It was disappointing when, in December, a bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act at the federal level was blocked by House Speaker John Boehner.

The House of Representatives, under the, ahem, leadership of Speaker John Boehner, refused to hold a vote on the Senate bill with no explanation. An editorial memo from the Sunlight Foundation said Boehner’s refusal to bring the bill to a vote came as news surfaced that the banking industry opposed strengthening FOIL and that executive agencies were lobbying against it.

Both the Senate and House have bills pending that would put into law a presumption of openness and a rule against withholding information absent foreseeable harm to protected government interests. Both bills would impose a 25-year limit on the withholding of documents the government asserts are part of an internal discussion – which would open access to documents that, right now, might never see the light of day because there is no limit in the current law. The bills also give more judicial review of whether a FOIL request was properly denied and give the public easier access to records that are released, including making frequently requested records available online. The FOIA Improvement Act would also clearly define limits to the Freedom of Information Act’s exemptions.

One reason to approve the bill is that, while the Freedom of Information Act is typically used by journalists, activists and researchers, it also puts the burden on the public to request information that is public. Such information should be immediately available, not available if and when a government bureaucrat takes 15 days to issue a ruling and then however long it takes to round up the information. The maze of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act can allow delays in responding to requests and as a cover to deny disclosure to documents that should be open.

Such flaws would be fixed in the bills once again waiting for Congressional approval. It is heartening to hear a spokesperson for Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, express support from the senator for the bill and for U.S. Rep. Tom Reed to state his approval for strengthening the Freedom of Information Act. If the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 indeed is approved again by the Senate, the House of Representatives should approve the bill and President Barack Obama should sign it.