EPIC - EPIC, Coalition Urge Attorney General and Senate Judiciary to Conduct Oversight and Restore Government Transparency

EPIC, Coalition Urge Attorney General and Senate Judiciary to Conduct Oversight and Restore Government Transparency

EPIC and a coalition sent letters to Attorney General Garland and the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to conduct oversight and review agency implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. The coalition requested the Senate Judiciary to hold an oversight hearing on agency FOIA compliance. The committee's last oversight hearing on FOIA was more than three years ago. The letter to Senate Judiciary states, "[I]t is imperative that the Committee provide oversight of agencies' compliance with FOIA, both to understand FOIA implementation by the Trump administration, as well as to seek commitments to comply with the law from the newly confirmed Biden administration officials." The coalition also asked Attorney General Garland to follow the precedent of many former AGs and issue a memorandum to agencies on how to interpret and apply the FOIA and to support legislative reform. During Sunshine Week, Attorney General Garland remarked that for the Justice Department to succeed, it must adhere to "the principles that have become core to our DNA" and that "faithful administration of FOIA is essential to American democracy." EPIC recently published its 2021 FOIA Gallery highlighting EPIC's most significant open government cases and records obtained through government records requests.

April 8, 2021| Share: