Update 6/6/07
Update 6/6/07 “Senator Secrecy” was quickly outed by the Society of Professional Journalists for his anonymous “hold” on the OPEN Government bill, but the senator, Jon Kyl, R-AZ, continues to block the FOIA reform legislation. The hold served to keep the sponsors from fast-tracking the legislation and getting it to the floor before Memorial Day. Now it will work to make it more difficult to get jealously-guarded time scheduled for floor action. We’re confident the bill will pass if it gets to the floor. Then the few differences with the House version will have to be worked out in conference. But first the Senate leadership needs to let it get to the floor. The key to that may be increased bi-partisan sponsorship. That would put pressure on the Republican leadership to set aside Kyl’s objections, letting him raise his objections in floor debate. Sen. Kyl is championing the Justice Department’s opposition to the FOIA bill, and in particular Section 4, dealing with the recovery of legal fees for those who get requested records only after suing, and Section 6, which creates a penalty for agencies who fail to meet the 20-day response deadline. Section 4 is a critical provision in the bill for public advocacy groups and journalists. And the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, has already resolved the primary Section 6 issue through a managers amendment which accepts a lesser penalty provision contained in the House version. I’ve attached a analysis of the key sections of the bill reflecting the importance of this legislation to open government. Continued reporting, commentary and editorials on this can make a difference. July 4 will be the 41st anniversary of the signing of the Freedom of Information Act, and will mark the 40th year since it went into effect.
