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Congress Approves Bill To Open Information

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By LAURIE KELLMAN, The Associated Press

Published: December 19, 2007

WASHINGTON - Congress on Tuesday struck back at the Bush administration's trend toward secrecy since the Sept. 11 attacks, passing legislation to toughen the Freedom of Information Act and increasing penalties on agencies that don't comply.

The White House would not say whether President Bush will sign the legislation, which unanimously passed the House by voice vote Tuesday a few days after it sailed through the Senate. Without Bush's signature or veto, the bill would become law during the congressional recess that begins next week.

It would be the first makeover of the FOIA in a decade, among other things bringing nonproprietary information held by government contractors under the law.

The legislation also is aimed at reversing an order by former Attorney General John Ashcroft after the attacks, in which he instructed agencies to lean against releasing information when there was uncertainty about how doing so would affect national security.

Supporting changes in the law were dozens of media outlets, including The Associated Press.

The bill restores a presumption of disclosure standard committing government agencies to releasing requested information unless there is a finding that such disclosure could do harm.

Agencies would be required to meet a 20-day deadline for responding to FOIA requests. Their FOIA offices would have to forward requests for information to the appropriate agency office within 10 days of receiving them.

It they fail to meet the 20-day deadline, agencies would have to refund search and duplication fees for noncommercial requesters. They also would have to explain any censorship by citing the specific exemption under which the blacked-out information qualifies.

The legislation also creates a system for the media and public to track the status of their FOIA requests.

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