Free Flow of Information Act of 2009

Floor Speech

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - March 31, 2009)

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Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of legislation that helps to ensure freedom of the press. This right is a cornerstone of our democracy, and a principle that we cherish and promote around the world.

Arthur Hays Sulzberger once said, ``Freedom of the press ..... belongs to everyone--to the citizen as well as the publisher ..... The crux is not the publisher's `freedom to print'; it is, rather, the citizen's `right to know.' ''

The right to know, as provided by a free press, keeps our nation informed and holds those of us in government accountable.

It is appropriate that we debate media shield legislation in the same week that we will debate the federal budget. Because this legislation will make clear to confidential sources that they will be protected in most circumstances when they bring forward public evidence of waste, fraud and abuse in government and in the private sector.

News organizations are facing serious economic challenges across the country. Our policies should enable our news organizations to thrive and engage in the news gathering and analysis the American people expect.

Essential to this effort is the media shield law we debate today.

Nearly all states have recognized the importance of a free press with some form of a press shield protecting the confidentiality of journalists' sources. However, that protection is lacking at the federal level and in federal courts.

This has hampered the essential work of the press. In recent years, more than 40 reporters have been subpoenaed for the identities of confidential sources in nearly a dozen cases.

The federal government's policies and actions should protect and preserve the press's ability to speak truth to power. This legislation does so with appropriate national security safeguards, striking a careful balance between liberty and security.

Freedom of the press has long been an issue of importance to many of us in this body. When I was Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, I encouraged President Clinton to veto an Intelligence Authorization bill that would have made it easier to prosecute journalists. We fixed those provisions and passed a bill that both protected our nation and protected our fundamental freedoms.

Madam Speaker, today we have an opportunity to strengthen and protect the freedom of the press that has served our nation so well and to protect all journalists.

As we protect and defend our nation, we must now protect and defend the Constitution by enabling our press to be free, as our Founders envisioned. I urge my colleagues to give this legislation the strong bipartisan vote it deserves.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Free Flow of Information Act, and I thank the chairman for his work on this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, our nation's founders understood that a free and independent press is the lifeblood of a functioning democracy.

Confidential sources supply journalists with critical information on matters of public importance. The freedom of the press to cultivate relationships with confidential sources facilitates this vital exchange.

These relationships should be protected, because it is fundamentally in the interest of our republic that the free exchange of ideas and information remain unadulterated.

We must never silence those who inform our democracy.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

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