Restoring Essential Safeguards for a Transparent, Open, and Reliable Executive under FOIA Act

Restoring Essential Safeguards for a Transparent, Open, and Reliable Executive under FOIA Act - Amends the Freedom of Information Act to deny an exemption from disclosure requirements to any instrumentality of the federal government engaging in any transaction: (1) that results in the United States owning, subscribing to, or otherwise having any interest in the stock or equity of any company, association, or corporation, except for any investments through pension funds; or (2) in which the instrumentality or its employees or agents execute authority with respect to the federal government's ownership interest in any such company, association, or corporation.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4232 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4232

To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly referred 
 to as the Freedom of Information Act), to provide that the exemptions 
    to that section shall not apply to matters relating to certain 
 transactions executed by an instrumentality of the Federal Government 
                   operating in a commercial manner.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 21, 2012

 Mr. Turner of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, and Mr. Burton of 
   Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly referred 
 to as the Freedom of Information Act), to provide that the exemptions 
    to that section shall not apply to matters relating to certain 
 transactions executed by an instrumentality of the Federal Government 
                   operating in a commercial manner.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Restoring Essential Safeguards for a 
Transparent, Open, and Reliable Executive under FOIA Act''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN MATTERS FROM COVERAGE UNDER FREEDOM OF 
              INFORMATION ACT EXEMPTIONS.

    Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``This section'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subsection (m), this section''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(m) Special Rule Relating to Federal Instrumentalities Operating 
in Commercial Manner.--(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b), in the case 
of any instrumentality described in paragraph (2), this section shall 
apply to matters that are exempt under subsection (b) if the matters 
are related to a transaction described in paragraph (2).
    ``(2) An instrumentality described in this paragraph is any 
instrumentality of the Federal Government (or its employees or agents) 
executing authority of the Federal Government in any transaction--
            ``(A) which results in the United States owning, 
        subscribing to, or otherwise having any interest in the stock 
        or equity of any company, association, or corporation, except 
        for any investments through any pension funds; or
            ``(B) in which the instrumentality or its employees or 
        agents execute authority of the Federal Government's interests 
        in owning, subscribing to, or otherwise having any interest in 
        the stock or equity of any company, association, or 
        corporation.''.
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