Vermont’s Leahy pushes transparency as Shumlin protects single-payer secrets

Vermont’s senior U.S. senator wants more transparency in government. Unfortunately, Vermont’s governor insists on less.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., introduced legislation Tuesday that would make it harder for government officials to conceal information from the public. Leahy’s bill, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, helps citizens peer inside government by closing a loophole in one of nine exemptions commonly used to reject freedom of information requests. The legislation also requires agencies to adopt a “presumption of openness” when responding to FOIA requests.

“The Freedom of Information Act is one of our nation’s most important laws, established to give Americans greater access to their government and to hold government accountable,” Leahy said in a statement. Continue>>>
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