Let The Sunshine In

For those who may have missed it, this is Sunshine Week. What is Sunshine Week?

“A national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know.”

In recognition of this special time, Henry Waxman’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is proudly announcing the passage of four bills that promote the goals of Sunshine Week:

  • H.R. 1255, The Presidential Records Act Amendments: approved by a vote of 333-93, makes clear that presidential records belong to the American people, not the president who created them. The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007 will nullify a Bush executive order which gave former presidents – and their heirs – nearly unlimited authority to withhold or delay the release of their own records. If it becomes law, this legislation will ensure that a complete historical record is available to researchers.
  • H.R. 1254, The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act: approved by a vote of 390-34, will require organizations that raise money for presidential libraries to disclose information about their donors. This will eliminate a major loophole that allows presidential supporters to secretly give millions in support of a president’s legacy while that president remains in office.
  • H.R. 1309, The Freedom of Information Act Amendments: approved by a vote of 308-117, will strengthen the Freedom of Information Act and improve public access to government information. One key element of this legislation would restore the presumption of disclosure under FOIA that was eliminated by the Bush Administration in 2001.
  • H.R. 985, The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act: approved by a vote of 331-94, offers improved protections to federal whistleblowers who report wrongdoing to authorities. Federal employees and contractors are privy to information that enables them to play an essential role in ensuring government accountability.

These bills are good start in undoing some of the damage that the Bush administration has done to the concept of an open and honest government. There is still more to be done and, of course, these bills have to pass in the senate and be signed by the President. On that score, Bush has already threatened to veto two of them: The Presidential Records Act and The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. He has also expressed opposition to the Freedom of Information Act. All three of these bills passed in the House with a margin greater than the two thirds required to override a veto, so the threat may never come to pass. The process is far from over and it is still discouraging to see how many legislators were willing to vote against these common sense measures to make government more accountable. But in honor of Sunshine Week, I’m going to focus on the positive and celebrate a Congress that is starting to do work that represents the people’s interest for a change.

Advertisement: