Bipartisan Bill To Help Identify Ways To Reduce FOIA Delays
WASHINGTON (Monday March 15 2010) Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas.) today will introduce legislation to make further improvements to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) the nations premier open government law.
Leahy and Cornyn are longtime leaders on FOIA issues and have authored legislation to make the federal government more open and transparent to the people it represents.
This week marks the sixth annual Sunshine Week a national observance of the importance of an open and transparent government. Leahy and Cornyn have authored the Faster FOIA Act which will establish an advisory panel to examine agency backlogs in processing FOIA requests. Under the legislation the panel named the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays will be required to provide to Congress recommendations for legislative and administrative action to enhance agency responses to FOIA requests. The panel will be required to identify methods to reduce delays in the processing of FOIA requests and will be charged with examining whether the system for charging fees and granting fee waivers under FOIA should be reformed in order to reduce delays in processing fee requests.
I am pleased to join with Senator Cornyn to introduce the Faster FOIA Act" said Leahy. The Faster FOIA Act will help to address agency FOIA backlogs by establishing a bipartisan Commission to examine the root causes of agency delay. I have said many times that open government is neither a Democratic issue nor a Republican issue it is truly an American value and virtue that we all must uphold. As we celebrate Sunshine Week I hope all Senators will join us to support this legislation."
Sen. Leahy and I have fought for years to make our government more transparent and I am pleased to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation as we commence national Sunshine Week" said Cornyn. This Faster FOIA Act would identify methods to reduce delays in the processing of FOIA requests and ensure the efficient and equitable administration of FOIA throughout the federal government."
Leahy and Cornyn first introduced the Faster FOIA Act in 2005. In past years they have authored successful legislation to make important reforms to FOIA including the OPEN Government Act which made the first major reforms to FOIA in more than a decade. The OPEN Government Act was signed into law in 2007. In 2009 Leahy and Cornyn authored the OPEN FOIA Act which mandated greater transparency for legislative exemptions to FOIA. The legislation was signed into law in October.
