The White House’s reluctance to open itself up to any scrutiny has been a major source of frustration for Republicans. It’s getting on the nerves of some Democrats, too, as evidenced by the fact that a bill to expand the Freedom of Information of Act has generated a rare show of bipartisan support.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill Wednesday simply titled the “FOIA Act” that is intended to make it harder for agencies to resist requests to turn over documents to Congress or the public.
“In a time with limitless technology, it should be easier than ever for Americans to have access to their government. The FOIA Act would place a presumption of openness in the FOIA statute and require agencies to justify withholdings of information by showing a specific harm that is foreseeable from disclosure. It would also speed up the process of requests and make information publicly available,” said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., a co-sponsor.
The legislation’s chief sponsor is Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who doggedly investigated President Obama’s administration on multiple fronts during his tenure as chairman of the Oversight Committee.
“The bill would be a major step forward for government transparency, establishing a presumption of openness for releasing information — assuming requestors have a right to the information they request instead of demanding that they justify the basis for their request,” according to a statement from Issa’s office.
Issa repeatedly clashed with Democrats, particularly Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the Oversight Committee’s top-ranking minority member. But Cummings is co-sponsoring this bill along with Quigley; Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.; and the District of Columbia’s congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton.
More Democratic co-sponsors are expected. “A similar version passed the House last year on a 410-0 vote last year,” said a House Republican aide. “It’s something that has a lot of support on both sides.”
The legislation was not taken up in the then-Democratic-majority Senate, though. This time, the Republicans have the majority and an eagerness to find legislative vehicles that can get significant bipartisan support. FOIA was generally seen as a victory for progressives when it was first passed in 1966. Senate Democrats will be hard-pressed to oppose an expansion.
Issa’s proposal would expand FOIA to require the disclosure of information to all be done electronically — currently, requested documents still arrive on paper through traditional mail — and create a single online portal for all government requests. It would eliminate fees if the government fails to reply by its statutory deadlines. It would give federal inspectors general more powers to review the process.
The legislation would also require the federal government to disclose information if it has been requested by three people or organizations.
Of course, information is ideally supposed to be turned over the first time any request is made. The legislation is intended to shine an extra spotlight on those times it is being withheld.
“The thinking behind it is that if the information was sought that many times, there is reason for it and some special interest to it,” said the Republican staffer.
