Senate Bills - 109th Congress

S. 394—The Open Government Act of 2005

On February 16, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced S. 394, the Open Government Act of 2005. The bill would make revisions to the Freedom of Information Act to allow fee waivers for “independent journalists;” clarify that the 20-day time limit on responding to FOIA requests commences on the date on which the request is first received by the agency; and require each agency to establish a telephone line or Internet service that provides information about the status of a request. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.