Two companion bills pending in the House and Senate would amend the Freedom of Information Act “for the purpose of increasing public access,” a new analysis of the legislation from the Congressional Research Service explains.
Among other things, “both the House and Senate legislation would establish a statutory ‘presumption of openness,’ whereby information may only be withheld if it harms an interest protected by a statutory exemption or if disclosure is prohibited by law.”
While both bills “address a number similar topics, often in similar ways, there are substantive differences between them.” The similarities and the differences in the pending bills are summarized in the new CRS report. See Freedom of Information Act Legislation in the 114th Congress: Issue Summary and Side-by-Side Analysis, February 26, 2015.
Other new or updated CRS publications that Congress has withheld from online public disclosure include the following.
Email Privacy: District Court Rules that ECPA Warrants Apply to Electronic Communications Stored Overseas, CRS Legal Sidebar, March 4, 2015
U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Current Conflicts, February 27, 2015
Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources, February 27, 2015
The Nunn-McCurdy Act: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress, March 3, 2015
Growth in Health Spending Remained Relatively Low in 2013, CRS Insights, February 27, 2015
Legislative Actions to Repeal, Defund, or Delay the Affordable Care Act, March 2, 2015
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Delays, Extensions, and Other Actions Taken by the Administration, March 3, 2015
Foreign Heads of State Addressing Congress, CRS Insights, February 27, 2015
Israel: Background and U.S. Relations, February 27, 2015
Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations, March 3, 2015
Cuba: Issues for the 114th Congress, February 27, 2015
Locate an Agency or Program Within Appropriations Bills, February 27, 2015
The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress, February 26, 2015
Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: Statistics and Programs, February 26, 2015
Genetic Testing: Background and Policy Issues, March 2, 2015
Investing in interventions behind the walls is not just a matter of improving conditions for incarcerated individuals—it is a public safety and economic imperative. By reducing recidivism through education and family contact, we can improve reentry outcomes and save billions in taxpayer dollars.
The U.S. government should establish a public-private National Exposome Project (NEP) to generate benchmark human exposure levels for the ~80,000 chemicals to which Americans are regularly exposed.
The federal government spends billions every year on wildfire suppression and recovery. Despite this, the size and intensity of fires continues to grow, increasing costs to human health, property, and the economy as a whole.
To respond and maintain U.S. global leadership, USAID should transition to heavily favor a Fixed-Price model to enhance the United States’ ability to compete globally and deliver impact at scale.