POGO and other organizations urge Senate to pass legislation to improve Freedom of Information Act

The Honorable Patrick Leahy

433 Russell Senate Office Building 433

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable John Cornyn

517 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington , DC 20510

Dear Senators,

The undersigned organizations are writing to express our gratitude to you for your commitment to strengthening the Freedom of Information Act through the OPEN Government Act (S. 849). We urge you to stand firm and sustain the provisions of the bill as introduced – particularly those on attorney fees, the news media, and time limits for agencies to act on requests – and to move this bill to the floor as soon as possible.

Thank you, again, for your commitment to strengthening the ability of the public to hold our government accountable and ensure its transparency.

Sincerely,

American Association of Law Libraries

American Civil Liberties Union

American Library Association

Association of American Publishers

Association of Research Libraries

California First Amendment Coalition

Center for Democracy and Technology

Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Essential Information

Federation of American Scientists

Feminists for Free Expression

Government Accountability Project (GAP)

Hoosier Environmental Council

Indiana Coalition for Open Government

Liberty Coalition

Maine Association of Broadcasters

Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations, IN

Mine Safety and Health News

Minnesota Coalition on Government Information

National Coalition Against Censorship

National Security Archive

New Mexico Foundation for Open Government

Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information

OMB Watch

Open Society Policy Center

OpenTheGovernment.org

Project On Government Oversight (POGO)

Public Citizen

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

Society of American Archivists

U.S. PIRG

Utah Foundation for Open Government

Washington Coalition for Open Government

cc: Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jon Kyl