The Freedom of Information Act was created to make our government more honest, open and accountable. Of course it is hard to make every bill work exactly how you want it, and with the FOIA there are still snags that prevent people from accessing information about governmental agencies and what not. Unfortunately a bill that seeks to remedy the problems is being blocked by the party that wants the most repressive and closed government this nation has ever seen. Which party might that be....well you already know.
From RawStory:
"The Republican obstructionism continues in the Senate and the latest casualty is Americans’ access to their government," Senator Leahy said. "I am deeply disappointed that Republicans continue to block attempts to pass the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act” (“OPEN Government Act”).
In Senate floor action on July 26, Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) held up passage of Leahy's legislation.
"It is my understanding that there are ongoing discussions with both sides of the aisle as well as the administration to come up with bipartisan consensual language on this issue and that we are unable to get clear the agreement at this time," Cochran said in his floor statement.
He then objected to the bill on behalf of himself and 'several Republican Senators,' preventing the legislation from being adopted by 'unanimous consent.
Sometimes the rules of the Senate really piss me off. They helped us when we were in the minority, but now that the tables have changed and the Senate is trying to do some good in this nation instead of continually setting it back, it is kind of a pain. Wouldn't it be great to have 60 Democratic Senators one day so that we can skip this crap and reform our government for the better?
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