There is no word yet on when the full Senate will take it up. The House has already passed a different shield bill — raising hopes that one could become law during this Congress.
While there are plenty of EPA databases already on line, not all of them are in a form that can be quickly downloaded in their entirety and imported into standard database software. That's a key criterion specified, and one that will ease computer-assisted reporting for journalists.
Federal legislation to protect reporters from having to reveal confidential sources may be back on track. A markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee, possibly November 5, 2009, could tell.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) says Congress has to do more to fix the Freedom of Information Act — especially stemming the hundreds of special exemptions created by Congress itself.
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