2005
Federal shield laws: Protecting journalists and their confidential sources
S. 340 and H.R 581 would shield confidentiality agreements between journalists and their sources and protect the identity of a journalist's confidential source.
Status: S.340: Senate Judiciary Committee; H.R 581: House Judiciary Committee
Sources: Text of S. 340 ; Text of H.R 581
Action: Sign the Free Press petition to support these bills.
FOIA Exemption Disclosure Bill: Passed in Senate
Congress would have to disclose when it puts information beyond the public's reach under the Freedom of Information Act according to a new bill (S. 1181) introduced on June 7 by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). This is the third Cornyn-Leahy bill aimed at strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The bill is identical to section eight of the OPEN Government Act (S. 394) and Cornyn and Leahy hope to pass it as stand-alone legislation. On Friday, June 24, the Senate voted by unanimous consent to approve S. 1181.
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
Source: Sen. Cornyn statement; Sen. Leahy press release; Text of S. 1181;Congressional Record posted by Federation of American Scientists
House votes to fund Public Interest Declassification Board
The House approved a bill that would fund the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) next fiscal year. Congress established the Board to advise the president on ways to prevent agencies from classifying documents that should be public. According to the House report on the 2006 Defense Appropriations Act (House Report 109-119), the House Appropriations Committee will allocate $1,000,000 to the PIDB. Even though most of its members have been named by the White House and Congressional leaders, the board has yet to meet.
Source: Text of House Report;POGO's group letter supporting full funding of the Board
Exemption Envy: Pentagon seeks new FOI Exemption
The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency is seeking to avoid disclosing policy manuals and other "operational documents" under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The CIA received a narrowly-tailored FOIA exemption for its operations after much negotiation; other branches of the intelligence community have also sought broader secrecy exemptions. Congress rejected the agency's attempt to get the same exemption in 2000. The Defense Department sent the proposed language to Congress April 7 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006.The FOIA provision was removed from the final House bill, H.R. 1815, but the Senate bill, S. 1042, contains the language in section 922.
Status:H.R. 1815 was passed by the House on May 25. S. 1042 was passed out of the Committee on Armed Services on May 12 and will now face a full vote.
Source: Secrecy News; Text of H.R. 1815;Text of S. 1042
Restore FOIA: Bill Would Fix 'Critical Infrastructure' Exemption
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT.) reintroduced the Restore FOIA Act (S. 622) March 15, which would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 so that provisions in the law to protect "Critical Infrastructure Information" would not undermine FOIA. Leahy introduced the widely-supported legislation in the 108th Congress, but it was never passed.
Status: Introduced March 15, referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Source: Text of S. 622
New Intelligence Center Created for Unclassified Information
The CIA created an Open Source Center to gather and analyze information from the Web, broadcasts, newspapers, and other unclassified sources around the world.
Sources: Intelligence Center Is Created for Unclassified Information[New York Times November 9]
Nuclear Agency Use of Secrecy May Face Investigation
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) asking for an investigation into how the agency is restricting public access to unclassified information. The letter noted many instances of the agency blocking public access to meetings, unclassified reports, and other information routinely used by public interest groups and community advocates. Markey also highlighted NRC's recent rulemaking aimed at expanding its exemptions for Safeguards Information (SGI), which could hide almost any information relating to nuclear facilities' emergency planning procedures and safety analyses, among others. Communities use this information to ensure it is being properly protected.
Status: Markey letter sent to NRC March 21. Comment period for SGI proposed rule closed March 28.
Source: Markey Press Release; Letter to NRC IG; Federal Register notice for proposed SGI rule; OMB Watch comments on rule; docket of submitted comments
PATRIOT Act: Acting in secret, committee expands PATRIOT Act
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed a secret bill on June 7 to expand the PATRIOT Act, leaving unclear how the House and Senate will proceed given the judiciary committees in the House and Senate have primary jurisdiction on the issue.
Source: ACLU Statement; Roberts' Press Release; Senate Report
Action: Sign the Campaign for Reader Privacy petition and tell Congress to Support Legislation to Fix the Patriot Act
PATRIOT Act and Protecting Library Records: House Acts
The House voted 238-187 on June 15 to limit access to library records and bookstore sales slips by investigators, despite a veto threat from the White House. Meanwhile, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted in secret to expand several provisions in the PATRIOT Act.
Source: First Amendment Center
PATRIOT Act: Narrowing Sneak and Peak
The Reasonable Notice and Search Act (S. 316) would narrow Section 213 of the Patriot Act by limiting the cases in which a delayed notice warrant can be granted; providing a time limit for notice in these cases; including a sunset provision so these "sneak and peak" provisions sunset with other Patriot Act surveillance expansions; and requiring a public report on how Section 213 is used.
Status: The bill is referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Source: Thomas
PATRIOT Act: Protecting Library Records
Sen. Feingold (D-WI) introduced S. 317 to protect library records and other records under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 from unwarranted seizure. The bill would amend Section 215 and 505 of the Patriot Act, requiring the FBI to provide sufficient evidence that a library user is a suspected terrorist before obtaining records. It would also require annual reports to Congress from the Attorney General on how the provisions are being used.
Status: The bill is referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Source: Thomas
Sensitive Security Information (SSI): Federalism v. Secrecy
The Senate pushed to pre-empt state and local sunshine laws in order to mandate secrecy about public safety problems in aviation, rail and other transportation systems.
Status: The administration-sponsored secrecy provisions were in the Senate-passed version of the $350 billion transportation bill (H.R. 3550); the version passed by the House lacks them. The Government Accountability Office accepted a request from two House members to investigate Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security's use of the SSI provision.
Whistleblower Protection Legislation
Legislation to strengthen the Whistleblower Protection Act was reintroduced during the 109th Congress. The Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act is bipartisan legislation would ensure protection against reprisal for federal employees who bring government wrongdoing to light. It would require employee training on whistleblower rights, allow any court of appeals to hear a whistleblower case, and would cover any disclosure of waste, fraud, or abuse. S. 494 was introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) March 2, and Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA) introduced H.R. 1317 on March 15. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) stated his intention April 28 to introduce legislation that would provide government whistleblowers similar protections to those in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a corporate accountability law that protects corporate whistleblowers. Markey did offer an amendment to the Homeland Security Authorization bill that contained whistleblower language, but it failed.
Status: H.R. 1317 referred to the Committee on Government Reform. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs favorably reported out S. 494 on April 13. Full Markey legislation still in development.
Source: Akaka press release; Text of S. 494; Text of H.R. 1317; OMB Watcher article
Changes at the Office of Special Counsel
Whistleblower groups are questioning changes at the Office of Special Counsel, the office with chief responsibility for protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. The Project On Government Oversight, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Government Accountability Project want an investigation into whether the re-location of outspoken employees by the OSC Special Counsel is retaliatory.
Source: Project On Government Oversight: Whistleblower Staff Blow the Whistle On Special Counsel
Action: POGO Action Alert: Ask for an investigation!
Hurricane Katrina response
With complete federal contract information hard to come by, several members of Congress are trying to increase public oversight into money spent on Hurricane Katrina. Bills include the Hurricane Katrina Accountability and Clean Contracting Bill (H.R. 3838), introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) 'Truth in Contracting' Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2863), adopted by the Senate. Sen. Tom Coburn (R- Okla.) plans to hold hearings to determine how the government can better track its spending. After President Bush restored minimum wage laws for hurricane recovery, Reps. Frank Lobiondo (R-NJ) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH) backed down from their threat to push a House resolution, H.Res. 488, calling for disclosure of hurricane-related federal contracts.
Status: H.R. 3838: Referred to House Subcommittee; H.R.2863: Adopted by the Senate
Sources: H.R. 3838; H.Res. 488; Lautenberg's press release and text of H.R.2863; See an OMB Watch list of toxic chemical sites in New Orleans;
POGO's list of Hurricane Katrina related government oversight legislation
Action: Demand that EPA respond to Hurricane Katrina with more openness. EPA should conduct a transparent investigation of environmental hazards and implement a monitoring system.
Weather scientists barred from talking to press
According to a new policy at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, weather and climate scientists and other employees can no longer talk directly to the press. The "go-through-the-press-office policy" is in writing, whereas most similar policies are spoken and often breached. According to the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), the policy even includes instances when news media call the National Weather Service to inform their audiences about the track of a hurricane.
Sources: SEJ WatchDog
Pay for Your Weather Forecasts?
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced legislation that would force the National Weather Service to provide its routine weather forecasts only in an unintelligible, machine-readable format so Accuweather and other private companies can re-package and sell the NWS's analyses. S. 786 was introduced April 14.
Status:Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation April 14.
Source: Chicago Tribune article; Text of S. 786
Watergate Worries: Scholars Push Binding Agreements as Nixon Library Pledges More Secret Tapes for the Public
Concerned that key historical documents related to Watergate might be destroyed, scholars called on Congress to halt the transfer of the Nixon administration's records to the Nixon Library until better controls can be put in place. In response, the Nixon Library pledged to donate portions of tapes and files kept from the public through over twenty years of litigation, but made no mention of a possible legally binding agreement.
Source: National Security Archive; National Coalition for History; letters related to the document handover posted by the Nixon Library