Senate moves to shore up provisions of FOIA

WASHINGTON – The Senate took steps Friday to ensure that Congress clearly explains future efforts to restrict the public’s access to government documents.

Approved by a voice vote, the Senate bill requires that future legislation containing new exemptions to what records are open for public scrutiny under Freedom of Information Act be “stated explicitly within the text of the bill.”

The measure was promoted by Sens. Jon Cornyn, R-Texas, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who have sought to protect and strengthen the act, passed in 1966, in a post-9/11 era when security concerns tend to override the public’s right to know. The legislation must still be taken up by the House.

Leahy said that FOIA contains a number of appropriate exemptions for national security, law enforcement, confidential business information and personal privacy. But he said bills increasingly include statutory exemptions, or ambiguous language that the courts might interpret as exemptions.