John Cornyn: “it is no secret that every Senator who comes to Washington, DC, comes with a few select issues in mind which he makes…”

“it is no secret that every Senator who comes to Washington, DC, comes with a few select issues in mind which he makes his own, and which he takes a particular interest in. For me, open and transparent government has been one of those issues. From my time as a Texas lawyer, supreme court justice, and attorney general I know firsthand the importance, but also the difficulty of creating and enforcing open government and the free flow of information. I have always taken to heart, however, the words of James Madison, who once declared: ``The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.'' Of course, I have the advantage of coming from Texas, one of the strongest States in terms of free information and open government. In Texas, it is a matter of principle that everyone should be able to quickly and easily find out what their government is doing and how. That is why I was so pleased last week when the Senate passed the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government, or OPEN Government Act of 2007.”