From the Austin American-Statesman
Found for us by the Texas news ninja, Betsy!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Congress has another opportunity this week to protect insiders who blow the whistle on government inefficiency and corruption — and the journalists who report it.
Naturally, many people in government don’t like the idea of protecting whistle-blowers, so the legislation being considered in the U.S. House and Senate faces an uphill course. A similar bill offering a qualified privilege for Texas journalists to protect the names of undisclosed sources fought its way through the Legislature last session only to be killed at the last minute by state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball.
A federal law to protect the free flow of information could get a vote in the House Judiciary Committee as early as Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, the San Antonio Republican whose 21st District reaches into Austin, is the ranking GOP member on the committee. This is a bill Smith should support, though his office issued a statement that says nothing about his intentions.
Though opponents try to paint HR 2102, known as the Free Flow of Information Act, as a shield bill for journalists, the true beneficiary is the American people. When government corruption is exposed — think of Watergate or the awful conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center — the public benefits, not the journalists. MORE
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