[国会记录:2009年10月15日(众议院)][Page H11389-H11394]屠杀女士)。我感谢我的同事的让步。议长女士，没有什么比《信息自由法案》更能说明我们的国家以及我们对公众知情权的信任了。这是我们公开和透明的最有力声明之一。它让普通人有能力窥探权力的幕后，看到界定这个国家的联邦、州和地方政府的许多官僚机构的内部情况。它是所有人的象征，不管我们的政府以人民的名义做了什么，都不应该有秘密。多年来，《信息自由法》被广泛用于各种目的。《信息自由法》帮助我们发现了20世纪60年代在越南、老挝和柬埔寨使用橙剂的丑恶真相。《信息自由法》还被用来揭露数据，这些数据显示，福特平托的制造具有严重的双重系统缺陷，使其更容易发生火灾和爆炸。在某种程度上，《信息自由法》只是提醒公众，如果他们相信政府在保守秘密，就有途径进行追查。 At the heart of FOIA is the concept that the people's right to know is more important than the government's desire to keep things secret. The FOIA laws in this country have enabled reporters and citizens from all spectrums access to information that otherwise might never see the light of day. Signed into law by President Johnson in 1966, the FOIA laws allow for the full or partial disclosure of information and documents with only a narrow list of important exemptions. And so it was with some dismay when I learned recently that the House and Senate conferees on the Homeland Security appropriations bill had slipped in一个条款让政府可以选择将被拘留者虐待的旧照片豁免于《信息自由法》。这起案件已经走过了漫长的道路，从美国公民自由联盟(ACLU)起诉五角大楼开始。去年春天，当诉讼似乎对政府不利时，政府的回应是要求一些参众两院的成员在立法中加入语言，以确保这些照片的保密。加入美国公民自由联盟反对五角大楼是美国新闻编辑协会,美联社、美国有线电视新闻网,Inc .)已经斯克里普斯公司,甘尼特有限公司,赫斯特公司,军事记者和编辑,全国新闻俱乐部,NBC环球,Inc .)、《纽约时报》公司,美国报业协会,广播电视新闻总监协会、职业记者协会、《华盛顿邮报》，还有我。考虑到在布什政府时期公布的一组类似的虐待照片，这些有问题的照片可能没有什么价值。尽管有人抱怨说，公布照片会让军人处于危险之中，但事实是，在之前被拘留者的照片公布后，暴力或袭击事件绝对没有增加。我想如果我们公布这些新照片，结果也会是一样的。美国人只是能够知道以他们的名义在做什么。许多观察家认为,公布照片实际上是一个清晰的从过去的行为和一个信号,我们的盟友和其他人,这种类型的囚犯虐待的日子结束了,美国愿意接受过去的做法。 Indeed, we have said so. In June, I and other House leaders prevailed and the FOIA exemption was dropped from the legislation. However, the conferees, apparently under direct orders, quietly put it back into the bill this month. It's hard for me to express how disappointed I am with that decision. I am sorry because I believed that we had turned a page from the cloud of suspicion and secrecy that marked the previous administration. It runs so counter to our principles and stated desire to reject abuses of the past. The FOIA laws in this country form a pillar of our First Amendment principles. It is unfortunate, given that this administration promised that openness and transparency would be the norm. We should never do anything to circumvent FOIA, and I believe our country would gain more by coming to terms with the past than we would by covering it up. I hope the President will follow judicial rulings and consider voluntarily releasing these photos so we can put this chapter in history behind us. Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I especially appreciate the remarks of the distinguished woman, the Rules Chair, Ms. Slaughter, and echo her sentiments. [...] Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the contributions during this debate, enlightening our colleagues with regard to the merits of the legislation that we are bringing to the floor today. You know, one of the, I think, most interesting aspects of the American representative democracy is that we differ from other representative democracies probably because our two parties are, in effect, great coalitions. We have a two-party system by virtue of that; both parties represent different coalitions of thought on numerous issues. {time} 1100 So it's interesting that today, for example, while my friend and the distinguished chairwoman of the Rules Committee expressed an opinion contrary to the position maintained by the President of the United States on an important issue--and I think it's appropriate to do so--I commend the President of the United States for his position with regard to the release of detainee photos. The legislation before us codifies the President's decision to allow the Secretary of Defense to bar the release of detainee photos. I commend the President because, obviously, his leadership and support on that aspect has been decisive in the inclusion of that provision in this legislation. [...]