OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Ethics in Government Act of 1978 Amendment

Date: Dec. 7, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Judicial Branch


ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978 AMENDMENT -- (House of Representatives - December 07, 2005)

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4311. This bill protects judges against certain security threats. The September 11 tragedy and events thereafter have only heightened the security concerns that make this legislation necessary.

H.R. 4311 permanently extends the ability of judges to request redaction of their financial disclosure reports. The current redaction authority sunsets at the end of this year. Thus it is imperative that we act quickly to get this bill to the Senate where we hope it will pass before the end of the year so that the legislation can be enacted.

The redaction authority for judges is appropriately limited and thus should not raise concerns about undue restrictions on public access to financial disclosure reports. A judge's report may only be redacted if the Judicial Conference and the U.S. Marshals Service both find that revealing the personal and sensitive information could endanger that particular judge. Furthermore, the report can only be redacted to the extent necessary to protect the judge and only for so long as a danger exists.

The redaction authority has not been abused to date. Of over 2,000 judges filing reports in 2000, only 6 percent had their reports redacted in any way. Typically, the information redacted is limited to such things as a spouse's place of work, location of a judge's second home and things of that nature. It is obvious how a person of ill will could misuse that information to harm a judge or the judge's family.

This law is tightly drawn, and it requires the Judicial Conference, in concert with the Department of Justice, to file an annual report detailing the number and circumstances of all of the redactions. This statutory reporting requirement enables Congress to monitor for any abuse of the redaction authority, so I would urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter).

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important bill. It deals with the protection of judges, and I would hope that the Members of the House would pass the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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