The National Coalition for History and more than 34 organizations recently joined OpenTheGovernment.org in sending a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee urging them, in recognition of the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on July 4, to support and move forward the “Faster FOIA
Act” (H.R. 1564).
The legislation establishes the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays (the Commission) to study several thorny issues related to FOIA processing like backlogs and fee disputes, and make recommendations to Congress and the Administration. The Senate unanimously passed the legislation (S. 627), co-authored by Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Cornyn (R-TX), earlier this year.