Cornyn, Leahy OPEN Government Act Passes Senate

Press Release

Cornyn, Leahy OPEN Government Act Passes Senate

Following years of efforts by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a leading open government advocate in Congress, the Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation today to implement sweeping reforms of the Freedom of Information Act, the most significant in a decade. The OPEN Government Act was introduced by Sens. Cornyn and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

"Open government reforms should be embraced by conservatives, liberals, and anyone who believes in the freedom and the dignity of the individual. Passage of this important legislation is a victory for the American people. From my vantage point in Washington, it's about holding accountable the politicians who continue to grow the size and scope of the federal government. And it's about holding accountable the bureaucrats who populate the federal government's ever-expanding reach over individual liberty," Sen. Cornyn said. "This legislation will provide the American people more information and make our great democracy even stronger. It strengthens the view that the Freedom of Information Act establishes a presumption of openness, and that our government is based not on the need to know, but upon the fundamental right to know. Letting the sun shine more on our government is long overdue."

The bipartisan OPEN government bill contains more than a dozen substantive provisions, designed to achieve the following four objectives:

1. Strengthen FOIA and close loopholes
2. Help FOIA requestors obtain timely responses to their requests
3. Ensure that agencies have strong incentives to act on FOIA requests in a timely fashion
4. Provide FOIA officials with all of the tools they need to ensure that our government remains open and accessible

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