Bush signs FOIA bill
Contrary to predictions, President Bush signed a new bill aimed at giving the public and the media greater access to government information. The new law strengthens FOIA by creating a tracking system for FOIA requests, a hot line service for federal agencies to deal with problems, and an ombudsman to resolve problems with requests. The law restores the presumption that government agencies should release information if disclosure could do harm. Agencies are required to meet a 20-day deadline for responding to FOIA requests. In an enlargement of the law, nonproprietary information held by government contractors is now subject to FOIA requests and attorney fees are easier to get when a FOIA lawsuit is successful. Justice Department statistics show that last year the government received 21.4 million FOIA requests.