A bill to amend the Freedom of Information Act.
Latest action. Referred to House select committeeA committee created for a specific purpose or period, usually to investigate something, rather than to hold permanent jurisdiction over a subject.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Intelligence.
Amends the Freedom of Information Act to add as an exemption from the disclosure requirements information certified by the Director of Central Intelligence or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be: (1) intelligence obtained from a person or entity other than a U.S. employee; (2) information tending to identify a source of information or assistance to an intelligence agency; and (3) information concerning the design or utilization of scientific or technical systems for intelligence collection (but excluding research programs involving experimentation with human beings). Makes such certification: (1) conclusive and not subject to judicial review; and (2) inapplicable to requests by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens for information about themselves.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 15, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 15, 1980: Referred to House Select Committee on Intelligence.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
L. PREYER (D-NC) introduced it on April 15, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 15, 1980, 16949 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16949 days ago, on April 15, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers