Obama signs five bills, but complains Congress hasn't sent him more
WASHINGTON — President Obama signed two bills to address the Puerto Rico debt crisis and overhaul the Freedom of Information Act Thursday, but expressed disappointment that Congress didn't give him more bills to sign before leaving town for a long holiday weekend.
"I'd hoped to use my pen more often before Congress left town," Obama said in a series of Twitter posts after the bill signing. "Congress is leaving a hefty to-do list undone."
Among the items left on Obama's agenda: Funding to combat the Zika virus, confirmation of his nominee for the Supreme Court, and gun control legislation, and a war resolution for the Islamic State.
But in comments to reporters in the Oval Office Thursday, Obama hailed the two bills Congress did send him, beginning with a transparency measure. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2015, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that will limit reasons the government can use to refuse to release public records, and improve the processes for responding to information requests. It passed both houses of Congress by a voice vote.
"The Freedom of Information Act is one of the key ways in which citizens are able to find out what is going on in government," Obama said. Acknowledging delays in processing an increasing number of requests, Obama said the bill would make it "easier, faster and cheaper" for people to know what their government is doing.
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The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, of PROMESA, was sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. It grants the island territory a form of bankruptcy that will put its finances under federal oversight and allow it to restructure its debt.
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The bill passed the House 297-127 and the Senate 68-30 late Wednesday. Obama's signature on the bill came just hours before Puerto Rico was expected to default on about $2 billion in debt payments.
"We finally have legislation that at least is going Puerto Rico the opportunity to get from under this lingering uncertainty in respect to their debt," Obama said. "The people of Puerto Rico need to know that they're not forgotten, they're part of the American family."
Also signed by Obama Thursday:
► The Recovering Missing Children Act, sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., which allows the Internal Revenue Service to disclose tax returns to law enforcement agencies investigating cases of missing or exploited children;
► The Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015, sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., which requires agencies to establish fraud-related internal financial controls; and
► The Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, sponsored by Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., which requires the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to track mental health care and suicide prevention programs to treat female veterans.