Patrick Leahy: “I am pleased that, once again, the Senate has reaffirmed its bipartisan commitment to open and transparent government by…”

“I am pleased that, once again, the Senate has reaffirmed its bipartisan commitment to open and transparent government by unanimously passing the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act, the ``OPEN Government Act--the first major reform to the Freedom of Information Act, ``FOIA'', in more than a decade. I commend the bill's chief Republican cosponsor, Senator John Cornyn, for his commitment and dedication to passing FOIA reform legislation this year. I am also appreciative of the efforts of Senator Jon Kyl for cosponsoring this bill and helping us to reach a compromise on this legislation, so that the Senate could consider and pass meaningful FOIA reform legislation this year. Earlier this year, the Senate passed this historic FOIA reform legislation, S. 849, before adjourning for the August recess. Now that the Senate has unanimously passed a modified bill, to ensure that ``pay/go'' and other concerns of the House are adequately addressed, I hope that the House will promptly enact this bill and send it to the President without further delay. I have worked very hard to address the concerns of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to ensure that the Congress can enact meaningful FOIA reform legislation this year. I commend Congressman Waxman, the distinguished Chairman of that Committee, for his commitment to FOIA reform and I thank him and his staff for all of their hard work on this legislation.”