The Freedom of Information Act

In these cameo comments, perspectives are offered on the Freedom of Information Act on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary. Among those contributing, former Representative John E. Moss was the sole chair of the House Special Subcommittee on Government Information and is regarded to be the principal author of the FOI Act. Until his retirement from public office a few years ago, former Representative John N. Erlenborn long served as the ranking and senior minority member on the House Subcommittee on Government Information. Currently, Senator Orrin G. Hatch chairs the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution and Representative Glenn English chairs the House Subcommittee on Government Information, which are the primary FOIA legislative and oversight panels. Charles Hinkle served for many years as the chief FOIA administrator for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and related entities. A major user, if not the major FOIA requester in the press community, Scott Armstrong has been an investigative reporter with the Washington Post and now heads the National Security Archive, a private repository of declassified defense, intelligence, and foreign policy records. Tonda Rush formerly directed the FOI Service Center, a joint project of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and is presently a counsel with the American Newspaper Publishers Association

Freedom of information · Political science · Law · Law, Rights, and Freedoms