[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 13, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S3066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      BY Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. Cornyn):
  S. 849. A bill to promote accessibility, accountability, and openness 
in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. 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. At times, this has been 
a lonely effort. But, for the past 4 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 6 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 nongovernmental 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--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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