[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5973]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MARK SCHLEFER

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I would like to congratulate and honor a 
Vermont resident for his outstanding commitment to ensuring 
transparency between the Federal Government and the American public. 
Mark Schlefer of Putney, VT, played an integral role in the creation of 
the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, that came into effect in 1967. 
Since its incorporation, FOIA has given the American people the right 
to request to access records from any Federal agency and has required 
agencies to post certain categories of information and frequently 
requested records online.
  Mr. Schlefer was inspired to join the legal group that drafted FOIA 
after working with a shipping client, Pacific Far East Line, which was 
denied tariff documentation to stop at the Mariana Islands by the 
Federal Maritime Commission. Mr. Schlefer was upset to find that the 
Federal Maritime Commission was not required to provide an explanation 
of the justification behind the rejection.
  Along with two other lawyers who came across similar situations with 
government agencies, Mr. Schlefer helped to draft the legislation for 
FOIA. After years of working on the bill and convincing both Members of 
the House and the Senate to support the legislation, it was signed into 
law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966.
  FOIA helped pave the way for greater government transparency. 
Increased transparency restores faith in governance by holding 
government officials accountable to the American people. A truly 
transparent government roots out systemic waste, fraud, and abuse. It 
is clear that we need to maintain the transparency and accountability 
of government to the people it is meant to represent. I strongly 
believe that, as a democracy, we must strive to make our government as 
transparent as possible and that citizens should be able to obtain 
information from the government in a reasonable fashion.
  Without FOIA, much of the U.S. Government would still be closed off 
to the American people. This legislation has been an inspiration to 
other governments and has served as a model throughout the world for 
opening government information to the public. Since FOIA was enacted 
nearly 50 years ago, similar Freedom of Information laws have been 
passed in all 50 States and 93 other nations.
  Mark Schlefer has demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment 
to ensuring the American people had access to more information 
throughout the Federal Government. Since its initial enactment, all 
three branches of the Federal Government have recognized the FOIA as a 
vital part of our democracy. I heartily applaud Mr. Schlefer for 
leading the way to a more transparent government. I have no doubt that 
his outstanding life work has had a significant and positive impact on 
people and their governments throughout the world.

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