[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [ALACOUN:9141] Fw: [IFACTION:4826] Senators Introduce the Restore Freedom of Information

[Alfred Kagan]

>From: "Bernadine Abbott Hoduski" <ber at initco.net>
>To: ALA Council List <alacoun at ala1.ala.org>
>Subject: [ALACOUN:9141] Fw: [IFACTION:4826] Senators Introduce the 
>Restore Freedom of Information
>Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:32:06 -0700
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>Hi Members of Council,
>  In case you have not seen this ALAWON about the "Restore The Freedom of
>Information Act", I am sending it you.  I urge you to contact your Senators
>to cosponsor this legislation.  Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, Chair of COL
>
>
>>ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
>>Volume 12, Number 22
>>March 13, 2003
>>
>>In This Issue: Senators Introduce the Restore Freedom of Information
>>Act (Restore FOIA)
>>
>>Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), James Jeffords
>>(I-Vt.), Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), and Robert Byrd (D-W.V.)
>>Wednesday
>>introduced the S. 609, "Restore Freedom of Information Act (Restore
>>FOIA)," four days before Freedom of Information Day.  The Restore FOIA
>>bill would replace the broad FOIA exemption for "critical
>>infrastructure
>>information" included in the charter for the new Department of
>>Homeland
>>Security, enacted last November. The Restore FOIA bill would protect
>>Americans' "right to know" while simultaneously contributing to the
>>security of the nation's critical infrastructure.
>>
>>The Leahy-Levin-Jeffords-Lieberman-Byrd bill embodies the compromise
>>that Leahy, Levin and others reached with the White House during the
>>Senate's earlier work on the homeland security bill.  Last November,
>>this bipartisan compromise was stripped out of the underlying bill and
>>House language was enacted.  The new Restore FOIA bill would:
>>
>>* Limit the FOIA exemption to relevant "records" submitted by private
>>entities, so that only those records that actually pertain to critical
>>infrastructure safety are protected.  "Records" is the standard
>>category
>>referred to in FOIA.  This corrects the free pass given to industry by
>>the Homeland Security Act for any information labeled "critical
>>infrastructure."
>>
>>* Not limit the use of such information by the government, except to
>>prohibit disclosure where such information is appropriately exempted
>>under FOIA.
>>
>>* Protect the actions of legitimate whistleblowers, rather than
>>criminalizing their acts.
>>
>>* Not forbid use of such information in civil court cases to hold
>>companies accountable for wrongdoing or to protect the public.
>>
>>* Respect, rather than preempt, state and local FOIA laws.
>>
>>For more information, go to
>>http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200303/031203.html
>>
>>ACTION: The bill has been referred to the Judiciary Committee. The
>>Senators on each of those committees are listed below. Please contact
>>your senator and urge her/him to support this legislation.
>>
>>Contact information is available at
>>http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
>>or 202-224-3121.
>>
>>SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
>>
>>Orrin G. Hatch                   Patrick J. Leahy
>>CHAIRMAN, UTAH                   RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER,VERMONT
>>
>>Charles E. Grassley              Edward M. Kennedy
>>IOWA                             MASSACHUSETTS
>>
>>Arlen Specter                    Joseph R. Biden, Jr
>>PENNSYLVANIA                     DELAWARE
>>
>>Jon Kyl                          Herbert Kohl
>>ARIZONA                          WISCONSIN
>>
>>Mike DeWine                      Dianne Feinstein
>>OHIO                             CALIFORNIA
>>
>>Jeff Sessions                    Russell D. Feingold
>>ALABAMA                          WISCONSIN
>>
>>Lindsey Graham                   Charles E. Schumer
>>SOUTH CAROLINA                   NEW YORK
>>
>>Larry Craig                      Richard J. Durbin
>  >IDAHO                            ILLINOIS
>>
>>
>>
>>Saxby Chambliss                  John Edwards
>>GEORGIA                          NORTH CAROLINA
>>
>>John Cornyn
>>TEXAS
>>
>>
>>******
>>ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the
>>American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject
>>to
>>copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or
>>redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits.
>>
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>>
>>ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403,
>>Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478
>>toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash at alawash.org; Web site:
>>http://www.ala.org/washoff.  Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff.
>>Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Camille
>>Bowman,
>>Mary Costabile, Don Essex, Patrice McDermott and Miriam Nisbet. Office
>>for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Jennifer
>>Hendrix, Carrie Russell, Claudette Tennant. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette
>>Murphy.
>>
>>


-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu