Sean Higgins of the Washington Examiner reports on one area of bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill.
The White House’s reluctance to open itself up to any scrutiny has been a major source of frustration for Republicans. It’s getting on the nerves of some Democrats, too, as evidenced by the fact that a bill to expand the Freedom of Information of Act has generated a rare show of bipartisan support.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill … simply titled the “FOIA Act” that is intended to make it harder for agencies to resist requests to turn over documents to Congress or the public.
“In a time with limitless technology, it should be easier than ever for Americans to have access to their government. The FOIA Act would place a presumption of openness in the FOIA statute and require agencies to justify withholdings of information by showing a specific harm that is foreseeable from disclosure. It would also speed up the process of requests and make information publicly available,” said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., a co-sponsor.
The legislation’s chief sponsor is Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who doggedly investigated President Obama’s administration on multiple fronts during his tenure as chairman of the Oversight Committee.
“The bill would be a major step forward for government transparency, establishing a presumption of openness for releasing information — assuming requestors have a right to the information they request instead of demanding that they justify the basis for their request,” according to a statement from Issa’s office.
Issa repeatedly clashed with Democrats, particularly Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the Oversight Committee’s top-ranking minority member. But Cummings is co-sponsoring this bill along with Quigley; Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.; and the District of Columbia’s congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton.
More Democratic co-sponsors are expected.
