Update 9/2/05
Update 9/2/05
Some things to watch as Congress goes back to work.
Shortly before the August recess, Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mi), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, made a lightly reported speech to the Heritage Foundation in which he decried a growing number of leaks of classified information.
He immediately implicated the media.
“It has become all too common—almost second nature—for people in Washington to leak information. Policymakers may leak for any number of reasons, such as to bring attention to a good news story or discredit a bad story. They may also leak information to gauge public interest on a new policy or issue. But some seemingly leak just because they can.”
Leaking is frequent and continuing, he said, “because it is extremely difficult to identify who leaked the information and then obtain a successful prosecution.”
His goal is to create a culture within the Intelligence Community for “zero tolerance” of classified information leaks.
His solution: Give the Department of Justice “the tools it needs to identify and prosecute individuals who deliberately share classified intelligence.” Replace the current “patchwork” of penalties with a comprehensive statute that sets criminal punishment for disclosure of confidential information.
Hoekstra said he plans hearings this fall that will include officials from the Justice Department, the CIA, and the Defense Department. He said he’ll also invite media representatives.
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There’s also the possibility of another House Government Reform Committee hearing on FOIA before any of the three reform bills are taken up. The committee’s first hearing in May was exploratory, looking at implementation of the act from both a requester and agency view. A new hearing would look at legislative solutions to the issues raised. That could be still another bill or a some modifications to the OPEN Government Act filed last March by Sens. Cornyn and Leahy and Rep. Lamar Smith in the House. Significantly, as reported by the Heritage Foundation’s Mark Tapscott in a column distributed by the Knight Ridder Tribune wire, eight conservative leaders have come out in support of the bill.
Meanwhile, the Sunshine in Government Initiative is continuing its efforts to build support on the Hill and to generate more comment and support for the legislation “back home.” That has more impact in most case that DC voices.
Also, I’m starting to do some research on an ombudsman and related approaches (arbitrator, adjudicator, mediator). If you’ve had any experience in your state that would be helpful, drop me a note.
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The Wilmington News Journal held the second in a series of APME FOI Roundtables in Dover, the Delaware capital. The roundtables bring journalists together with public officials and citizens to share views on open government issues. The hope is that this will encourage at least a little light even if there is no mad rush into the sunshine. After an initial give-and-take on one senator’s bill to fully open legislative proceedings, the Wilmington discussion turned to the atmosphere of mutual distrust and the need to build better relationships. One official described a recent incidence of records withholding as the payback for the newspaper’s mistrust of the agency. Another said the public records law “sets up an adversarial relationship.” More hopefully, one official suggested state departments consider developing new rules on information that could be released without citizens or reporters having to file a formal freedom of information request. The links below are to an AP story on the forum and a News Journal follow-up on the legislative open meetings bill.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050826/NEWS01/508260343/1006
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050828/NEWS01/508280430/1001/NEWS
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Along with its other stories, the Katrina aftermath may provide some tales of HIPAA-induced reportorial or citizen trauma. We’ve heard a couple of the latter. You might urge your members to let us know if they or any of there colleagues get turned down on information requests because of HIPAA, or if they carry stories of people who can’t find out about relatives because of the law. We’re continuing to gather anecdotal evidence that could help in getting some changes in language.
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The National Freedom of Information Coalition, newly relocated to the University of Missouri and the Freedom of Information Center, is back in the re-granting business and particularly interested in supporting start-ups in states that do not have FOI coalitions. Contact Charles Davis at http://www.nfoic.org.
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And a plan ahead reminder: There are only 179 days until Sunshine Week.
Pete Weitzel
