The Senate passed legislation Monday evening that would narrow Freedom of Information Act exemptions.
The FOIA Improvement Act, which had been approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee, had been held up by commerce committee chair Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).
A statement released by the commerce committee noted that Sen. Rockefeller obtained concessions from the bill’s supporters before releasing his hold on it. The language of the proposal was amended to establish “Congressional intent that courts should take into consideration the concerns of agencies when they withhold information related to law enforcement efforts,” a spokesperson for the committee said. Rockefeller had said he was concerned the proposed law would hamstring regulators preparing enforcement actions and subsequently leave consumers vulnerable.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the judiciary committee chair and the bill’s author, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the judiciary committee and a co-sponsor of the legislation, issued a joint statement praising the move. The pair said it would force federal agencies to work under a “presumption of openness” when processing FOIA requests, while maintaining prohibitions on classified information.
The two senators urged the House of Representatives to “take up and pass the FOIA Improvement Act this week so it can be enacted this year.”
If the Senate hadn’t passed the legislation by Monday night, House rules would have forbidden the lower chamber from taking it up this year.
