E-mail from Sen. Leahy-am I supposed to feel better? Why doesn't

[babylonsister]

he address the ELEPHANT in the room? Make government more transparent?????


Our efforts paid off last Friday, when the Senate unanimously approved my bipartisan legislation -- the OPEN Government Act -- to update the Freedom of Information Act FOIA and make government more transparent.

By sending over 7,000 e-mails to 86 Senators in support of the OPEN Government Act to update FOIA, the Leahy for Vermont online community sent a clear message to my colleagues that open government and the public's right to know are American values that transcend party lines.

This pressure ensured the passage of a strong bill that will improve the FOIA process by:

Imposing meaningful deadlines on agencies handling information requests;
Establishing a FOIA hotline;
Bringing government records held by private contractors into full public view;
Creating a FOIA Ombudsman to provide an alternative to costly litigation between FOIA requestors and federal agencies; and
Allowing federal agencies to waive FOIA fees for freelance journalists and bloggers.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill earlier this year, so I hope it will promptly approve the Senate bill and send it to the President to sign into law.

Thank you again for helping me move this important legislation one step closer to reality!

[Vincardog]

1. At the same time the Bushistas are turning majhor aspects of Government function over to private Con

men. Their argument is going to be that the work product of private companies not Governmetn so FOIA does not apply.