Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy,
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On Reintroduction Of The Leahy-Cornyn OPEN Government Act
March 13, 2007

Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Cornyn in reintroducing the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act” (the “OPEN Government Act”).  This bill contains commonsense reforms to update and strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for all Americans.   

Last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported an essentially identical bill. Sadly, the full Senate did not consider this legislation before it adjourned last year.  But I hope that the Senate will do its part to reinvigorate FOIA this year, by promptly passing this bill.

During my three decades in the Senate, I have devoted a considerable portion of my work to improving government openness, to make our government work better for the American people.  For the past four years, I have been delighted to have Senator Cornyn as a partner on this important issue.  I thank him for his leadership on preserving and strengthening FOIA.

Now in its fourth decade, the Freedom of Information Act remains an indispensable tool in shedding light on bad policies and government abuses.  But, today, FOIA also faces challenges like never before.  During the past six years, the Bush Administration has allowed lax FOIA enforcement and a near obsession with secrecy to undercut the public’s right to know.  As we celebrate Sunshine Week this week, there is urgent need to update and strengthen our FOIA law.  

Chief among the problems with FOIA is the major delays encountered by FOIA requestors.  According to a report by the National Security Archive, an independent non-governmental research institute, the oldest outstanding FOIA requests date back to 1989 -- before the collapse of the Soviet Union.  And, while the number of FOIA requests submitted each year continues to rise, our federal agencies remain unable – or unwilling -- to keep up with the demand.  Just recently, the Government Accountability Office found that federal agencies had 43 percent more FOIA requests pending and outstanding in 2006, than they had in 2002. 

Although the Bush Administration has taken modest steps to address the growing problem with FOIA delays that effort has not done nearly enough to correct lax FOIA enforcement by federal agencies.  More than a year after the President’s directive to government agencies to improve their FOIA services, Americans who seek information under FOIA remain less likely to obtain it.  For example, a recent study by the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government found that the percentage of FOIA requestors who obtained at least some of the information that they requested from the government fell by 31 percent last year.  These and other shortcomings with the President’s FOIA policy demonstrate that the Congress must play an important role in preserving and strengthening FOIA. 

The legislation that Senator Cornyn and I introduce today takes several important steps to help Americans obtain timely responses to their FOIA requests and to provide government officials with the tools that they need to ensure that our government remains open and accessible.  First, our bill restores meaningful deadlines for agency action by ensuring that the 20-day statutory clock runs immediately upon the receipt of the request and the bill impose real consequences on federal agencies for missing statutory deadlines. Our bill also clarifies that FOIA applies to agency records that are held by outside private contractors, no matter where these records are located.

In addition, our bill establishes a FOIA hotline service for all federal agencies, either by telephone or on the Internet, to enable requestors to track the status of their FOIA requests.  Finally, our bill enhances the agency reporting requirements under FOIA and improves personnel policies for FOIA officials to enhance agency FOIA performance.

This legislation was drafted after a long and thoughtful process of consultation with individuals and organizations that rely on FOIA to obtain information and share it with the public, including the news media, librarians, and public interest organizations representing all facets of the political spectrum.   

This legislation also reaffirms the fundamental premise of FOIA B that government information belongs to all Americans.  Again, I thank Senator Cornyn for the time and effort that he has devoted to reinvigorating FOIA, and I urge all Senators to join us in supporting this important open government legislation.

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Statement:
Of Sen. Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Reintroduction Of The Leahy-Cornyn OPEN Government Act
Section-By-Section Analysis: 
Openness Promotes Effectiveness In Our National Government Act Of 2007
One Pager: 
Leahy-Cornyn Openness Promotes Effectiveness In Our National Government Act Of 2007
Leahy Op-Ed: 
A Sunshine Week Forecast: Mostly Cloudy, Thin Rays Of Hope On The Horizon,
as distributed by the Vermont Press Association during Sunshine Week 2007
Leahy-Cornyn Op-Ed:
The OPEN Government Act:
An Investment In American Democracy
Text Of Legislation