Patrick Leahy: “today, I have joined with Senator Cornyn to reintroduce the ``Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government…”

“today, I have joined with Senator Cornyn to reintroduce the ``Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act--or the OPEN Government Act--the first major reform to the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, in more than a decade. The Senate passed this historic FOIA reform legislation, S. 849, before adjourning for the August recess. But, sadly, this measure has been stalled in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for several months, preventing these long-overdue FOIA reforms from being enacted into law. Despite the unfortunate delay of this bill, I remain deeply committed to enacting FOIA reform legislation this year. Because time is of the essence, I am requesting that this legislation be immediately placed on the Senate Calendar and that the Senate promptly take up and pass this bill by unanimous consent, so that it can be sent to the House. The version of the bill introduced today includes ``pay/go'' language that has been requested by the House and eliminates the provision on citations to FOIA exemptions. After needlessly delaying the enactment of this bill for several months, I hope that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will promptly take up this important measure, so that the House can enact this legislation and send it to the President before the end of the year.”