Senate Bills - 110th Congress

S. 849—The Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act of 2007

On March 13, 2007, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)) introduced S. 849, the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act of 2007. This bill is similar to provisions in H.R. 1309, the House companion measure. Provisions of interest to NIH would shorten the time limits on which to act on requests, require agencies to establish a system to assign an individualized tracking number for each request for information, establish a telephone line or Internet service regarding the status of a request, institute additional reporting requirements regarding FOIA requests and processing times, and broaden “media status” to those who have “internet publications.” S. 849 was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Related measures include H.R. 1309, H.R. 1326, S. 2427, and S. 2488, which became P.L. 110-175 on December 31, 2007.

COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTE ACTION

April 30, 2007 -  The House Committee on the Judiciary reported (S. Rept. 110-59) S. 849, without amendment.

FLOOR ACTIONS

August 3, 2007 - The Senate passed S. 849 by unanimous consent.