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May I Use Excerpts from "Statements for the Record" from a Government Website

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  • 06-19-2010, 09:36 AM
    Jane0218
    May I Use Excerpts from "Statements for the Record" from a Government Website
    Hello,
    I'm not sure where I should post this question.

    There was a hearing of the House Ways & Means Committee in which hundreds of American citizens, including myself, wrote letters to the Committee regarding our opinions of the nature of the hearing and our personal struggles re: unemployment.

    The letters we sent have become "Statements for the Record." They have been posted on the House Ways & Means Committee website for that particular hearing, and are available for viewing by anyone.

    May I use excerpts of the letters without the consent of those who wrote them? If so, must I include names or not?

    I wish to use some of the statements of others in correspondence to Congress, and to major media sources. I would like to use the names of the people from whose letters I use, but if I can't do that, coould I use first name and just the initial of the last name?

    Am I allowed to do this without their permission, since the statements are on public record, or would this be some kind of infringement upon people's rights?
    Thanks.
  • 06-19-2010, 09:33 PM
    KeyWestDan
    Re: May I Use Excerpts from "Statements for the Record" from a Government Website
    No, it is public record and public information.

    They have absolutely no expectation of privacy.

    If you are not using their full name, they then have no standing whatsoever to object.

    You do not need anyone's permission.
  • 06-21-2010, 08:46 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: May I Use Excerpts from "Statements for the Record" from a Government Website
    The identity of the person and their association with their statements is a matter of public record. Even if we were to assume that the individuals held copyright to their letters, the government claims no copyright and using excerpts for the purpose of advancing the debate would appear to fall under "fair use". The authors have voluntarily associated their names with their letters as part of the public record; if you wanted to abbreviate their names as a courtesy you could of course do that, but they don't realistically have any expectation of privacy in their names being associated with their statements.
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