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Lamar Smith
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Strengthening Your Rights

Washington, Mar 11 -

As an American citizen, you have the right to know what the federal government does in your name.

I recently introduced legislation to protect that right with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). It’s called the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act or OPEN Government Act, and it will strengthen the primary tool citizens use to check up on their government: the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The 1966 Freedom of Information Act makes government information accessible to you. It upholds the democratic principles that an American citizen has a right to know what the government does and that federal agencies, with some exceptions, must make official documents and records available to the public.

Under the law, any concerned citizen or media representative should be able to submit a request for information and get a timely response. If a federal agency finds that it cannot disclose certain documents, than it must state its reasons for not doing so. For example, papers that are classified in the interests of national defense, or that contain personal matters like Social Security numbers, are exempt from disclosure under the law. If a request is denied, a citizen may challenge that decision in court.

The FOIA has provided a wide variety of information to countless individuals and members of the media since its inception. It has opened up the inner workings of the government, and in turn, made it more accountable to the American people.

But a disturbing trend in how the government complies with the law in recent years threatens to reverse these gains.

In short, federal agencies are becoming less responsive to citizens’ inquiries. Contact information the public uses to request documents and records is sometimes inaccurate. Agencies have misplaced or altogether lost information requests and in many cases, citizens have waited for months, if not years, for their requests to be processed.

This lackadaisical approach by federal agencies to the law prevents citizens from obtaining information to which they are entitled. Most importantly, it erodes the people`s faith and trust in an open and responsive government, which is essential to a democracy.

The OPEN Government Act reverses this damaging course. It strengthens existing FOIA provisions and creates strong incentives for federal agencies to comply with the law. It establishes procedures to ensure that FOIA requests to all government agencies are promptly and thoroughly handled. It implements a system that enables individuals to track their information requests and tightens up time limits for government agencies to respond. It also improves a citizen’s ability to recover attorneys’ fees and court costs when they are on the winning side of litigation to get information from the government.

Most importantly, it ensures that your government is open and accountable to you.

It’s your right to know what the government does in your name. If you have a concern with the federal government and seek information, I encourage you to submit a FOIA request to the appropriate federal agency. A list of agencies can be found at the “At Your Service” section of my website at www.lamarsmith.house.gov . Simply click on the Freedom of Information Act link, select the appropriate federal agency, and follow the instructions for submitting your request.

I also encourage you to contact or visit my staff should you have any difficulties with a federal agency. My district offices, located in both Austin and San Antonio, are always ready to assist you.