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VICE.COM: President Obama just made it much easier for the public to access government records
https://news.vice.com/article/barack-obama-signs-historic-foia-reform-bill-into-law
Obama just made it much easier for the public to access government records
By Jason Leopold
June 30, 2016 | 1:10 pm
Nearly a half-century to the day after President Lyndon B. Johnson reluctantly signed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) into law, granting the public the right to access federal government records, President Barack Obama signed into law a historic FOIA reform bill that aims to make it easier for the public to file FOIA requests and obtain government documents.
This means that Obama will leave office ensuring that the federal government is, in theory, the most transparent it has ever been when Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is sworn into office — both of whom have proven hostile to transparency. And by signing the FOIA reform bill into law, Obama can continue to boast that he had the most transparent administration in history even though his administration's record on openness over the past seven years has been horrendous.
In remarks at the Oval Office before he signed the bill, Obama acknowledged that the federal government has received a record number of FOIA requests and responses by government agencies has been painfully slow.
In addition to the signing of the bill, the White House unveiled a number of new initiatives the administration intends to undertake over the next six months to further government transparency, including the establishment of a Chief FOIA Officers Council whose first meeting will be held July 22.
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Obama just made it much easier for the public to access government records
By Jason Leopold
June 30, 2016 | 1:10 pm
Nearly a half-century to the day after President Lyndon B. Johnson reluctantly signed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) into law, granting the public the right to access federal government records, President Barack Obama signed into law a historic FOIA reform bill that aims to make it easier for the public to file FOIA requests and obtain government documents.
This means that Obama will leave office ensuring that the federal government is, in theory, the most transparent it has ever been when Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is sworn into office — both of whom have proven hostile to transparency. And by signing the FOIA reform bill into law, Obama can continue to boast that he had the most transparent administration in history even though his administration's record on openness over the past seven years has been horrendous.
In remarks at the Oval Office before he signed the bill, Obama acknowledged that the federal government has received a record number of FOIA requests and responses by government agencies has been painfully slow.
"Hopefully this is going to help and be an important initiative for us to continue on the reform path," the president said.
In addition to the signing of the bill, the White House unveiled a number of new initiatives the administration intends to undertake over the next six months to further government transparency, including the establishment of a Chief FOIA Officers Council whose first meeting will be held July 22.
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http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/foia/lbj.html
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/337/text
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/697e3523003049cdb0847ecf828afd62/us-govt-sets-record-failures-find-files-when-asked
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/30/fact-sheet-new-steps-toward-ensuring-openness-and-transparency
MORE EMBEDDED LINKS
