Senate passes FOIA bill

One of the last acts of retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) was holding up a broadly supported bill to reform the Freedom of Information Act, warning Friday that it could harm consumer protections.
Over the weekend, transparency advocates and bill supporters stirred, pushing Rockefeller to change his mind. And on Monday, as Congress’ lame duck session drew to a close, he relented. The Senate unanimously approved the FOIA Improvement Act, sending a bill intended to create a “presumption of openness” among government agencies to the House, which passed a similar bill earlier this year.
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