Boucher, Pence Try Again For Passage Of A Federal Shield Law

Reps Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Mike Pence (R-IN) will try again to get Congress to pass a federal shield law. They have introduced the Free Flow Of Information Act of 2009. The 2008 version of the bill of the same name passed overwhelmingly in the House (382 to 21), before getting bottled up in the Senate after the administration put on a full court press against it. The administration had threatened to veto the bill and then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey said "10 angels swearing on Bibles" in support of the bill would not change his view that it has major flaws. There are 37 co-sponsors of the bill, which protects journalists and their sources from government overreach, with carve outs for national security, and proprietary business and medical information.