[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 147 (Thursday, December 4, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S6343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FOIA IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Freedom of Information Act is one of 
our Nation's most important laws. James Madison said the people ``must 
arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.'' For nearly 50 years, 
FOIA has given Americans a way to access government information 
ensuring their right to know what their government doing. The FOIA 
Improvement Act advances this fundamental democratic principle. It is 
why I urge all Senators to support the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, 
without delay.
  This legislation builds on what the President laid out in his 
historic Executive order in 2009 by requiring Federal agencies to adopt 
a ``Presumption of Openness'' when considering the release of 
government information under FOIA. Prioritizing the people's interest 
in what their government is doing, our bill will reduce the overuse of 
exemptions to withhold information where there is no foreseeable harm. 
It will make information available for public inspection and frequently 
requested documents available online. It will provide the Office of 
Government Information Services, OGIS, with additional independence and 
authority to carry out its work. I believe this legislation reaffirms 
the fundamental premise of FOIA, that government information belongs to 
all Americans.
  Supporting these commonsense reforms will help open the government to 
the 300 million Americans it serves. The bill is supported by more than 
70 public interest groups that advocate for government transparency. 
The Sunshine in Government Initiative, said the Leahy-Cornyn bill 
``strengthens government transparency by limiting the ability of 
agencies to hide decades old documents from the public.'' At the 
Judiciary Committee's business meeting to consider this legislation, 
which was reported to the full Senate with unanimous support, Ranking 
Member Grassley said the FOIA Improvement Act ``opens wide the curtains 
and provides more sunlight on the Federal government.'' Senator Cornyn, 
my partner for many years on government transparency, noted our 
bipartisan efforts ``to open up the government and make it more 
consumer and customer friendly.'' I thank both Senators for their work 
on this legislation.
  We often talk about the need for government transparency, and many 
also note how rare it is that Democrats and Republicans can come 
together on any legislation. We have accomplished both with the FOIA 
Improvement Act. It was drafted in a bipartisan fashion after a long 
and thoughtful process of consultation. This week, we can pass this 
bill in the Senate and send it over to the House, where I am confident 
that it will pass, and send it to the President to sign before the end 
of the year. There is no reason to delay this legislation, which has 
broad support from a range of stakeholders, costs very little to 
implement and will improve access to government for all Americans. I 
urge the Senate to pass the FOIA Improvement Act now, without delay.

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