{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/bipartisan-trio-of-leahy-grassley-and-cornyn-tout-bipartisan-process-significantly-improving-interior-depts-foia-regulations", "Bipartisan Trio Of Leahy, Grassley And Cornyn Tout Bipartisan Process Significantly Improving Interior Dept.\u2019s FOIA Regulations", "2019-10-25", "2019", "2019-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.25.19\n\t\t\t Bipartisan Trio Of Leahy, Grassley And Cornyn Tout Bipartisan Process Significantly Improving Interior Dept.'s FOIA Regulations \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn Tout Bipartisan Process Significantly Improving Interior Dept.'s FOIA Regulations\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (FRIDAY, Oct. 25, 2019)  A bipartisan trio of key senators -- Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas)  Friday sent a letter to Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) David Bernhardt expressing appreciation for the changes reflected in the agency's final rule, published today, updating its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policies.\r\nIn March, the senators, alongside the late Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Representative Elijah Cummings, wrote to Secretary Bernhardt to express significant concerns with DOI's proposed FOIA rule, which appeared to restrict public access to records and unnecessarily delay the processing of FOIA requests. Their letter also highlights the constructive dialogue and responsiveness that DOI provided since the members' March letter.\r\nThey wrote: The final rule appears to more faithfully align with FOIA's twin goals of transparency and openness. While our offices will remain vigilant in our oversight  of all agencies' FOIA policies under any administration  we sincerely appreciate the efforts your Department took to keep Congress informed of the final rule's development. Moreover, we were pleased that the Department heard our concerns with the proposed rule and issued a final rule that seeks to directly address those concerns.\r\nText of the letter follows:\r\n\r\nOctober 25, 2019\r\n\r\nThe Honorable David Bernhardt\r\nSecretary\r\nU.S. Department of the Interior\r\n1849 C Street, NW\r\nWashington, DC 20240\r\n\r\nDear Secretary Bernhardt,\r\nIn March of this year, we sent your Department a bipartisan, bicameral letter to express significant concerns with the Department of Interior's proposed update to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Act regulations.[1] We write today to express appreciation for the changes reflected in the Department's finalized rule,[2] as well as for the constructive dialogue that occurred between the Department and our offices since our initial letter.\r\nThe final rule appears to more faithfully align with FOIA's twin goals of transparency and openness. While our offices will remain vigilant in our oversightof all agencies' FOIA policies under any administrationwe sincerely appreciate the efforts your Department took to keep Congress informed of the final rule's development. Moreover, we were pleased that the Department heard our concerns with the proposed rule and issued a final rule that seeks to directly address those concerns.\r\nLastly, we note that our March letter, and the inter-branch dialogue that followed, was initiated by the late Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Representative Elijah Cummings, whose legacy in improving government transparency is widely respected. It's in his spirit and dedication to accountability that we hope other agencies, going forward, will provide the same level of dialogue and responsiveness as your Department has in this process. The American people, after all, are best served when Congress and the Executive Branch work together and across party lines to protect their interests.\r\nRespectfully,\r\n\r\n\r\nCharles E. Grassley\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nPatrick Leahy\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nJohn Cornyn\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\n# # # # #\r\n    \r\n\r\n[1] Department of the Interior, Freedom of Information Act Regulations, 83 Fed. Reg. 67175 (Dec. 28, 2018) (proposed rule) available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-12-28/pdf/2018-27561.pdf.\r\n\r\n\r\n[2] Department of the Interior, Freedom of Information Act Regulations, Docket No. DOI-2018-0017 (Oct. 24, 2019) (final rule) available at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/signed-foia-finalrule102419.pdf.\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle: 202-224-3693\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/bipartisan-trio-of-leahy-grassley-and-cornyn-tout-bipartisan-process-significantly-improving-interior-depts-foia-regulations"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 36.159424809738994, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}