The Democratic chair of the newly re-named House Government Reform Committee has announced the creation of a subcommittee dedicated to increasing the flow of government information, reports The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The newly born Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives will promote transparency in government, says the California congressman. "We have legislative jurisdiction over [the Freedom of Information Act] and some of the other issues that relate to openness in government," Waxman told the The Hill. ALSO: Florida's new Governor plans an open-government office.
In an impassioned speech at the Georgetown University Law Center, incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont marked the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Freedom of Information Act and promised to improve transparency of government during the 110th Congress. The senator cited Texas Republican colleague John Cornyn as a strong ally in the fight to change the climate created by the Bush Administration, which has shown a "dangerous disdain for the free press and the public." Leahy says one of his priorities for the committee will be "to continue efforts to strengthen and improve our open government laws."
