[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1836-S1837]
SUNSHINE WEEK
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, this week is Sunshine Week, an annual
nationwide celebration of the good that comes from peeling back the
curtains on government. Sunshine Week coincides with the National
Freedom of Information Day and President James Madison's birthday, both
of which occur on March 16.
James Madison understood the value of an informed citizenry as a
necessary check against those in power. We shouldn't forget his call
for the people to ``arm themselves with the power which knowledge
gives.''
More recently in our Nation's history, Justice Brandeis declared,
``sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.''
These sentiments hold true to this day. A government that operates in
darkness--and a public that's kept in the dark--sows the seeds of
waste, fraud, and abuse.
In the face of secrecy and obstruction, the public has a vital
weapon: the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA.
Over 50 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed FOIA into law,
establishing the public's judicially enforceable right to government
information.
Before FOIA, the people had to justify their need for information to
the government, but after FOIA, the government has to justify its
refusal to release information to the public. FOIA's enactment marked a
crucial step toward a government more accountable to the people.
No doubt, FOIA manifests Congress's recognition of the need to
carefully balance the public's right to know and the government's
interest in protecting certain information from disclosure, but
practice and history demonstrates this balance has all too often been
tilted away from transparency.
Many in government have continued to find ways to undermine citizens'
right to know under FOIA. Transparency should be the norm, not the
exception; yet, when it comes to FOIA requests, we have continued to
see a government culture of delay, deny, and defend. When this happens,
FOIA's effectiveness is undermined and the public becomes even more
skeptical of its government.
We have seen this in one way or another under every administration,
both Republican and Democratic, since FOIA's enactment, but the trend
toward secrecy and obstruction in recent years should alarm all of us.
According to a March 14 Associated Press report, ``The Obama
administration in its final year in office spent a record $36.2 million
on legal costs defending its refusal to turn over federal records under
[FOIA.]''
[[Page S1837]]
In 2016, the Obama administration set records for ``outright denial
of access to files, refusing to quickly consider requests described as
especially newsworthy, and forcing people to pay for records who had
asked the government to waive search and copy fees.''
To top it off, ``The government acknowledged when challenged that it
had been wrong to initially refuse to turn over all or parts of records
in more than one-third of such cases, the highest rate in at least six
years.''
We simply cannot continue down this path.
Fortunately, a truly bipartisan and bicameral effort last year
resulted in the enactment of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. I was
proud to be a cosponsor of this important piece of legislation and to
have worked closely with my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, as
well as the open government community, in ensuring its passage. It
achieves some of the most meaningful and necessary reforms to FOIA in
history.
We are already witnessing some of the positive impacts of these
reforms.
For example, the National Security Archive, a nonprofit open
government advocate, fought for years to achieve the public release of
certain historical documents about the Bay of Pigs invasion. But time
and again, they were met with legal hurdles put up by the Central
Intelligence Agency, CIA.
This past October, however, the CIA released these historically
significant documents. In doing so, the CIA's Chief Historian stated
that the Agency is ``releasing this draft volume today because recent
2016 changes in the [FOIA] requires us to release some drafts that are
responsive to FOIA requests if they are more than 25 years old.''
This is excellent news. It is just one example of the good that can
result from bipartisan work toward a common goal for the American
people. I look forward to hearing many other such stories of important
information finally being made publicly available under FOIA, thanks to
these recent reforms.
But we can't just rest on our laurels. No matter which party is in
control of Congress or the White House, continuing oversight of FOIA--
and the faithful implementation of its amendments--is essential to
ensure the law's effectiveness as a tool for the public good.
As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I am proud during this
Sunshine Week to join Senators Feinstein, Cornyn, and Leahy in sending
letters to the Trump administration to learn more about specific steps
taken to carry out the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and efforts
underway to improve the proactive disclosure of information.
Compliance with both the letter and spirit of FOIA should always be a
top priority of any administration, so I look forward to hearing back
about progress made.
Before President Trump took office, I stood on this floor and urged
him to reverse the secrecy and obstruction that defined the Obama
administration's FOIA track record. Today I reiterate that call.
A new administration provides a new opportunity to get it right.
This Sunshine Week, let's recommit to working together toward
improving open government, fulfilling FOIA's promise, and ensuring a
more informed citizenry.
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