Congress Passes Landmark FOIA Reform; President Expected to Sign

Before the December congressional recess, Congress finally passed the amended OPEN Government Act, the first meaningful reform of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in over a decade. The House passed S. 2488 by voice vote, and the Senate unanimously passed the same bill. The President is expected to sign this good government bill.

For almost three years, the Sunshine in Government Initiative, of which NAA and the Associated Press are founding members, has actively supported this legislation because it makes simple, common sense reforms in the way federal agencies process requests for documents under FOIA. Among the reforms, the bill:

• creates a tracking system and hotline for requesters;
• imposes real consequences on federal agencies for missing statutory deadlines by waiving FOIA fees a requester must pay;
• creates an ombudsman to help requesters use FOIA and mediate disputes;
• makes it easier for the public to recover legal fees when litigation is the catalyst for the release of records.

NAA applauds the dedication of all the lawmakers who pushed this important measure forward, particularly Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Todd Platts (R-PA). NAA would also like to thank members for their coverage of this bill in their editorial pages which helped move the legislation forward.

First Published:
December 20, 2007