Davis Applauds Passage of 'Sunshine' Bills
Ranking Member Thanks Democrats For Giving Recycled Republican Bills the Light of Day

March 14, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said that he was glad to see four proposals that promote open government passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

He noted that all four bills - H.R. 1254, the Presidential Libraries Act; H.R. 1309, the Open Government Act; H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Act, and H.R. 1255, the Presidential Records Amendment Act - were recycled from bills introduced by Republican representatives in previous Congresses.

"I thank the Democratic leadership for finally allowing these measures - all championed by Republicans in previous Congresses - to see the light of day," said Davis. "None are perfect bills. But all promote shining light on how those of us in Washington are spending the people's money. And open government always leads to more effective government."

Davis pointed out that the Presidential Libraries Act, which requires disclosure of donations for presidential libraries, evolved from a bill, authored by Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., that was approved, 392-3, in the 107th Congress. Duncan has pushed for the measure since the end of the Clinton administration, when President Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich on the heels of a large contribution to the Clinton Library fund by Rich's ex-wife.

"We all understand that, as costs increase, so does the need for private funding," Davis said. "But contributions should be disclosed. Anyone who donates to such a fund should be proud to have their names associated with it. I commend Mr. Duncan for closing this loophole. He has demonstrated terrific leadership on this issue."

Similarly, Davis credited Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., with bringing to passage the Whistleblower Protection Act. Its key feature, Davis said, is that it allows federal employees and contract personnel to pursue claims in federal court if no action is taken on them by the Merit Systems Protection Board within 180 days. Today, it can take years before employees' concerns are given any hearing.

"Throughout this process, which has taken more than three years, Mr. Platts has been a constant advocate for federal employees," Davis said. "This bill offers fresh solutions to the continuing problem of retaliation. It forces the government to take action on legitimate complaints and to do so in a timely manner."

The third bill, the Open Government Act, is based on one introduced in the last Congress by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas. It addresses the needs of the new class of journalists known as bloggers by making it easier for them to receive waivers of the fees federal agencies charge for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.

It also returns the government to a policy of complying with FOIA requests unless the information requested would cause "foreseeable harm" to government security. Under the Bush administration, the standard had been changed to encourage federal agencies to withhold information if they could find a "sound legal basis" for doing so.

"We have courts creating loopholes where no loopholes were intended," Davis said. "We have public officials encouraging their colleagues to withhold information on how they are conducting the public's business. Our presumption in Washington must be one of openness about how we spend taxpayers' money, and this bill makes this presumption the law of the land."

The Presidential Records Amendments Act is the culmination of an effort began in the 107th Congress by Reps. Steve Horn, R-Calif., and Dan Burton, R-Ind., to clarify the process by which presidents review records and determine whether they can be released or retained because of executive privilege. The bill gives presidents 20 days (with a 20-day extension permitted) to review records and determine whether they should be retained because of executive privilege or turned over to the National Archives or others.

Davis offered an amendment, approved in committee, to prohibit the Archivist from making original presidential records available to anyone who has been convicted of a crime related to the review, retention, removal or destruction of Archives records.

"It's only proper that we take the simple step of blocking access to original presidential records to anyone who has been convicted of crime related to Archives records," Davis said.