A coalition of media groups today urged every U.S. Senator to support legislation that establishes a presumption of openness in law, encourages agencies to use public-friendly technology, and makes other changes to the way agencies respond to requests for information…
Tag: Patrick Leahy
SGI supports Senate FOIA bill
The Sunshine in Government Initiative strongly supports bipartisan legislation, S. 2520, to improve the way agencies process FOIA requests. Below is a letter SGI sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting the bill.
Farm Bill Update: Showdown looms on FOIA’s balanced protections versus special interest
Senator Charles Grassley is again poised — as soon as today, although the timing is far from clear — to present a broad exemption that would set a bad precedent for the administration of FOIA. We recently wrote about our…
Successful fight to stop farm bill secrecy — for now
Senator Patrick Leahy and open government groups have stopped at least for now the Grassley amendment that would bar disclosure of basic phone directory information for owners and operators of livestock and poultry processing facilities and farms. We explained our…
Senate drops controversial Title V proposals, passes FY13 intel authorization bill (S. 3454)
The nine members of the Sunshine in Government Initiative are pleased the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (S. 3454) does not include proposals that would have curtailed the flow of information to the public about national security and…
Fixing FOIA: Commentators reacting to DOJ’s reversal
The reaction was swift when the Justice Department confirmed in a letter to Senators Charles Grassley and Patrick Leahy that they would not move forward with their plan to say documents don’t exist when, in fact, they do. You can…
Fixing FOIA update: Justice backs away from “lying”
Today we’re happy to note the Justice Department is withdrawing its proposed rule to sanction responding to certain FOIA requests for law enforcement records as if records did not exist when, in fact, information does exist (but is out of…
Senate Approves FOIA Delays Commission, Adds Momentum to Improving FOIA
The Senate yesterday passed legislation (S. 3111) that would create a commission to study delays and other problems with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). “This legislation adds momentum to get to the bottom of FOIA’s longstanding limits,” said Rick…