Show The secrecy issue The recent overwhelming vote by Congress to override President Fords Ford's veto of amendments to the Freedom of Information Act was a stunning blow to the White House At the same time it was a classic victory for the peoples people's right to know what their government is up to President Ford cited three primary reasons for far his veto 1 a provision authorizing Federal judges to examine agency records to see if they can properly be withheld could endanger our diplomatic relations and defense secrets 2 the bill would permit access access access ac ac- ac- ac cess to sensitive law enforcement investigation files and 3 the time limits for agencies to respond to requests for information are unreasonable Proponents of the bill however note that its 17 amendments were hammered out in a bipartisan fashion over three years They contend that the legislation has been carefully drafted to exempt materials that logically should be kept secret including legitimate national defense information I believe that this bill does protect those lawful sensitive areas of n government said conservative Representative John Rousselot R- R Calif Many other members of Congress also respected for their mature judgment likewise believe the amendments provide necessary safeguards for legitimate national secrets They argue convincingly that it itis itis itis is needed to force government officials to abide by the provisions of the original Freedom of Information Act passed in 1966 Examples of bureaucratic thwarting of public access access access ac ac- ac- ac cess to information under that act abound While feeling some nervousness over the new arrangement as it affects national security information we believe on balance the bill is a good one Our citizens must be given the opportunity to view the work of their government wherever it will not threaten the real national interest A prime lesson from Watergate is that too often the mistakes and even illegality of our government have been hidden under the stamp of secrecy Although there is a danger of now overreacting and permitting too much access to federal files we believe it is a danger that tha t our democracy must risk |