Sens. Leahy, Cornyn Mark Sunshine Week With New FOIA Bill to Expose Exemptions

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), co-sponsors of the OPEN Government Act of 2007, on the cusp of Sunshine Week, introduced another bill to strengthen open government. The OPEN FOIA Act calls for Congress to "explicitly and clearly" state its intentions to create any new exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act, typically known as "(b)(3)" exemptions that are often buried in complex legislation.

"Senator Cornyn and I have worked together for years to restore openness and transparency to a government that has become increasingly secretive," Leahy said. "While some government information needs to be kept secret, we cannot allow the government to hide behind the veil of secrecy and curb the public's right to know, just to avoid accountability. Our new legislation will take steps to make clear those exemptions to FOIA, and this is a fitting start to Sunshine Week."

Cornyn remarked, "It was encouraging to see Congress take major steps recently to expand the American people's right to government information. This latest bill is an effort to further enhance government transparency and accountability. Sunshine Week is an opportunity to highlight these important principles of our Founding Fathers — a truly self-governing society depends on an informed citizenry."