December 12, 2007    

CONTACT: Allyson Groff, 202-226-9019

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) today summoned Interior Department representatives before the Committee to scrutinize a proposed rule that has been criticized by the media as harmful to the First Amendment rights of the press and the people's right to know.  As a result of the hearing, Rahall is calling on the agency to revise the regulation before the rule is finalized.

"There is reason to view the proposed regulation with some skepticism.  The Bush Administration will go down in history as one of the most secretive and least transparent in American history.  This President has shown nothing short of open hostility to the public's right to know," Rahall said.

In question is a 2000 law [P.L. 106-206] written to streamline the filming policy across the Interior Department's jurisdiction - including the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management - and require special use permits and fees on commercial filming and other such activities. 

While the law was written to require permits and fees on commercial filming on public lands, professional journalists have criticized the proposed regulations implementing the law, published in the Federal Register in August 2007, for going too far in limiting their ability to report on issues of interest and importance to the American people.  Further, witnesses - who included representatives from several prominent professional print, broadcast and photojournalism organizations - testified that consistent with the First Amendment, the Administration has no authority to determine what does and does not constitute news.

Barbara Cochran, President of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, corroborated this assertion in her testimony, saying, "Under the guise of Congress' legislation, park officials have positioned themselves to exert an unconstitutional measure of editorial control over news coverage."

Agency officials defended the proposed rule.  Countering the testimony of media witnesses, Mitchell J. Butler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, said, "There is no intention in these proposed regulations for censorship by agencies based on content.  In fact, we believe that telling the story of our resources benefits not only our public lands but the visiting public, as well."

Chairman Rahall pointed out, however, that the current Administration's record on resource management is dismal.  Blocking the media's coverage of these issues only further impedes the public's ability to access the information needed to keep their own government in check.

"Maintenance in our National Parks, listing of endangered species, fire preparedness, and responsible energy development are just a few examples of serious policy failures by the Bush Administration.  Any hint that this new permit and fee structure could limit the free-flow of public information regarding the very real consequences of these failures is simply unacceptable," Rahall said.

"A reasonable return to the Federal Treasury for the commercial use of federal lands is one thing - trying to hide the damage done to those lands from the public under a mound of fees and permits is quite another," he continued.

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