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As a follow-up to my April 2, 2005 posting, Significant Rise in Classification of Gov’t Docs Focus of New Reports, this July 3, 2005 New York Times article, Increase in the Number of Documents Classified by the Government, reports on growing concerns within the government, by advocacy groups and the media, about the rapid rise …
Text of Letter from Democratic House Judiciary Committee Members to Committee Chairmen Regarding the Downing Street Minutes (6/30/05) See also related links available in this posting: Downing Street Memo Continues to Provoke Responses from Hill and Media
“American taxpayers spend nearly $100 million a year to fund the Congressional Research Service, a “think tank” that provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events. Yet, these reports are not made available to the public in a way that they can be easily obtained. A project …
Press release from Sen. Patrick Leahy: “Legislation passed by the U.S. Senate on Friday will bring increased sunshine to the federal legislative process, and was another step toward strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), its sponsors say. The reform, authored by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) creates additional legislative transparency …
“The GPO takes very seriously any Federal agency’s request to restrict access to Government information that has been made public. However, the GPO cooperates with Federal agencies in the appropriate distribution of the official information they publish…” [Secrecy News] Withdrawal of Federal Information Products from GPO’s Information Dissemination Programs, Government Printing Office Information Dissemination Policy …
As part of FY2006 Appropriations, specified in House Report 109-119 – Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB), created five years ago, and comprised of a nine member advisory panel, by next week may actually obtain approval for operational funds, which it has not had since its establishment in 2000. The …
Social Security Opened Its Files for 9/11 Inquiry: “The Social Security Administration has relaxed its privacy restrictions and searched thousands of its files at the request of the F.B.I. as part of terrorism investigations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, newly disclosed records and interviews show.” From EPIC: “Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has recommended (2 pages, …
Press release: “The American Civil Liberties Union released a report today examining government policies and practices that have hampered academic freedom and scientific inquiry since September 11, 2001.” Science Under Siege: The Bush Administration’s Assault on Academic Freedom and Scientific Inquiry (42 pages, PDF) Science Under Siege Executive Summary (PDF) Related references: Leading Scientists Issue …
Mart, Susan Nevelow, Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet be Reclaimed? (June 1, 2005). “This article examines the legal bases of the public’s right to access government information, and examines and analyzes the types of information that have recently been removed from the Internet and the rationales given …
From the LA Times, June 17, 2005: “The Bush administration altered critical portions of a scientific analysis of the environmental impact of cattle grazing on public lands before announcing Thursday that it would relax regulations limiting grazing on those lands, according to scientists involved in the study.” BLM Publishes Final Environmental Impact Study on Changes …
Information Management: Freedom of Information Act Fee and Fee Waiver Processing at the Department of Energy GAO-05-405, May 27, 2005. Highlights. “GAO was asked to determine, for fiscal year 2004, the volume and nature of FOIA request processing at the Department of Energy (DOE), to what extent DOE followed the act and related Office of …
Letter to Congressmen Conyers, Oberstar, and Waxman regarding the classification and declassification of a 9/11 Commission report of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) pre-9/11 knowledge of aviation threats, June, 14 2005 (6 pages, PDF) Related reference: More Facts on National Security Issues Prior to 9/11 Released to Public
