On May 30, 1974, the Senate passed a bill (S. 2543) to amend the Freedom of Information Act so as to provide greater public access to government documents and materials. The bill was reported unanimously out of Senator Kennedy's Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure and faced little floor opposition. Two amendments were added to the bill on the Senate floor. One would limit the extent to which an exemption for investigatory records could be applied to inhibit disclosure, and the second would permit judges broader power to inspect documents in camera. These two amendments turned some conservative Senators against the bill, including Sen. Roman Hruska, the Subcommittee's ranking Republican, but the bill passed 64 to 17. A similar bill passed the House (H.R. 12471) on March 14, 1974. It is expected that differences between the House and Senate versions can be resolved with little difficulty. There is a threat of a presidential veto, especially given the two amendments, but White House intentions have not yet been announced.

The Senate bill is the latest in a series of congressional attempts to provide free access to government papers. In 1966, Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act¹ with the intent of making government documents available to the public except in those cases where such disclosure would be harmful to another important government interest, such as national security. It was designed to correct the deficiencies of §3 of the Administrative Procedure Act,² which was vague and unenforceable and had large exemptions that officials had used to defend their refusals to disclose information. Section 3 had been the first attempt to force disclosure; it broke the ground for further legislation. In and of itself, it failed to accomplish those desired ends, and hence the Freedom of Information Act was passed.