July Fourth marks 50th anniversary of Freedom of Information Act
FOIFT2016-07-01T15:17:13-05:00Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into the law the landmark federal Freedom of Information Act on the Fourth of July. President Barack Obama on Thursday signed an update to the law, adding new transparency measures. A reluctant Johnson signed the original legislation July 4, 1966, without fanfare. News Industry leaders and members of both parties in Congress had pressed for the law, which took effect in 1967. Johnson's signing statement distributed to news reporters in San Antonio who were covering the president during a Texas trip shows toned down commentary by Johnson about the law, according to the [...]