FOIA reform is now truly dead. Earlier this week, it looked as though Sen. Jay Rockefeller might be the one holding the murder weapon.
Despite passing unanimously through the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee, (DEMOCRAT)Rockefeller placed a hold on the bill, citing nebulous concerns by two regulatory agencies (FTC, SEC -- neither of which were willing to go on the record about their problems with the bill) and something about "law enforcement agencies" being faced with "needless litigation" that would be a drain on their bottom lines. Of course, this ignores the fact that plenty of litigation involving law enforcement agencies is "needless" (because why be proactive about misconduct and abuse when you can just settle later?) and that any agency fighting the War on Drugs/Terror has generally been able to secure funding and equipment with a minimum of hassle.
Newsweek's coverage of Boehner's "opaque" move concludes with this paragraph:
But these improvements may never see the light of day, as Boehner has tabled the bill. In a press conference on Thursday morning, a journalist asked Boehner about the fate of the FOIA reform bill to which he replied, “I have no knowledge of what the plan is for that bill.” If the bill does not make the House’s calendar by the end of the day, the bill dies.The guy who made the plan for the bill (1. Do nothing) claimed he had no idea what the plan was. If the plan was to kill the reform bill, mission accomplished. Death by Rockefeller was narrowly averted only to result in Death by Boehner -- despite the fact that the FOIA reform sailed through the House earlier with a 410-0 vote.
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