such. Accordingly, in responding to a FOIA request, agencies shall respond courteously and appropriately,” the administration said.

Many members of the FOIA community saw the executive order as largely a pre-emptive strike against the Cornyn-Leahy FOIA bills currently languishing in the U.S. Senate. Although none of the three bills sponsored by the two senators seems to have much chance of being passed by Congress, provisions of the main bill would make much more radical changes than does the executive order, and almost all of them would not be favorable to federal agencies.

— Harry Hammitt, Access Reports

8 CONSERVATIVE LEADERS ENDORSE U.S. FOIA REFORM

David Keene is chairman of the American Conservative Union, one of the oldest and largest advocacy groups on the Right. A Reagan campaign stalwart, he remains a keeper of the conservative faith as one of the movement’s wise men.

Keene is also one of eight major leaders on the Right who are encouraging Sen. Cornyn in his effort to reform the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by, among other things, giving it some real teeth.

Joining Keene in signing a recent letter to Cornyn were Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research; Mike Krempasky, founder and director of RedState.org; Mark Levin, president of the Landmark Legal Foundation; Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center; John Berthoud, president of the National Taxpayers Union; Terence Scanlon, president of the Capital Research Center; and Alex Mooney, executive director of the National Journalism Center of Young America’s Foundation.

“As the federal government becomes ever bigger, more expensive and more intrusive, it becomes more important than ever that Americans have greater access to routine official documents that show what is being done in their name in the nation’s capitol, subject only to reasonable exceptions like national security, law enforcement, personal privacy, etc.,” the conservative leaders told Cornyn.

— Mark Tapscott, The Heritage Foundation

FEDERAL SHIELD LAW REMAINS IN COMMITTEE

Congress adjourned without acting on a bipartisan bill to create a federal “shield” law to protect reporters and their confidential sources.

Virginia Congressmen Rick Boucher, Tom Davis, and Frank Wolf are co-sponsoring the bill. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, also has indicated support, as long as legitimate threats to national security trump confidential claims.

The state Supreme Court has recognized a qualified journalist privilege, but there’s no Virginia statute that spells it out explicitly. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, through legislation or court decision, have adopted shield laws providing an evidentiary privilege for reports — much like the privileges enjoyed by clergy, lawyers and psychotherapists — to keep secret information given them in confidence.

Paul K. McMasters, First Amendment ombudsman at the Freedom Forum and president of VCOG, voiced hope the public would understand: “this is first and foremost an issue of free speech in general and dissent in particular.

“It is about the ability of those with information vital to the public and inconvenient to some government officials to get that word to the public through the press,” he said. “A federal shield law is not a special privilege for journalists but a special protection for the public.”