Shield law action today
The federal Shield law proposal that SPJ supports is in mark up in the House today and a vote in the judiciary coimmittee on Thursday.
A few changes have been made since the bill was last heard in June.
*The definition of a journalist is narrowed to apply to people who engage in journalism for livihood or financial gain. Bloggers would be covered if they are paid for their work, says SPJ lawyer Laurie Babinski.
*The national security bar is lowered from requiring an imminent national security threat to prevent an act of terrorism.
Rep. Mike Pence, the Indiana Repbulican who is sponsoring the House bill, sent out this statement this morning.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today’s markup is an important step forward in the drive to enact the Free Flow of Information Act into law. I am grateful for your leadership on this issue and for your support of this bill.
“As always, I am profoundly grateful to my partner in this endeavor, the gentleman from Virginia, Congressman Rick Boucher, the author of this year’s version of the bill. On the committee, I also would like to thank Congressman Howard Coble for his original co-sponsorship and support of the bill.
“This bill has received tremendous support in the Senate, with companion legislation having been introduced by the senior senator from my home state, Dick Lugar, and Senator Chris Dodd. On both sides of the Capitol and on both sides of the aisle, there are countless dedicated and hard-working champions for the First Amendment, and I know that they all will be very pleased to see this bill move forward today.
“As Colonel Robert R. McCormick, grandson of the founder of the Chicago Tribune, said, ‘The newspaper is an institution developed by modern civilization to present the news of the day and to furnish that check upon government which no constitution has ever been able to provide.’
“As a conservative who believes in limited government, I know the only check on government power in real time is a free and independent press. The Free Flow of Information Act is not about protecting reporters; it is about protecting the public’s right to know.
“Our Founders enshrined in the First Amendment the following words: ‘Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.’
“Thomas Jefferson warned that, ‘Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that limited without danger of losing it.’”