Federal information needs to be set free

The federal Freedom of Information Act is 41 years old and showing its age.

Technology has changed the landscape in and out of government. The backlog of FOIA requests is huge — The Seattle Times has a pending request with the Department of Energy dating to 1995. And it hasn't helped that the Bush administration switched federal policy and adopted a begrudging attitude toward FOIA requests for government information. Now, the U.S. Senate is poised, rightly, to vote on a worthy update that would modernize the law and create consequences for agencies slow to comply. But a stubborn Arizona senator has put a toe on the bill.

The bill passed out of a Senate committee and has bipartisan support. A similar version passed the House handily in March, 308-117.

Republican Sen. John Kyl put a secret hold — ironically — on the bill that would strengthen the ability of people to gain insight into their government. But members of the Society of Professional Journalists ingeniously outed him through a process of elimination. They called their own senators and compared notes.

Though Kyl says he supports updating FOIA, he has a few beefs with the bill. Among them is the bill's expansion of the definition of media — and therefore who is exempt from search fees — to include, for instance, bloggers. He also doesn't like that the government might have to pick up attorney fees for FOIA requesters.

In reality, the definition of media is expanding quickly — and the law must reflect it. As to attorney fees, if FOIA had more bite, agencies likely wouldn't drag their feet responding to requests.

The National Security Archive, which tracks federal responsiveness, says some agencies are better than others — the Air Force was deemed worst this year.

The law needs changing but so do federal attitudes. President Bush's first attorney general, John Ashcroft, told federal agencies he would support their decision not to release FOIA-requested information if there were any "sound legal basis" not to do so. The Clinton administration's policy was to release requested information unless there was "foreseeable harm."

Kyl said last week he will work with the bill's bipartisan sponsors, Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to get something the Senate can vote on. Leahy already has made some concessions to Justice Department concerns.

Now it's time for Kyl to let the bill go.