I know this is how Washington operates, so I shouldn't be surprised. Still, it's remarkable to me that a bill with such overwhelming bipartisan support that it passed the Senate unanimously Monday should now find itself in jeopardy in the House, which passed its version of the bill, also unanimously, earlier this year.
The bill is a long-overdue reform of the Freedom of Information Act, one of the most important tools for holding our government accountable. FOIA advocates felt optimistic on Monday, after they overcame the last-minute hold by a single senator. That time, regulatory agencies were worried that FOIA requests could hamper their work. Now, according to supporters of the bill, it's banking interests that have bottled it up. The House has to calendar the bill Wednesday night for a vote Thursday, or else it's dead for the year, or perhaps forever. Will House Speaker John Boehner schedule a vote on the bill? Or will he buckle to Washington special interests and deal another blow to the public's waning trust in their institutions?
