Mike Pence: “under the provisions of the Free Flow of Information Act where a reporter is being asked to reveal the identity of a…”

“under the provisions of the Free Flow of Information Act where a reporter is being asked to reveal the identity of a confidential source, the underlying bill here provides several exceptions where a reporter may be compelled to reveal a source. Sources can be revealed under exceptions for the prevention of terrorism, other harm to the Nation's security, to prevent bodily harm, in cases where trade secrets and personal health information are revealed. As a result of Chairman Conyers' bipartisan working group, we have conceived of the Boucher-Pence bipartisan manager's amendment, and I rise to support it. It adds additional exceptions to the bill. Under it, compelled disclosure of a source will be permitted in cases of unauthorized leaks of national security secrets. Also, if a journalist is an eyewitness to a crime or tortious conduct, the journalist cannot claim the privilege of the shield and can be required to turn over information documents. Also, as Mr. Boucher said, the amendment makes two changes regarding the definition of a covered person. Covered persons are those who are able to use the shield, and we have been discussing how we define journalists throughout the history of this debate. In the manager's amendment, we restrict coverage to those people who regularly engage in journalism for substantial financial gain or a substantial part of their livelihood.”