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FOIA Bill Introduced
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) have introduced The OPEN FOIA Act (S. 612) to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the federal law that protects the public's right to know what the government is doing.
The OPEN FOIA Act (S. 612) would require Congress to openly and clearly state its intention to provide for statutory exemptions to FOIA in proposed legislation. The Senate first passed similar legislation unanimously in 2006, and Leahy and Cornyn introduced the bill in the last Congress.
"This bipartisan bill builds upon the work that Senator Cornyn and I began several years ago to reinvigorate and strengthen FOIA," said Leahy. "Too often, legislative exemptions to FOIA are buried within a few lines of very complex and lengthy bills, and these new exemptions are never debated openly before becoming law. The consequence of this troubling practice is the erosion of the public's right to know, and the shirking of Congress' duty to fully consider these exemptions … Democratic and Republican Senators alike have rightly supported and voted for this bill in the past. It is in this same bipartisan spirit that I urge all Members to support this bipartisan FOIA reform bill."
Cornyn said, "The OPEN FOIA Act would strengthen the nation's foremost open government law by adding new transparency and accountability measures to FOIA. Last Congress, Chairman Leahy and I were successful in passing the most sweeping reforms to FOIA in recent history under the OPEN Government Act. This legislation builds on that success and would shed additional light on the way our federal government conducts its business. The bipartisan OPEN FOIA Act will ensure that Congress can't slip anti-transparency measures into legislation without someone noticing. I hope this bill will garner support from my colleagues and President Obama to further our shared goal of creating a more open government that serves the needs of the American people."
Leahy and Cornyn are longtime leaders on FOIA issues in Congress and, in 2007, they partnered to author the OPEN Government Act. Signed into law later that year, the measure made the first major reforms to FOIA in more than a decade by restoring meaningful deadlines for agency action under FOIA, and imposing real consequences on federal agencies for missing FOIA's 20-day statutory deadline. The OPEN Government Act also provided for the establishment of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in the National Archives and Records Administration. The office is charged with reviewing agency compliance with FOIA, mediating inter-agency FOIA disputes, and housing the newly created FOIA ombudsman. Earlier in April, the president signed the omnibus appropriations bill, which included $1 million to establish OGIS.
Leahy and Cornyn have authored and supported several additional open government and transparency measures in the Senate. Leahy was installed in the Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame in 1996 and was recently awarded the Robert Vaughn FOIA Legend Award.
Cornyn has long been a champion of open government. As Texas attorney general, he took groundbreaking measures to increase transparency, and he received the Sunshine in Government award from the National Newspaper Association in 2007.
ARMA International Washington Policy Brief, April
