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Reporter’s FOIA request dates to 1981 Related references: Audit of Freedom of Information Requests Highlights Gov’t Delays Nations use U.S. as model for FOIA laws The Freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World (96 pages, PDF)
Bloggers Look for “Sunshine” on Public Access to Government Documents – FreeCulture.org announces Blogshine Sunday “On March 13, news organizations across the United States will participate in “Sunshine Sunday” by running stories and editorials in support of public access to government information. Simultaneously, bloggers throughout the U.S. and beyond will spotlight their own experiences with …
Press release from Sen. Patrick Leahy today: “Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking Democratic member of the committee, introduced legislation on Thursday to establish an advisory Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays. The 16-member commission would be charged with reporting to Congress …
“The ten members of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (known as the 9-11 Commission) have initiated a nationwide public education campaign for the purpose of making America safer and more secure. In so doing, the commissioners will give people throughout America the opportunity to participate in a debate that has …
Emerging Threats: Overclassification and Pseudo-classification, a hearing held on March 2, 2005. “The purpose of this hearing is to examine the proliferation of categories of information that are not classified but are withheld from public disclosure.” [Link (PDF) to Briefing Memo for March 2 Hearing on Classification] Opening Statement of Chairman Shays Links to testimony …
Emerging Threats: Overclassification and Psuedo-Classification, House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, March 2, 2005. Related resources: Shays Holds Hearing on Overclassification: “Last year, more federal officials classified more information, and declassified less, than the year before. In our previous hearing on official secrecy policies, the Department of …
From the Government Reform Committee, Minority Office: “Evidence of Administration’s Misuse of New Information Restrictions Grows – In a letter calling for a congressional investigation, Rep. Waxman provides examples of how proliferating information designations such as “sensitive but unclassified” have been used to block the release of important government records.” Letter to Chairman Shays
Following up on my posting February 16, Open Government Act of 2005 Introduced Today With Bipartisan Support, see this DOJ analysis of the legislation’s specific proposals. “If the introduction of this proposed legislation does lead to the enactment of major FOIA amendments during the 109th Congress, it will continue a distinct legislative pattern for the …
From the Project on Government Oversight, this press release today: Justice Department Caves In: Allows Publication of Retroactively Classified Information. ” “A hearing scheduled for this morning before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates was abruptly cancelled after the Justice Department gave up and admitted that the information it had retroactively classified could be released …
“Restore Scientific Integrity to Federal Research and Policymaking: Reps. Waxman and Gordon introduce H.R. 839, legislation to protect federal science from political interference. The bill includes bars on manipulating science, suppressing research, and using political litmus tests to appoint members of scientific advisory committees.” The following documents are all in PDF format: Bill Summary Press …
The Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2005 (OPEN Government Act, S. 394) was introduced today by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). For related documents on this bill which has bipartisan support on the Hill, as well as from associations, press, and think tanks, see the following: From Senator …
Reps. Waxman and Maloney ask for hearings on whether political considerations caused the Administration to delay release of findings by the 9/11 Commission about pre-attack warnings: “We are writing to request that our Committee hold hearings to investigate two extremely serious questions raised by an article that appeared in this morning’s New York Times. The …
