Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced another bipartisan Freedom of Information bill last week that would require any new bills that exempt information from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to say so within the text. This bill joins several bills aimed at strengthening FOIA, while several others would chip away at the act.

A former oil industry lobbyist changed language in government climate change reports to undermine the science on climate change and present it as less problematic, according to a government whistleblower, in what is becoming a persistent problem of politics trumping science. Days after news outlets broke the story, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking for an investigation into the whistleblower's claims.

The New York Times recently uncovered startling security flaws at chemical plants in Dallas and New Orleans after a writer "milled about" for some time around the fence line of plants before even being approached by facility security personnel. Reporters have regularly penetrated chemical plant security with great ease, notwithstanding claims by the chemical industry that it is voluntarily improving security. A May 22 New York Times editorial reported on these gaping security holes surrounding chemical plants that use large quantities of the most hazardous substances.