Government

Cornyn honored for efforts to expand open government

Receives “Sunshine in Government” award from the National Newspaper Association

From the Office of Senator John Cornyn

March 28, 2007

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn received the “Sunshine in Government” award from the National Newspaper Association on Friday for his efforts to expand open government. Sen. Cornyn was presented the award at the annual gathering of community newspaper publishers and editors from Texas and across the nation. He provided an update on his efforts in Congress to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

“Expanding the American public’s access to government information is one of my top priorities in Congress. In the weeks ahead, I hope the Senate will advance our bipartisan, open-government legislation,” Sen. Cornyn said. “I am honored to receive this recognition from the National Newspaper Association. I appreciate their support of our efforts. It’s a continuing source of pride for me that Texas has one of the strongest laws in the U.S. expanding freedom of government information. The goal now is to bring some of that ‘ Texas sunshine’ and openness to Washington , D.C. I’m optimistic about seeing this bill become law sometime this year.”

Sen. Cornyn joined Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) last week in introducing the bipartisan OPEN Government Act of 2007, which would make the most significant reforms of the Freedom of Information Act in more than a decade.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.