NEW FOL BILL PASSED BY SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R001800150006-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Sequence Number: 6
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/04/13: CIA-RDP83M00914R001800150006-5
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EDITOR & PUBLISHER
EDITOR
19 DECEMBER 1981
1A1 _1h.., M Fo lb 111 - ,
imassed
by Senate Subcommfttee
Legislation that would give the govern.
ment sweeping new powers to deny
citizens access to records under the
Federal Freedom of Information Act has
passed the Senate Subcommittee on the
Constitution by a 3-1 vote.
The dissenter was Sen. Patrick J.
Leahy (D: Vt.), who fought unsuccess-
fully during a final drafting session De-
cember 1y to delay reporting out FoIA.
legislation until after the upcoming holi-
day congressional recess. Voting for the
measure, which combined elements of
two bills, S. 1730 and S. 1751, were sub-
committee chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R.
Utah). Dennis DeConcini (D.-Ariz.) and
Strom Thurmond, (R-S.C.).
Reaction to the vote from press repre-
sentatives was swift and highly unfavor-
able. Several said the final form of the bill
indicated to them that extensive consulta-
tions between media groups and the sub-
committee staff since introduction of the
two bills had been to no avail in promot-
ing any compromise with proponents of
drastic FoIA reforms.
"The way this bill came out is a major
-setback for openness," said Art Sackler,
general counsel of the National News-
paper Association. "It's the government
pulling a kind of vanishing act. There's an
awful lot that has been available up until
now that won't be under this bill."
Sackler gave short shrift to Sen.
Hatch's statement during the mark-up
hearing that the press had had full oppor-
tunity to present its views during public
hearings and discussions with subcom-
mittee staff. "That's true," said Sackler.
"We testified, and a number of us talked
with (staff), but as far as I can see, we
didn't move them on much of
anything . . . They talked to us, but they
certainly didn't take anything we had to
say very seriously."
Charles Rowe, chairman of the Amer-
ican Newspaper PublisrsAssociation's
FoIA Working Grouplled the subcom-
mittee vote "disapp inting ' and vowed
to "fight hard against the significant
revisions . . . which would result if this
bill became law." Rowe is the editor of
the Frederickshurg (Va.) Free Lance-
Star.
The bill reported out by the subcom-
mittee draws from amendments intro-
duced by Sen. Hatch (S. 1730) as well as a
draft bill put forward by the Reagan
Administration.
The final bill contains broad new ex-
emptions from FoIA. disclosure require-
merits, particularly in two areas of trade
secrets and law enforcement records.
The Administration also favors broad ex-
emptions
for the intelligence-agencies,
such as CIA, the National Security Agen-
cy and the Defense Intelligence Agency,
but did not deal with the intelligence
agencies in itsbill. The bill reported out of
Hatch's committee contains no language
directly broadening the- current exemp-
tion for national security secrets.
The bill does contain some changes en-
dorsed by press representatives. includ-
ing a provision for expedited access for
FoIA requests expected to "benefit the
general public," a provision directing
agencies to set up-uniform fee schedules
and another providing for reduced fees,
or fee waivers, when an agency deter-
mines release of the information would
benefit the public more than it would be-
nefit any private interest of the requester.
"I can't say we didn't get something"
from the discussions with subcommittee
members and staff, said Richard Schmidt
counsel for the American.'Society of
Newspaper Editors. 'But we sure didn't
get very much."
STAT
13: CIA-RDP83M00914R001800150006-5