Update 2/12/07

The House Subcommittee on Information Policy will hold a hearing at 2 p.m. Wednesday (Rayburn 2154) on the Freedom of Information Act. It’s designed to brief the new committee members on FOIA issues in preparation for their consideration of a reform bill that will be filed shortly.

Clark Hoyt, former Washington Editor for Knight Ridder, will be testifying on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative. He’ll cite a number of important stories that resulted from records obtained through FOIA and relate his bureau’s year-long, $100,000 battle with the VA to get access to information on disability benefits.

Also testifying will be Anthony Romero from ACLU, Meredith Fuchs, general counsel for the National Security Archive at George Washington University, and representatives from the Justice Department and the General Accountability Office..

No significant FOIA legislation has been filed yet but we expect a new version of the OPEN Government Act, introduced in the last session by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tx) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) and by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tx) in the House to be refilled in modified form.

Two sections in particular are holding up the drafting – an ombudsman and penalty provisions, both of which drew some opposition in the last session. We’ve been pushing for an ombudsman would be able to independently review both decisions and procedures, writing advisory opinions and providing regular performance audits. We’ve also recommended modified language to guarantee that requesters who filed suit can collect legal fees if their litigation prompts a favorable response, even if the matter never gets to court. (That would have let Clark Hoyt’s bureau recover the $100,000 plus). We’re also recommending better agency reporting on performance measures.

CJOG is pulling together a research report on FOIA performance for the hearing and I’ll be sending you e-copies in a day or two.

Pete Weitzel