[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1775-S1776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Freedom of Information Act

  Mr. President, on another matter, this Saturday will mark the 268th 
birthday of James Madison, the Father of the Constitution and an ardent 
advocate for open government.
  It is no coincidence that near his birthday each year, we also 
celebrate something called Sunshine Week--a time to promote 
transparency in government and access to public information.
  I have always been proud of the fact that Texas is known for having 
one of the strongest and most robust freedom of information laws in the 
country. As attorney general of Texas for 4 years, it was my privilege 
to enforce those laws.
  We strive to maintain an open and honest government. Not only does it 
keep citizens in the know, it also helps keep government accountable.
  As we all know, Justice Brandeis famously said: ``Sunlight is said to 
be the best of disinfectants.'' When I came to Washington, I wanted to 
bring that same Texas sunshine to the national level.
  During my time in the Senate, I have made government transparency a 
priority, and I have pressed for more openness in the Federal 
Government through commonsense legislation.
  Over the last decade-plus, my closest ally in that effort has been my 
friend and colleague from Vermont, Senator Pat Leahy. Some people 
consider us to be the odd couple when it comes to this topic because 
Senator Leahy is on the other end of the political spectrum.
  As a conservative, I think if people act in government as if their 
actions are going to be known and available to the people they work 
for--the taxpayers--it really changes their behavior. It doesn't 
require Congress or the government to pass more regulation or more laws 
to get them to do what they know they should do if they knew that what 
they were doing was going to be made public; hence, my support for the 
Freedom of Information Act and public information law.
  Senator Leahy and I have worked so well together because we 
understand that this is not a Republican or Democratic issue. We both 
recognize that whether it is a Republican administration or a 
Democratic administration, everyone wants to trumpet their successes 
and hide their failures. That is just human nature. But in order for 
our government to run well and the American people to trust that it is 
running well, we need transparency and the accountability that goes 
along with it.
  Safeguarding our right to public information is the Freedom of 
Information Act, or FOIA. FOIA serves not as a weapon but as a shield, 
protecting the American people from a government that may seek to abuse 
its power or conceal fraud and abuse.
  In the more than 50 years since FOIA was first enacted, we have seen 
a tug of war taking place in both Republican and Democratic 
administrations, with some favoring more openness and others favoring 
less. That is why it is so important that we fight here in the Senate 
to ensure that the balance doesn't tilt away from transparency.
  This is a great opportunity both to reflect on the important steps we 
have taken in the past and to recommit ourselves to the ongoing 
important work that we still need to do.
  I believe the most significant legislation Senator Leahy and I 
shepherded during our work together is the FOIA Improvement Act, which 
became law in 2016. It required government Agencies to operate under a 
presumption of openness when considering whether to release government 
information.
  It also aimed to reduce the overuse of exemptions to withhold 
information from the public and to minimize the bureaucracy in the FOIA 
request process by requiring the creation of a single

[[Page S1776]]

portal through which individuals can submit a request to any Agency.
  On top of that, that legislation required Agencies to proactively 
disclose documents that are likely to be of public interest in order to 
increase access to government documents outside the often bureaucratic 
and onerous FOIA request process. In other words, we built upon the 
work of our Founding Fathers and what they recognized hundreds of years 
ago: A truly self-governing people depends upon an informed citizenry 
to hold their elected leaders accountable.
  While that was a big step in improving government accountability, our 
work, of course, is not done. I continue to look for new opportunities 
to improve the Freedom of Information Act process and to ensure that it 
remains robust and workable for all of our citizens.
  I will continue to advocate for policies in the Senate that build on 
a more transparent government and bring more of that Texas sunshine to 
Washington, DC. I hope this Sunshine Week we can all grow even more 
committed to the mission of open and honest government that serves its 
people and not itself.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete the 
full duration of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.