David Plazas

dplazas@tennessean.com

Monday afternoon update:

The Senate did right for the American people by passing the Freedom of Information Act improvement bill today.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., removed his hold and senators approved a measure that will make government more transparent.

The next step is to send the bill back to the House of Representatives for a final vote and to President Obama for his signature. We encourage this to happen as soon as possible so as to ensure that all federal documents are presumed public.

A thank you to Majority Leader Harry Reid for shepherding this through and to co-sponsors Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, and Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas.

"Maintaining an open government is fundamental to our democracy. The FOIA Improvement Act will help open the government to all Americans by placing an emphasis on openness and transparency, rather than allowing agencies simply to hide behind exemptions," wrote Leahy and Cornyn, in a joint statement.

Friday afternoon update:



Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., sent a statement Friday afternoon explaining his hold on the Freedom of Information Act improvement bill. Thank you to The Tennessean reporter Dave Boucher for obtaining the statement:

"I have a long record of support for open government and the FOIA process. I am concerned that provisions in this bill will have the unintended consequence of harming our ability to enforce the many important federal laws that protect Americans from financial fraud and other abuses. According to experts across the federal government, these provisions would make it harder for federal agency attorneys to prepare their cases, and they would potentially give defendants new ways to obstruct and delay investigations into their conduct. I hope there is a way to address these concerns and pass the bill."

Our response: The bill specifically states that all records are presumed to be open unless there's a law that would exempt it. Clearly, the concerns raised in the senator's statement should be assuaged. That House members voted unanimously for the companion bill and that a bipartisan group of senators are backing it has us questioning the real motives behind this hold. Senator Rockefeller: release your hold, and let the Senate vote.

Friday morning update:

Open records activists have launched a Twitter campaign urging Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., to lift a hold he placed on the FOIA Improvement Act.

The bipartisan companion bill was passed unanimously by the House in February and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it in November.

One senator shouldn't obstruct progress on making the federal government more transparent to the American people.

You can go on Twitter and urge @SenRockefeller to lift his hold on #FOIA bill.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee chairman and co-sponsor of the bill, urged his colleagues to get the bill passed on Monday.

In a statement Friday, Leahy said: "We often talk about the need for government transparency, and many also note how rare it is that Democrats and Republicans can come together on any legislation. We have accomplished both with the FOIA Improvement Act. It was drafted in a bipartisan fashion after a long and thoughtful process of consultation. This week, we can pass this bill in the Senate and send it over to the House, where I am confident that it will pass, and send it to the President to sign before the end of the year. There is no reason to delay this legislation, which has broad support from a range of stakeholders, costs very little to implement and will improve access to government for all Americans. I urge the Senate to pass the FOIA Improvement Act now, without delay."

From Thursday:

One of the best things U.S. Sen. Harry Reid could do for Tennesseans and the American people in his final weeks as majority leader is to get the Freedom of Information Act improvement bill on the Senate floor for a vote.

The companion House of Representatives bill passed unanimously in February, 410-0, with every single member of the Tennessee congressional delegation — Republicans and Democrats — backing it.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bipartisan bill S. 2520 on Nov. 20. And now the wait begins for a full Senate vote.

Asked Thursday, Reid's senior adviser for digital media, Faiz Shakir, wrote in an email to The Tennessean Editorial Board: "Senator Reid is supportive of the legislation and presently making every effort to get it passed as soon as possible. We're optimistic that could happen in the very near future."

We hope so, before it's too late and the process has to begin anew in a new session of Congress. What a waste of time and effort were that the outcome.

What this bill does is incredibly important because it creates the presumption that all records are public unless otherwise barred by a specific statute.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order on his first full day in office in 2009 mandating that presumption, but to stick beyond his presidency, there needs to be a change in the law.

The historical lack of presumption has meant fighting with federal agencies for records that belong to the people. Lack of knowledge or will often has prevented these taxpayer-owned documents from being handed over in a forthcoming manner. Records custodians have sought ways, including using loopholes, to keep records secret rather than helping citizens access them. That's counter to the spirit of our democracy.

Moreover, the bill won't allow agencies to deny records willy-nilly, and if there are delays in getting the records over by deadline, copying and search fees for the person who asked for them will be waived. In addition, records requested three times would have to be posted online so that anyone could retrieve them.

"It's so imperative that the Senate take this vote and does the right thing," said David Cuillier, who leads the Freedom of Information Act Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists and who testified before Congress about the bill earlier this year.

"These government records are our records; they're the people's records. If we don't get these fixes passed, there's going to be continued secrecy," added Cuillier, who spoke with The Tennessean Editorial Board over the telephone on Thursday.

Open records matter in Tennessee, too

The issue of open public records is just as relevant in Nashville as it is in Washington, D.C.

The Tennessean has consistently fought for records from local and state government agencies that have tried to deny our citizens access to them.

The Tennessean and a coalition of media groups filed suit against the Department of Children's Services after it repeatedly declined to provide records of children who died under its watch. We ultimately won the right to portions of each child's file, but not everyone has the means or time to sue the government for the right to review the public's business.

The Tennessean also has sued for records pertaining to the Vanderbilt University rape investigation.

It's in the public interest to understand how officials and others act as they carry out their duties.

If the goings-on in the legal system are obscured, then all of us are left guessing as to how our taxpayers funds are being spent and how our employees are comporting themselves.

All of our officials — from Gov. Bill Haslam to our local Metro Council members — should be committed to greater transparency.

"Public records are crucial so communities can be informed about what government and public agencies on the local, state and federal levels are doing," said Maria De Varenne, news director of The Tennessean. "Documents and other records help not only media organizations, but citizens, become watchdogs of how government officials conduct business. And when something is amiss, we are able not only to shine a spotlight on the problem, but more importantly, provide solutions for the community as well."

Encourage the Senate to vote

Passage of the FOIA Improvement Act (S. 2520) will send a strong message to the American people that the government is serious about transparency and honoring what the Freedom of Information Act is all about.

When passed — we will give Reid the benefit of the doubt on his earlier statement — Obama should quickly and enthusiastically sign it. One incentive for him is to shake off his administration's reputation as being the least transparent presidency in modern memory, contrary to his staff's claims of creating a "new era of open government."

Remember, these records belong to you, and the American people deserve the right to review how government works with as little impediment to access as possible.

S. 2520 is a great step forward. Encourage Reid to put it to a vote, and urge Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to vote for it.

Opinion Engagement Editor David Plazas wrote this editorial on behalf of The Tennessean Editorial Board. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet him at @davidplazas.

Contact senators

Harry Reid

202-224-3542

Website to contact:www.reid.senate.gov/contact

Twitter:@SenatorReid

Mitch McConnell

202-224-2541

Website to contact:www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm

Twitter: @mcconnellpress

Lamar Alexander

615-736-5129 (Davidson County)

202-224-4944 (Washington)

Website to contact: www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Twitter:@senalexander

Bob Corker

615-279-8125 (Davidson County)

202-224-3344 (Washington)

Website to contact:www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme

Twitter:@senbobcorker