U.S. Senate Passes FOIA Reform Bill

UPDATE March 16, 2016  Open Government Groups Call on the White House to Support FOIA Reforms During Sunshine Week (via OpentheGovernment.org)
Note: AALL, ALA, ARL are three of many organizations that have signed the letter sent to President Obama.
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From The Hill:

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to expand the public’s access to government records, after a year of delay.
The Senate’s move means both chambers have now passed similar proposals to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Differences will still need to be resolved before the measure makes it to President Obama’s desk — potentially forcing the administration’s hand on a bill it has previously lobbied against.
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The House and Senate both passed their respective bills last Congress, but Senate passage came so late that it left no time to merge them. The only solution was to have one chamber pass the other’s exact language. But fighting between the chambers, and outside lobbying pressure, caused reform to die at the end of the session.

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Read the Bill
Reactions

• American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)

• Fixing FOIA: Senate-Passed Bill is a Good Start, But More is Needed (via EFF)

• FOIA Reform Unanimously Passed by Senate Faces Final Hurdle

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