{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-supporting-government-transparency-and-urging-passage-of_the-foia-improvement-act-of-2014-", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Supporting Government Transparency And Urging Passage of  The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014", "2014-12-05", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.05.14\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Supporting Government Transparency And Urging Passage of  The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe Freedom of Information Act is one of our Nation\u2019s most important laws. James Madison said the people \u201cmust arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.\u201d\u00a0 For nearly 50 years, FOIA has given Americans a way to access government information ensuring their right to know what their government doing. The FOIA Improvement Act advances this fundamental democratic principle.\u00a0 It is why I urge all Senators to support the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, without delay.\r\nThis legislation builds on what the President laid out in his historic executive order in 2009 by requiring Federal agencies to adopt a \u201cPresumption of Openness\u201d when considering the release of government information under FOIA. Prioritizing the people\u2019s interest in what their government is doing, our bill will reduce the overuse of exemptions to withhold information where there is no foreseeable harm. It will make information available for public inspection and frequently requested documents available online.\u00a0 It will provide the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), with additional independence and authority to carry out its work. I believe this legislation reaffirms the fundamental premise of FOIA, that government information belongs to all Americans.\u00a0\r\nSupporting these commonsense reforms will help open the government to the 300 million Americans it serves. The bill is supported by more than 70 public interest groups that advocate for government transparency. The Sunshine in Government Initiative, said the Leahy-Cornyn bill \u201cstrengthens government transparency by limiting the ability of agencies to hide decades old documents from the public.\u201d At the Judiciary Committee\u2019s business meeting to consider this legislation, which was reported to the full Senate with unanimous support, Ranking Member Grassley said the FOIA Improvement Act \u201copens wide the curtains and provides more sunlight on the Federal government.\u201d Senator Cornyn, my partner for many years on government transparency, noted our bipartisan efforts \u201cto open up the government and make it more consumer and customer friendly.\u201d I thank both Senators for their work on this legislation.\r\nWe often talk about the need for government transparency, and many also note how rare it is that Democrats and Republicans can come together on any legislation. We have accomplished both with the FOIA Improvement Act. It was drafted in a bipartisan fashion after a long and thoughtful process of consultation. This week, we can pass this bill in the Senate and send it over to the House, where I am confident that it will pass, and send it to the President to sign before the end of the year. There is no reason to delay this legislation, which has broad support from a range of stakeholders, costs very little to implement and will improve access to government for all Americans.\u00a0 I urge the Senate to pass the FOIA Improvement Act now, without delay.\u00a0\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David 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    \tNext Article\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": ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-supporting-government-transparency-and-urging-passage-of_the-foia-improvement-act-of-2014-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7511158473789692, "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"}