FOIA reform bill fails for this session of Congress

Congress failed to pass a reform of the Freedom of Information Act in spite of strong bipartisan support. Supporters are hoping that the next Congress will pass a version of the bill introduced for the first time this year.  (Sunlight Foundation, December 12, 2014, by Matthew Rumsey)

The bill was scuttled when the House failed take up the bill passed by the Senate to agree on a final version. The House had passed a similar bill in February. The bill’s supporters blamed House leadership and the President for not stepping up. Click here and here for the two versions. (ABC News, December 13, 2014, by Matthew Daly of the Associated Press)

Adam Marshall for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, December 12, 2014,  noted reports that banking lobbyists asked House Republicans to stifle the reform bill, but it was not clear why the lobbyists would not want the bill to pass.