Congress overrides Ford veto to strengthen FOIA with 10-day deadlines and judicial review of classified records

The House votes 371-31 to override President Gerald Ford's veto of the 1974 FOIA Amendments, enacting the most significant expansion of public records law since the original 1966 statute. The amendments impose 10-day deadlines for agency responses, authorize federal courts to conduct in camera review of classified documents to determine whether classification is proper, create fee waivers for press and public-interest requesters, and require agencies to publish indexes of withheld documents. Congress acted in the shadow of Watergate, over executive branch objections that judicial review of classified records would compromise national security.