House passes measure to strengthen Freedom of Information Act

Bill would increase penalties for nonaction

By Rebecca Carr

WASHINGTON BUREAU

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

WASHINGTON — Legislation that strengthens the Freedom of Information Act advanced to the White House on Tuesday.

The legislation, initially sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., unanimously passed the House on Tuesday, mirroring a Senate vote Friday.

The measure would increase penalties on federal agencies that fail to provide requested documents and information within 20 days.

It creates an ombudsman to settle disputes and allows people making requests to recover legal costs if they prevail in court.

Also, the bill reverses a presumption created by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft that government records should be kept from the public if there is uncertainty about how their release will affect national security.

Final congressional passage of the bill came after a long lobbying effort by Cornyn and Leahy to bolster the beleaguered 41-year-old law.

Critics say it is ineffective because of delays in responses to requests for information and because people seeking information routinely must go to federal court to obtain government records.

"Passage of these long-overdue open government reforms is a victory for transparency in federal government operations and a vital building block to strengthen our democratic process," said Cornyn, who has made open government a signature issue since his arrival in the Senate in 2003.

The White House declined to say whether President Bush would sign the legislation. But with support from Cornyn and other conservatives such as U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., the bill is likely to become law. It would be the first change in the law in more than a decade.

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