Editorial: Opening government

Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007 | 7:30 a.m.

Congress has taken a major step forward cracking the Bush administration's wall of secrecy with legislation strengthening the Freedom of Information Act.

On Tuesday Congress sent the president a bill that would force the federal government to release more information to the public.

The bill won overwhelming support in Congress, so it is unlikely the president will veto it, which is good news. The bill is a step toward easing the requirements the administration put in place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when then-Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered federal agencies to lean against releasing any information if there was a question about national security.

Ashcroft's order made public record requests more difficult than they already were. Couple that with the administration's lust for secrecy and requests for information often languish for years.

Current law enables federal agencies to essentially stonewall requests for information. That would change under the legislation passed by Congress. The bill would create a deadline, requiring federal agencies to respond to requests within 20 days. The bill also would impose penalties on agencies that fail to comply with the law and would create a public records ombudsman who would be charged with mediating disputes and auditing agencies' compliance with the law.

The bill is far from perfect. It would not overturn Ashcroft's order. Republicans would not let that happen. But the bill is still an improvement over the current law and would set a tone for future administrations.

The bill's sponsor, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said if the legislation becomes law, "No matter who is the next president, he will have to run a government that is more open than in the past."

For the public to trust government, there must be transparency. This bill is a start toward creating a culture of transparency and letting in the sunshine that Bush has long resisted.