Robert Torricelli: “the Senate is faced with an issue as old as the Republic itself. It is the continuing debate between the public's right…”

“the Senate is faced with an issue as old as the Republic itself. It is the continuing debate between the public's right to know and the Government's need to retain information only unto itself. It is an old argument, but it is one that has largely been settled through time. We have decided as a country that the best source of good judgment in this Nation remains with the people and that they should be trusted with the public welfare in having a maximum exposure to the facts and judgments that govern our society. Indeed, it was that wisdom which led to the first amendment to the Constitution itself, and equally significantly as it led to article I, section 9, clause 7 of the Constitution, which reads: * * * a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. For a long time, Mr. President, despite these national ambitions, this consistency with our greatest national principles, we as a Congress determined this was not possible because of the dangers of world war and the continuing struggle in the cold war. It was the judgment of this Congress that even the total aggregate amount of expenditures for our intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, would remain private and not be published and shared with the people. The end of the cold war has raised this question anew. Not only for the intelligence community, but indeed for all of the U.S. Government.”