May 17, 2007 The Honorable Harry Reid 528 Hart Senate Office Building…

May 17, 2007

The Honorable Harry Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Reid and Senator McConnell:

We write on behalf of the undersigned group of 100 business, public interest, and historical
groups and associations to endorse the OPEN Government Act of 2007 (S. 849), as introduced
by Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator John Cornyn.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the public's most significant tool for ensuring
integrity and accountability from the federal government. Unfortunately, FOIA's promise of
ensuring an open and accountable government has been seriously undermined by the excessive
processing delays that FOIA requesters face across the government. The OPEN Government Act
would:

   ·   Close loopholes in FOIA;
   ·   Help the public get timely responses to FOIA requests; and
   ·   Improve agency accountability and require better management of FOIA programs.

The public's confidence in the executive branch has reached a dramatic low point. The OPEN
Government Act of 2007 would demonstrate bipartisan congressional leadership to restore public
faith in government and to advance the ideals of openness that our democracy embodies. The
Senate Judiciary Committee has reported favorably upon the bill without any amendments. We
urge you to support this legislation and help it move quickly to the Senate floor for a vote.


                                           Sincerely,

Alliance for Justice                               ASPCA
American Association of Law Libraries              Assassination Archives and Research Center
American Association of Small Property             Association of American Publishers
 Owners                                            Bill of Rights Defense Committee
American Booksellers Foundation for Free           Biodiversity Conservation Alliance
 Expression                                        Blancett Ranches, Aztec, NM
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)              Californians Aware
American Families United                           Californians for Western Wilderness
American Library Association                       Center for Democracy and Technology
Animal Welfare Institute                           Center for Energy Research
Center for National Security Studies              National Taxpayers Union
Citizen Action New Mexico                         National Treasury Employees Union
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in         National Whistleblower Center
 Washington (CREW)                                Natural Resources Defense Council
Common Cause                                      The New Grady Coalition
Community Recovery Services                       No FEAR Coalition
Conservation Congress                             Northern California Association of Law
Doctors for Open Government                         Libraries
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.                              Northwest Environmental Advocates
The E-Accountability                              Nuclear Watch New Mexico
Foundation/Parentadvocates.org                    Okanogan Highlands Bottling Company
Electronic Frontier Foundation                    OMB Watch
Environmental Defense Institute                   Open Society Policy Center
Environmental Integrity Project                   OpenTheGovernment.org
Ethics in Government Group                        Oregon Natural Desert Association
Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety        Oregon PeaceWorks
 & Health, Inc.                                   Owner-Operator Independent Drivers
Florida First Amendment Foundation                  Association, Inc.
Forest Guardians                                  People For the American Way
Friends Committee on National Legislation         Project On Government Oversight
Friends of Animals                                Public Citizen
Friends of the Wild Swan                          ReadtheBill.org Education Fund
Georgia ForestWatch                               Republican Liberty Caucus
Georgians for Open Government                     Reynolds, Motl & Sherwood, PLLP
Government Accountability Project                 The Rutherford Institute
Great Basin Mine Watch                            Sagebrush Sea Campaign
Gun Owners of America                             Semmelweis Society International
HALT, Inc                                         Snake River Alliance
The Health Integrity Project                      Society of American Archivists
HEAL Utah                                         Society of Professional Journalists
The Humane Society of the United States           Society for Animal Protective Legislation
Idaho Sporting Congress, Inc.                     Southern California Association of Law
Indiana Coalition for Open Government              Libraries
The James Madison Project                         Southwest Research and Information Center
Law Librarian Association of Greater New          The Student Health Integrity Project
 York                                             Tax Analysts
Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin           Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a
League of Women Voters of the U.S.                 Radioactive Environment)
Liberty Coalition                                 Union of Concerned Scientists
Los Alamos Study Group                            VA Whistleblowers Coalition
Maine Association of Broadcasters                 Western Environmental Law Center
Mine Safety and Health News                       Western Lands Project
The Multiracial Activist                          Western Resource Advocates
National Coalition Against Censorship             The Wilderness Society
National Freedom of Information Coalition         Wild Wilderness
National Security Archive                         Wilderness Workshop

cc: Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin,
Sen. Russell D. Feingold, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Sen. John F. Kerry, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen.
Bernard Sanders, Sen. Arlen Specter