The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously approved bipartisan legislation to repeal exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley co-sponsored the legislation to repeal the exemptions, which were enacted as part of the Wall Street reform bill that was signed into law in July. The new legislation will eliminate several FOIA exemptions for certain records provided to the SEC. “The blanket FOIA exemption for the SEC that was contained in the Wall Street reform bill was dramatically overbroad and was drafted in a way that evaded full and fair consideration by this committee,” said Grassley, a Senate Judiciary Committee member. “It was particularly troubling given the SEC’s terrible record on complying with FOIA and the clear intent of Congress on this issue.” The legislation also clarifies that hedge funds and other new entities that the SEC will regulate under the Wall Street reform law will be considered “financial institutions” for the purposes of applying FOIA Exemption 8.