[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 194 (Tuesday, December 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H16788-H16792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OPEN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 2007

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2488) 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 2488

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Openness Promotes 
     Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007'' or the 
     ``OPEN Government Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the Freedom of Information Act was signed into law on 
     July 4, 1966, because the American people believe that--
       (A) our constitutional democracy, our system of self-
     government, and our commitment to popular sovereignty depends 
     upon the consent of the governed;
       (B) such consent is not meaningful unless it is informed 
     consent; and
       (C) as Justice Black noted in his concurring opinion in 
     Barr v. Matteo (360 U.S. 564 (1959)), ``The effective 
     functioning of a free government like ours depends largely on 
     the force of an informed public opinion. This calls for the 
     widest possible understanding of the quality of government 
     service rendered by all elective or appointed public 
     officials or employees.'';
       (2) the American people firmly believe that our system of 
     government must itself be governed by a presumption of 
     openness;
       (3) the Freedom of Information Act establishes a ``strong 
     presumption in favor of disclosure'' as noted by the United 
     States Supreme Court in United States Department of State v. 
     Ray (502 U.S. 164 (1991)), a presumption that applies to all 
     agencies governed by that Act;
       (4) ``disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of 
     the Act,'' as noted by the United States Supreme Court in 
     Department of Air Force v. Rose (425 U.S. 352 (1976));
       (5) in practice, the Freedom of Information Act has not 
     always lived up to the ideals of that Act; and
       (6) Congress should regularly review section 552 of title 
     5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of 
     Information Act), in order to determine whether further 
     changes and improvements are necessary to ensure that the 
     Government remains open and accessible to the American people 
     and is always based not upon the ``need to know'' but upon 
     the fundamental ``right to know''.

     SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FEE STATUS FOR NEWS MEDIA.

       Section 552(a)(4)(A)(ii) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``In this clause, the term `a representative of the news 
     media' means any person or entity that gathers information of 
     potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its 
     editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct 
     work, and distributes that work to an audience. In this 
     clause, the term `news' means information that is about 
     current events or that would be of current interest to the 
     public. Examples of news-media entities are television or 
     radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and 
     publishers of periodicals (but only if such entities qualify 
     as disseminators of `news') who

[[Page H16789]]

     make their products available for purchase by or subscription 
     by or free distribution to the general public. These examples 
     are not all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods of news delivery 
     evolve (for example, the adoption of the electronic 
     dissemination of newspapers through telecommunications 
     services), such alternative media shall be considered to be 
     news-media entities. A freelance journalist shall be regarded 
     as working for a news-media entity if the journalist can 
     demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through 
     that entity, whether or not the journalist is actually 
     employed by the entity. A publication contract would present 
     a solid basis for such an expectation; the Government may 
     also consider the past publication record of the requester in 
     making such a determination.''.

     SEC. 4. RECOVERY OF ATTORNEY FEES AND LITIGATION COSTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 552(a)(4)(E) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(E)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, a complainant has 
     substantially prevailed if the complainant has obtained 
     relief through either--
       ``(I) a judicial order, or an enforceable written agreement 
     or consent decree; or
       ``(II) a voluntary or unilateral change in position by the 
     agency, if the complainant's claim is not insubstantial.''.
       (b) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 1304 of title 31, 
     United States Code, no amounts may be obligated or expended 
     from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States 
     Treasury to pay the costs resulting from fees assessed under 
     section 552(a)(4)(E) of title 5, United States Code. Any such 
     amounts shall be paid only from funds annually appropriated 
     for any authorized purpose for the Federal agency against 
     which a claim or judgment has been rendered.

     SEC. 5. DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS FOR ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS 
                   REJECTIONS OF REQUESTS.

       Section 552(a)(4)(F) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(F)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ii) The Attorney General shall--
       ``(I) notify the Special Counsel of each civil action 
     described under the first sentence of clause (i); and
       ``(II) annually submit a report to Congress on the number 
     of such civil actions in the preceding year.
       ``(iii) The Special Counsel shall annually submit a report 
     to Congress on the actions taken by the Special Counsel under 
     clause (i).''.

     SEC. 6. TIME LIMITS FOR AGENCIES TO ACT ON REQUESTS.

       (a) Time Limits.--
       (1) In general.--Section 552(a)(6)(A) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting after clause (ii) the 
     following:
       ``The 20-day period under clause (i) shall commence on the 
     date on which the request is first received by the 
     appropriate component of the agency, but in any event not 
     later than ten days after the request is first received by 
     any component of the agency that is designated in the 
     agency's regulations under this section to receive requests 
     under this section. The 20-day period shall not be tolled by 
     the agency except--
       ``(I) that the agency may make one request to the requester 
     for information and toll the 20-day period while it is 
     awaiting such information that it has reasonably requested 
     from the requester under this section; or
       ``(II) if necessary to clarify with the requester issues 
     regarding fee assessment. In either case, the agency's 
     receipt of the requester's response to the agency's request 
     for information or clarification ends the tolling period.''.
       (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection 
     shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.
       (b) Compliance With Time Limits.--
       (1) In general.--
       (A) Search fees.--Section 552(a)(4)(A) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(viii) An agency shall not assess search fees (or in the 
     case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II), 
     duplication fees) under this subparagraph if the agency fails 
     to comply with any time limit under paragraph (6), if no 
     unusual or exceptional circumstances (as those terms are 
     defined for purposes of paragraphs (6)(B) and (C), 
     respectively) apply to the processing of the request.''.
       (B) Public liaison.--Section 552(a)(6)(B)(ii) of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting after the first 
     sentence the following: ``To aid the requester, each agency 
     shall make available its FOIA Public Liaison, who shall 
     assist in the resolution of any disputes between the 
     requester and the agency.''.
       (2) Effective date and application.--The amendment made by 
     this subsection shall take effect 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and apply to requests for information 
     under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, filed on or 
     after that effective date.

     SEC. 7. INDIVIDUALIZED TRACKING NUMBERS FOR REQUESTS AND 
                   STATUS INFORMATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 552(a) of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) Each agency shall--
       ``(A) establish a system to assign an individualized 
     tracking number for each request received that will take 
     longer than ten days to process and provide to each person 
     making a request the tracking number assigned to the request; 
     and
       ``(B) establish a telephone line or Internet service that 
     provides information about the status of a request to the 
     person making the request using the assigned tracking number, 
     including--
       ``(i) the date on which the agency originally received the 
     request; and
       ``(ii) an estimated date on which the agency will complete 
     action on the request.''.
       (b) Effective Date and Application.--The amendment made by 
     this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and apply to requests for information 
     under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, filed on or 
     after that effective date.

     SEC. 8. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 552(e)(1) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting after the first 
     comma ``the number of occasions on which each statute was 
     relied upon,'';
       (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and average'' after 
     ``median'';
       (3) in subparagraph (E), by inserting before the semicolon 
     ``, based on the date on which the requests were received by 
     the agency'';
       (4) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as 
     subparagraphs (N) and (O), respectively; and
       (5) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
       ``(F) the average number of days for the agency to respond 
     to a request beginning on the date on which the request was 
     received by the agency, the median number of days for the 
     agency to respond to such requests, and the range in number 
     of days for the agency to respond to such requests;
       ``(G) based on the number of business days that have 
     elapsed since each request was originally received by the 
     agency--
       ``(i) the number of requests for records to which the 
     agency has responded with a determination within a period up 
     to and including 20 days, and in 20-day increments up to and 
     including 200 days;
       ``(ii) the number of requests for records to which the 
     agency has responded with a determination within a period 
     greater than 200 days and less than 301 days;
       ``(iii) the number of requests for records to which the 
     agency has responded with a determination within a period 
     greater than 300 days and less than 401 days; and
       ``(iv) the number of requests for records to which the 
     agency has responded with a determination within a period 
     greater than 400 days;
       ``(H) the average number of days for the agency to provide 
     the granted information beginning on the date on which the 
     request was originally filed, the median number of days for 
     the agency to provide the granted information, and the range 
     in number of days for the agency to provide the granted 
     information;
       ``(I) the median and average number of days for the agency 
     to respond to administrative appeals based on the date on 
     which the appeals originally were received by the agency, the 
     highest number of business days taken by the agency to 
     respond to an administrative appeal, and the lowest number of 
     business days taken by the agency to respond to an 
     administrative appeal;
       ``(J) data on the 10 active requests with the earliest 
     filing dates pending at each agency, including the amount of 
     time that has elapsed since each request was originally 
     received by the agency;
       ``(K) data on the 10 active administrative appeals with the 
     earliest filing dates pending before the agency as of 
     September 30 of the preceding year, including the number of 
     business days that have elapsed since the requests were 
     originally received by the agency;
       ``(L) the number of expedited review requests that are 
     granted and denied, the average and median number of days for 
     adjudicating expedited review requests, and the number 
     adjudicated within the required 10 days;
       ``(M) the number of fee waiver requests that are granted 
     and denied, and the average and median number of days for 
     adjudicating fee waiver determinations;''.
       (b) Applicability to Agency and Each Principal Component of 
     the Agency.--Section 552(e) of title 5, United States Code, 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (5) as 
     paragraphs (3) through (6), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) Information in each report submitted under paragraph 
     (1) shall be expressed in terms of each principal component 
     of the agency and for the agency overall.''.
       (c) Public Availability of Data.--Section 552(e)(3) of 
     title 5, United States Code, (as redesignated by subsection 
     (b) of this section) is amended by adding at the end ``In 
     addition, each agency shall make the raw statistical data 
     used in its reports available electronically to the public 
     upon request.''.

     SEC. 9. OPENNESS OF AGENCY RECORDS MAINTAINED BY A PRIVATE 
                   ENTITY.

       Section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(2) `record' and any other term used in this section in 
     reference to information includes--

[[Page H16790]]

       ``(A) any information that would be an agency record 
     subject to the requirements of this section when maintained 
     by an agency in any format, including an electronic format; 
     and
       ``(B) any information described under subparagraph (A) that 
     is maintained for an agency by an entity under Government 
     contract, for the purposes of records management.''.

     SEC. 10. OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Section 552 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(h)(1) There is established the Office of Government 
     Information Services within the National Archives and Records 
     Administration.
       ``(2) The Office of Government Information Services shall--
       ``(A) review policies and procedures of administrative 
     agencies under this section;
       ``(B) review compliance with this section by administrative 
     agencies; and
       ``(C) recommend policy changes to Congress and the 
     President to improve the administration of this section.
       ``(3) The Office of Government Information Services shall 
     offer mediation services to resolve disputes between persons 
     making requests under this section and administrative 
     agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation and, at 
     the discretion of the Office, may issue advisory opinions if 
     mediation has not resolved the dispute.
       ``(i) The Government Accountability Office shall conduct 
     audits of administrative agencies on the implementation of 
     this section and issue reports detailing the results of such 
     audits.
       ``(j) Each agency shall designate a Chief FOIA Officer who 
     shall be a senior official of such agency (at the Assistant 
     Secretary or equivalent level).
       ``(k) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall, subject 
     to the authority of the head of the agency--
       ``(1) have agency-wide responsibility for efficient and 
     appropriate compliance with this section;
       ``(2) monitor implementation of this section throughout the 
     agency and keep the head of the agency, the chief legal 
     officer of the agency, and the Attorney General appropriately 
     informed of the agency's performance in implementing this 
     section;
       ``(3) recommend to the head of the agency such adjustments 
     to agency practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may 
     be necessary to improve its implementation of this section;
       ``(4) review and report to the Attorney General, through 
     the head of the agency, at such times and in such formats as 
     the Attorney General may direct, on the agency's performance 
     in implementing this section;
       ``(5) facilitate public understanding of the purposes of 
     the statutory exemptions of this section by including concise 
     descriptions of the exemptions in both the agency's handbook 
     issued under subsection (g), and the agency's annual report 
     on this section, and by providing an overview, where 
     appropriate, of certain general categories of agency records 
     to which those exemptions apply; and
       ``(6) designate one or more FOIA Public Liaisons.
       ``(l) FOIA Public Liaisons shall report to the agency Chief 
     FOIA Officer and shall serve as supervisory officials to whom 
     a requester under this section can raise concerns about the 
     service the requester has received from the FOIA Requester 
     Center, following an initial response from the FOIA Requester 
     Center Staff. FOIA Public Liaisons shall be responsible for 
     assisting in reducing delays, increasing transparency and 
     understanding of the status of requests, and assisting in the 
     resolution of disputes.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 11. REPORT ON PERSONNEL POLICIES RELATED TO FOIA.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Office of Personnel Management shall submit to 
     Congress a report that examines--
       (1) whether changes to executive branch personnel policies 
     could be made that would--
       (A) provide greater encouragement to all Federal employees 
     to fulfill their duties under section 552 of title 5, United 
     States Code; and
       (B) enhance the stature of officials administering that 
     section within the executive branch;
       (2) whether performance of compliance with section 552 of 
     title 5, United States Code, should be included as a factor 
     in personnel performance evaluations for any or all 
     categories of Federal employees and officers;
       (3) whether an employment classification series specific to 
     compliance with sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United 
     States Code, should be established;
       (4) whether the highest level officials in particular 
     agencies administering such sections should be paid at a rate 
     of pay equal to or greater than a particular minimum rate; 
     and
       (5) whether other changes to personnel policies can be made 
     to ensure that there is a clear career advancement track for 
     individuals interested in devoting themselves to a career in 
     compliance with such sections; and
       (6) whether the executive branch should require any or all 
     categories of Federal employees to undertake awareness 
     training of such sections.

     SEC. 12. REQUIREMENT TO DESCRIBE EXEMPTIONS AUTHORIZING 
                   DELETIONS OF MATERIAL PROVIDED UNDER FOIA.

       Section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
     in the matter after paragraph (9)--
       (1) in the second sentence, by inserting after ``amount of 
     information deleted'' the following: ``, and the exemption 
     under which the deletion is made,''; and
       (2) in the third sentence, by inserting after ``amount of 
     the information deleted'' the following: ``, and the 
     exemption under which the deletion is made,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of final passage of S. 2488, the Openness 
Promotes Effectiveness in Our National Government Act of 2007, or the 
OPEN Government Act.
  This bill is a companion measure to legislation that I introduced 
earlier this session, H.R. 1309, the Freedom of Information Act 
Amendments of 2007, which was passed by the House in March. After 
months of negotiations between both Chambers, S. 2488 provides a 
strong, reasonable and bipartisan approach to streamlining the FOIA 
process and increasing transparency in government.
  Two key provisions within the OPEN Government Act include expanding 
access to attorneys' fees for citizens who successfully challenge an 
agency's denial of information, along with the creation of a new FOIA 
tracking system for pending requests.
  In addition, the bill will require agencies to disclose the type of 
FOIA exemptions used to redact specific information sought after in 
many requests.
  Lastly, the bill will establish a government-wide ombudsman to help 
reduce the number of requests that are eventually resolved through 
costly and time-consuming litigation.
  S. 2488 provides actual access to government information to which the 
American people are entitled. I want to thank all of the Members and 
staff who have contributed to the development of this legislation. I 
urge my colleagues to support its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2488, legislation to 
reform the process for the public to request and receive information 
under the Freedom of Information Act.
  For 40 years, FOIA has ensured the public's access to government 
records. The 1966 act replaced the old need-to-know standard with 
today's right-to-know practice, placing the burden on the government to 
justify any need for secrecy.
  However, the FOIA process has recently struggled to keep up with the 
public's demand for documents. Since 2002, FOIA requests have increased 
dramatically. This additional volume has delayed processing and created 
backlogs.
  Legislation designed to streamline and improve the FOIA process was 
championed last Congress by Mr. Smith from Texas. His bill moved 
through subcommittee to the full committee with the assistance of the 
chairman of the Government Management Subcommittee, Mr. Platts.
  In addition, President Bush issued an executive order in December 
2005 which adopted many of the process improvements contained in Mr. 
Smith's legislation, making FOIA operations more citizen-centric and 
results oriented.
  This Congress, the majority took this bill and made additional 
changes but moved beyond process reforms and into substantive changes 
to FOIA policy. Although I had a number of concerns

[[Page H16791]]

with the House legislation, I supported it in an effort to improve FOIA 
overall. In the intervening months since the House passed its version, 
we have been able to work with the Senate and the administration to 
improve the House bill and make it more balanced. I urge my colleagues 
to support this compromise legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Virginia, the ranking member, for working with the majority on this 
important piece of legislation and getting this product to the floor.
  At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank our esteemed 
chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Mr. Waxman, 
for his leadership on shepherding this bill through the Congress and 
would like to recognize the gentleman from California for such time as 
he may consume.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me and 
I want to congratulate him on this accomplishment. This is a very good 
bill. Many people have played an important role in getting this bill to 
us today, and none any less than the chairman of the subcommittee who 
has shepherded it through to this point.
  I rise in support of the OPEN Government Act. The bill contains 
important provisions to improve public access to government records. 
This year the House of Representatives passed a series of good 
government bills to improve openness and accountability in the 
executive branch. These bills include legislation to increase access to 
Presidential records, improve contractor accountability, strengthen 
whistleblower protections, disclose information about donors to 
Presidential libraries, and enhance the independence of agency 
inspectors general.
  This bill, S. 2488, is the first part of this reform agenda that 
Congress will enact into law.
  The Senate bill is not as strong as the House-passed bill. It does 
not include a provision which I thought was a key one establishing a 
presumption that government records should be released to the public 
unless there is a good reason to keep them secret. But the legislation 
does include important reforms to the Freedom of Information Act, our 
Nation's best-known and most widely used open government law.
  The provisions in this bill will help FOIA requesters obtain 
responses to their requests, reduce backlog at all agencies, and 
increase transparency in agency compliance, improve access to 
attorneys' fees for requesters who are improperly denied information, 
and provide an alternative to litigation for requesters who are facing 
delay or denials.
  The Bush administration has an obsession with secrecy. Over the last 
7 years, it has systematically undermined our open government laws, 
while radically expanding its powers to operate in secret. Government 
today has more power than ever to peer into the private lives of 
American citizens; yet American citizens know less and less about what 
their government is actually doing.
  It will take a concerted effort over many years to peel back this 
curtain of secrecy. We need to restore the presumption that government 
records belong to the taxpayer. We need more certain deadlines and 
stronger penalties if this legislation makes little headway in reducing 
FOIA delays. And we still need to enact the other good government 
reforms that this body has already passed but that remain stalled in 
the Senate.
  But this bill is a good first step. I am proud that this Congress is 
fighting for the public's right to know and urge adoption of this 
legislation.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to my friend from 
Texas, I also want to thank Mr. Clay, the subcommittee chairman, for 
helping to mold this and bring it to the floor; Mr. Turner from Ohio, 
who is the ranking member; Mr. Platts; and of course Chairman Waxman 
for his leadership on this issue.
  Let me also add, on the majority staff, Anna Laitan has taken a lead 
role, and we appreciate the work of she and other staff members. And on 
the minority staff, Mason Allinger, Chas Phillips and Ellen Brown for 
their work on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) 
not only for yielding me time, but also for his favorable mention a few 
minutes ago when he was speaking.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the Openness Promotes Effectiveness 
in our National Government Act of 2007.
  This legislation gives the public more information and better insight 
into the workings of the government by strengthening the Freedom of 
Information Act, called FOIA. FOIA performs a vital check and balance 
on the Federal branch. It protects our open system of government and 
ensures that the government responds as it should to the American 
people. Unfortunately, the process for obtaining information is overly 
burdensome and Federal agencies have become less and less responsive to 
the requests for information. This deters citizens from obtaining 
information to which they are entitled.
  Taxpayers should have the opportunity to obtain information from the 
Federal Government quickly and easily. This legislation contains 
several provisions similar to those in a bill I introduced last March. 
These include provisions regarding recovery of attorneys' fees, 
penalties for agencies that do not comply within the specified FOIA 
time limits, and additional agency reporting requirements.
  I am pleased that the bill under consideration today creates a more 
open government without threatening national security or invading 
personal privacy. The ability to obtain records from the Federal 
Government is one of the fundamental rights of the American people. 
When the government closes the doors on information, the people cannot 
monitor their government. Democracy is based on the people's right to 
know. That is why I support the Freedom of Information Act.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill rightly makes it easier for citizens to get 
answers to their requests for information, and that's why I hope all of 
my colleagues will support it.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1715

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I want to just take a moment to 
highlight some of the improvements that have been made to this 
legislation since the House-passed version last March.
  First, we clarified the definition of news media for purposes of fee 
waiver requests. New methods for gathering and delivering news are 
constantly developing. The definition of news, indeed, the definition 
of a journalist is evolving rapidly. We provided a balanced framework 
for making that determination, one that we think makes sense in the era 
of new media.
  Second, this legislation raises the threshold for the recovery of 
attorneys' fees, compared to what was included in the House-passed 
bill. The new threshold is a step in the right direction, but I 
remained concerned the threshold in S. 2488 is still too low. I hope 
we'll continue to take a close look at the substance of this provision 
because ultimately attorneys' fees come out of the taxpayers' pockets.
  Finally, I am pleased to note the provision repealing the so-called 
Ashcroft memorandum was eliminated, and I know this was also of concern 
to the gentleman from Texas. The Ashcroft memorandum established that 
the administration would defend agency decisions to withhold records 
under a FOIA exemption if the decision was supported by a sound legal 
basis, replacing the pre-9/11 Janet Reno standard of always releasing 
information absent foreseeable harm. I think preservation of the 
Ashcroft policy is the right policy to adopt in the current 
environment.
  As I've stated since we began work on this legislation, improving the 
procedural aspects of FOIA should be our goal. It's something we all 
agree on, and this bill moves us closer to that. Although the debate on 
the appropriate balance between open access and protected records will 
go on, I trust we'll continue to try to balance national security with 
the vital principles of open government.
  Once again, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I again 
want to commend the gentleman from Missouri for his work on this.

[[Page H16792]]

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me thank all of my colleagues 
too for the work that they did to craft this piece of legislation that 
I think goes a long way in improving FOIA. And S. 2488 provides a 
strong, reasonable, and bipartisan approach to streamlining the FOIA 
process and increasing transparency in our government. It also provides 
actual access to government information to which the American people 
are entitled.
  Again, let me thank all of my colleagues for their support and help 
and effort on this legislation. And I urge my colleagues to support its 
passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 2488.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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