On December 14, 2020, Better Markets issued a comment letter on proposed amendments to the Federal Open Market Committee’s regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act. While the proposal itself is unobjectionable we encourage the FOMC to examine whether it is doing everything in its power to promote transparency and accountability.

In 1966 Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act, establishing the principle that government records should be freely available to the American people. Unfortunately, some agencies choose to overuse exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act to withhold information and slow the public’s vital access to documents.

While the FOMC’s proposed amendments would serve largely to streamline and clarify the procedure for requesting documents, the agency should revisit all of its FOIA procedures to ensure that they reflect a genuine commitment to openness and public engagement. Amongst other changes, the agency should formally commit to construing exemptions to FOIA narrowly and to treating FOIA requests favorably.

Read our full comments here or by clicking the button below.