[国会记录第158卷第97号(2012年6月26日星期二)][参议院][第S4631页]信息自由法案总统先生，7月4日，全国将庆祝《信息自由法》颁布46周年。“知情权”是我们民主的基石。50年来，美国人一直依靠《信息自由法》来帮助人们了解他们的政府活动。当我们到达这个重要的里程碑时，有许多胜利值得庆祝。本周，参议院将颁布《食品和药物管理局安全和创新法案》(Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act)，其中包括我帮助起草的重要语言，以保护公众根据《信息自由法》获取信息的能力。该法案的第710条将允许食品和药物管理局(FDA)获取外国政府进行的药品检查和药品调查的信息，同时确保美国公众能够获得有关潜在健康和安全危险的信息。我感谢哈金参议员和恩兹参议员以及许多公开政府和消费者团体，包括OpenTheGovernment.org和Public Citizen，是他们与我共同努力制定了这项《信息自由法》条款。去年，参议院一致通过了《快速信息自由法》(Faster FOIA Act)，这是我和共和党参议员约翰·科宁(John Cornyn)共同提出的一项法案。这项立法将成立一个由政府和外部专家组成的两党小组，就改进《信息自由法》程序提出建议。 Sadly, despite the overwhelming and bipartisan support for this good- government legislation, this bill has been languishing in the House of Representatives for almost a year. During the 3 years since President Obama made a historic commitment to restoring the presumption of openness in our government, the Obama administration has also taken steps to strengthen FOIA. I especially want to commend the Office of Government Information Services--and the inaugural Director of the OGIS, Miriam Nisbet--for working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Commerce to develop an online FOIA Module designed to help agencies better meet their requirements under the FOIA. This new FOIA program reaffirms the President's commitment to transparency in our government and will make government information more accessible to the American people. While these and other FOIA accomplishments give us good reasons to celebrate, many other threats to the public's right to access information under FOIA remain. In the coming weeks the Senate is expected to consider several legislative exemptions to FOIA in relation to cybersecurity legislation. As this legislative process unfolds, I intend to work with Members on both sides of the aisle to ensure that the American public's ability to access information about threats to their health and safety in cyberspace is protected. Securing our Nation's critical infrastructure information is a pressing national priority. So, too, is protecting the rights of Americans to know what their government is doing. We must strike a careful balance between security and openness in our cybersecurity policies. The anniversary of FOIA's enactment provides a timely reminder of just how important it is for the Congress to get that balance right. As I have said many time before, open government is neither a Democratic issue, nor a Republican issue--it is truly an American value and virtue that we all must uphold. It is in this bipartisan spirit that I will continue to work to fulfill FOIA's promise of openness in our government and that I join all Americans in celebrating the 46th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act. ____________________