Expanding FIOA
I urge everyone to contact the senator on this. FIOA is one of most powerful tools citizens have to watch our government. Expanding it is a _very_ good thing!
From an EFF newsletter:
* Action Alert - Tell Congress to Update the Freedom of
Information Act!The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) helps protect the
public’s right to know, and new legislation would provide
some much-needed updates to this crucial law. One open
government bill has already passed the House — make sure a
similar one passes in the Senate:H.R. 1309 and S. 849 give federal agencies, like the FBI
and the FCC, greater incentive to follow the law and make
it easier for all FOIA requesters to access government
documents. Among other reforms, the bills will help
government watchdogs keep track of FOIA requests they’ve
sent and ensure that more journalist requesters get
preferred treatment under the law. The bills will also
penalize agencies that don’t respond to requests within the
time limits set by the FOIA.Revelations about the secret NSA spying program, the FBI’s
misuse of a key PATRIOT Act power, and other privacy-
invasive initiatives clearly demonstrate the importance of
government transparency. EFF’s FOIA Litigation for
Accountable Government (FLAG) project relies on FOIA to
expose the government’s expanding use of new technologies
that invade Americans’ privacy, and these bills would
greatly help in our and other organizations’ efforts to
protect your rights.