[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3732-3733]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RICK BOUCHER

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 2009

  Mr. BOUCHER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join with Congressman 
Mike Pence in introducing the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009. We 
are joined by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Judiciary 
Committee Vice Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte, and 35 other original 
cosponsors.
  Our bipartisan legislation provides a privilege in federal court 
proceedings for reporters to refrain from revealing their confidential 
sources of information.
  The privilege is similar in nature to that currently offered by 36 
states and the District of Columbia. Such broad-based support for 
assuring the confidentiality of journalists' sources at the state level 
lays bare the glaring lack of similar protection at the federal level.
  The ability to assure confidentiality to people who provide 
information is essential to effective news gathering and reporting on 
highly sensitive and important issues.
  Typically, the best information about corruption in government or 
misdeeds in a private organization will come from someone on the inside 
who feels a responsibility to bring the information to light.
  But that person has a lot to lose if his or her identity becomes 
known. In many cases, the person responsible for the corruption or the 
misdeeds can punish the source through dismissal or more subtle forms 
of punitive action if the source's identity becomes known.
  It is only by assuring anonymity to the source that a reporter can 
gain access to the information in order to bring it to public scrutiny.
  I have long thought that the ability to protect the confidentiality 
of sources is so essential to effective news gathering that a privilege 
to refrain from revealing sources should be interpreted to be extended 
to reporters by the 1st Amendment.
  Unfortunately, to date the 1st Amendment has not been so interpreted. 
Furthermore, in the past few years more than thirty reporters have been 
subpoenaed or questioned in federal court proceedings about 
confidential sources, and several have been handed or threatened with 
jail sentences. The time has clearly arrived for the Congress to enact 
this statutory privilege to address the increasing use of subpoenas to 
extract confidential source information from reporters.
  Our legislation sets criteria which must be met to compel the 
disclosure of information from reporters in any federal criminal or 
civil matter, with heightened protection for the identities of 
confidential sources. While extending a broad privilege, we have 
included some exceptions for instances in which source information can 
be disclosed where a strong public interest compels the disclosure. 
Provisions have been incorporated to allow disclosure to prevent 
imminent death or significant bodily harm, to determine who has 
disclosed trade secrets or personal health or personal financial 
information in violation of law, and to assure that national security 
interests are protected.
  An exception to the privilege will only apply if the court determines 
that the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the 
public interest in the gathering and dissemination of news and 
information.
  The bill is a carefully constructed measure which will provide a 
broad new and much needed privilege for reporters to refrain from 
revealing confidential sources.
  The measure protects the public's right to know, and its passage 
should be a priority in this Congress. The measure we are reintroducing 
today is identical to the measure which passed the House in 2007 by a 
large, bipartisan majority of 398 to 21.
  I want to commend Mike Pence who has devoted substantial personal 
time and attention to this effort.
  He has done much to bring the need for the privilege to public 
attention, and he is a highly effective advocate for the cause.

[[Page 3733]]

  It was a pleasure coauthoring a similar bill with Mike in the last 
two Congresses and in writing with him the bill we are introducing 
today.
  I also want to thank Chairman Conyers for his helpful suggestions and 
his support in moving the bill through the Judiciary Committee.
  Given the broad bipartisan support this measure enjoys, I am 
optimistic that we will be able to enact the legislation into law 
during the course of this Congress.
  I hope my colleagues will join with us in enacting into law the Free 
Flow of Information Act of 2009.

                          ____________________