GMAT Reading Comprehension Übungsfragen

The Passage

A 1973 Supreme Court decision and related Senate hearings focused Congressional criticism on the 1966 Freedom of Information Act. Its unconditional exemption of any material stamped “classified”—i.e., containing information considered relevant to national security— forced the Court to uphold non-disclosure in EPA v. Mink. Justice Potter Stewart explained that the Act provided “no means to question a decision to stamp a document ‘secret.’” Senate witnesses testified that the wording of certain articles in the Act permitted bureaucrats to discourage requests for newsworthy documents.

In response, a House committee drafted HR 12471, proposing several amendments to the Act. A provision was reworded to ensure release of documents to any applicant providing a “reasonable description”—exact titles and numbers were no longer to be mandatory. The courts were empowered to review classified documents and rule on their status. The Senate companion bill, S 2543, included these provisions as well as others: standardization of search and copy fees, sanctions against noncompliant Federal employees, and a provision for non- exempt portions of a classified document to be released. The Justice and Defense departments objected to the changes as “costly, burdensome, and inflexible.” They argued that the time limits imposed on response “might actually hamper access to information.” The Pentagon asserted that judicial review of exemptions could pose a threat to national security. President Ford, upon taking office in August 1974, concurred. HR 12471 passed in March 1974; S 2543 was approved in May after the adoption of further amendments to reduce the number of unconditional exemptions granted in 1966. The Hart Amendment, for instance, mandated disclosure of law enforcement records, unless their release would interfere with a trial or investigation, invade personal privacy, or disclose an informer’s identity. This amendment provoked another Presidential objection: millions of pages of FBI records would be subject to public scrutiny, unless each individual section were proven exempt.

Before submitting the legislation to Ford, a joint conference of both houses amalgamated the two versions of the bill, while making further changes to incorporate Ford’s criticisms. The administration of disciplinary sanctions was transferred from the courts to the executive branch; provisions were included to accord due weight to departmental expertise in the evaluation of “classified” exemptions. The identity of confidential sources was in all cases to be protected. Ford nevertheless vetoed the bill, but was overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses.