WASHINGTON DC (July 22, 2019) — Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Charles "Chuck" Grassley (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and John Cornyn (R-TX) — all senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with exclusive jurisdiction over the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) — sent a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler raising serious concerns with the EPA’s recent “FOIA Regulations Update” final rule, asking him to reconsider the rule or provide sufficient opportunity for the American public to comment on it and additional transition time to ensure public awareness.
The sens wrote: “We write to express significant concerns about the “FOIA Regulations Update” final rule promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – without any opportunity for public comment – on June 26, 2019. While we appreciate the agency’s commitment to updating its regulations in response to recent FOIA amendments, the rule purports to make numerous changes to the EPA’s FOIA process that appear to run contrary to the letter and spirit of FOIA, thus undermining the American people’s right to access information from the EPA.”
The sens requested: “Given the potentially serious issues we have identified above, we urge you to reconsider your implementation of — or provide sufficient opportunity for public comment on — the 'FOIA Regulations Update' final rule. At minimum, we urge you to at least provide additional transition time to ensure that the public and requesters are fully aware of the nature and impact of these policy changes. Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.”
Full text of the letter can be accessed here.
