Freedom of Information at 40: LBJ downplayed the law

Forty years ago, President Johnson signed the landmark Freedom of Information Act while vacationing at his Texas ranch. But documents from the LBJ Library show that the normally gregarious President, who loved handing out pens at bill signings, refused even to hold a formal ceremony for the FOIA, personally removed strong openness language from the press statement, and only agreed to approve the bill after the Justice Department suggested the tactic that has become President Bush’s favorite – a signing statement that undercut the thrust of the law.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, the National Security Archive (www.nsarchive.org <http://www.nsarchive.org/>; ) today posted on the Web the LBJ Library documents, compiled and edited by Archive director Thomas Blanton, together with the full legislative history of the 1966 FOIA. In a related posting, the www.freedominfo.org <http://www.freedominfo.org/>; site posted the latest 2006 global survey by contributing editor David Banisar of the 68 countries that now boast freedom of information laws.