The Senate Judiciary Committee approved bipartisan legislation Thursday that would further improve the Freedom of Information Act, the third time the bill has been approved since 2005.
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) co-authored the Faster FOIA Act, which creates an advisory panel to examine agencies’ backlogging of FOIA requests and provides Congress with advice on how to enhance these agencies’ responses.
“I have said many times over the years that open government is neither a Democratic issue, nor a Republican issue – it is an American value that we all must uphold,” Leahy said.
Cornyn reiterated Leahy’s statement and said “this bill helps bring our government one step closer to better transparency.”
“It would be a great benefit to the American people, who deserve to be treated as valued customers when they seek answers from their government,” Cornyn said. “I hope that all of my colleagues in the Senate will support this bill when it comes to the floor.”