The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword
This morning, at 12:40 am, the U.S. House of Representatives did something that has eluded it for 42 years: it passed a law to prevent journalists from being imprisoned for protecting their sources. I took this concept, known as a “shield law,” boiled it down to 52 words, and put it up for a surprise vote. And won.
What brought together a bipartisan coalition of 173 Democrats and 52 Republicans behind this bold progressive measure was the following “Dear Colleague” letter, which I handed out to Members personally on the Floor of the House, as the clock struck twelve:
GRAYSON AMENDMENT – Vote to Have the Federal Government Join 49 States in Protecting Reporter Sources
Dear Colleague:
In the last set of votes on the CJS Appropriations Bill, there will be a vote on having the Federal Government join 49 states in protecting reporter sources. The amendment reads as follows:
“None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to compel a journalist or reporter to testify about information or sources that the journalist or reporter states in a motion to quash the subpoena that he has obtained as a journalist or reporter and that he regards as confidential.”
This amendment would bring federal law in conformity with the law of the States; of the 50 States, only Wyoming lacks protection for reporter information and sources. This gap between federal law and State law has persisted for over 40 years, since the closely contested 5-to-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Branzburg v. Hayes. Ironically, even though the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “freedom . . . of the press,” absent statutory authority, federal courts have been reluctant to follow the consensus established by the States that protects reporters and their sources. For over four decades, Congress has failed to fill this gap.
Support for such a law is bipartisan and bicameral. In the House, last July, Reps. John Conyers and Ted Poe joined together in a op-ed article entitled “A Shield Law Is Essential to a Robust Press.” In the Senate, Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham have introduced a federal shield law that has drawn the approval of the White House, called the “Free Flow of Information Act.”
The need for a shield law is hardly abstract. In 2005, New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for 85 days for doing exactly what any reporter would do, i.e., refusing to reveal her source.
I encourage my colleagues to seize this opportunity, pass this amendment, and show our continuing respect for the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment, and freedom itself.
Sincerely, etc.
Despite opposition from the House Republican leadership, and “no recommendation” from the House Democratic leadership, the persuasive power of these words gave us a 225-183 win.
During the next few days, I’ll tell you more about this victory, and the other three progressive measures that we found a way to incorporate into this morning’s appropriations bill in the Tea Party-controlled U.S. House of Representatives. But in the meantime, know this: It’s still possible to be a progressive, and to get things done.
Victory, sweet victory.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
