WASHINGTON (AP) — Media organizations are telling Congress that new legislation is needed to limit how much information government agencies may keep secret and for how long.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, advocates said too many agencies remain tightlipped even after President Barack Obama ordered the government to open the flow of information.
Associated Press president and CEO Tom Curley, who testified on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, told lawmakers that media outlets "appreciate the change in policy direction," but he says the change hasn't yet reached the street.
The panel's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (LAY'-hee), says some agencies are trying to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act through special provisions slipped into legislation.
The Sunshine in Government Initiative estimates there are more than 240 statutes that agencies can use to deny FOIA requests.
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