Political Science at Huntingdon College
Huntingdon College | Political Science | Professional Pages | Quotes | FRAMP '05 Projects | FRAMP refs '05 | Internet Effect | What's New?
see also my : Blog of FOI developments

Freedom of Information Laws and Policies:

International Research Links, by Country.

Covers Access to Information; Right to Know; Privacy; Transparency;

Official Secrecy; Declassified Information and related issues.

compiled by Jeremy Lewis, PhD; revised 13 Apr. '08, with links.
Other recent links:  Carter Center, Foerstel book, CREW database, new film, OPEN Government Act (FOIA Reform Act), and CGS.
Any pages locally archived here are provided purely for individual scholarly research.
Commercial users please contact the original site to check copyright issues.

CONTENTS:
  • Global Surveys, Conferences and other Materials
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom.
  • United States, Scholarly Papers: Privacy; FOIA; and E-Government Issues.
  • United States, Supreme Court Opinions
  • United States, Other Court Opinions
  • United States, Congressional Committees and CRS Reports
  • United States, Presidency
  • United States, Official Agencies
  • United States, Commercial Request Services
  • United States, Statutes
  • United States, States pages
  • United States, Non Governmental Organizations, Interest Groups
  • United States, Press
  • Other Countries


    • Global Surveys, Conferences and other Materials:
  • Open Government Journal
  • Seminar Report on Right to Know, of UNDP (UN Development Program) at Oslo, May '06
  • UNDP (UN Development Program), April 2006, Guidance Note on Measuring the Impact of Right to Know Programmes
  • Third International Conference of Information Commissioners (Mexico, 2005)
  • Second International Conference of Information Commissioners (Scotland, 2004)
  • First International Conference of Information Commissioners (Germany, 2003)
  • Article 19 group's model FOIA statute (mirrored locally), apparently drafted in Pakistan for appeal to South Asian countries.  Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to the freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."  The group has a headquarters in Islington, London, with a global action emphasis, listing newsbriefs from developing countries.

    •  
  • List of FOIA articles at Privacy international: http://www.privacyinternational.org/issues/foia/

    •  
  • List of FOIA articles on world experience at CFOI, UK:  http://www.cfoi.org.uk/overseas.html

    •  
  • Privacy International: excellent global survey by Harvard's David Banisar, later updated in 2006 on FreedomInfo.org site:
  • FreedomInfo.org.  Grant-funded international project based at George Washington University, producing excellent reports on freedom of information laws around the world, plus a watchdog service on international financial organizations' access to information regulations.
  • FreedomInfo.org's "IFTI" index of world financial & trade institutions' policy issues on freedom of information (thanks to Toby McIntosh, journalist).
  • World Trade Organization's announcment of "derestriction" of its materials. [Local]
  • Transparency International's chapter 24 on the Right to Information, from its sourcebook on combatting international corruption.  Transparency is based in Germany.

    •  
  • Articles from CFOI, UK, for a European conference on responses to corruption:
  • Links from Access Reports' web site.
  • United Nations Development Centre on Access to Information.
  • http://www.undp.org/oslocentre/citzpart.htm
  • Freedom of information legislation Compilation From Wikipedia, Apr. 2005.
  • WikiLeaks.org, a site devoted to exposing leaked documents from all countries without censorship.  Piously hopes transparency will breed better government, especially among oppressive regimes in developing world.  Uses Wikipedia interface and blinds the authorship or leaker.
  • "Open government is strongly correlated to quality of life. Open government answers injustice rather than causing it (plans which cause injustice are revealed and opposed before implementation). Open government exposes, and so corrects, corruption. Historically, the most resilient form of open government is one where leaking and publication is easy. Public leaking, being an act of ethical defection to the majority, is by its nature a democratising force.

    • Hence a system enables everyone to leak safely to a ready audience is the most cost effective means of promoting good government -- in health and medicine, in food supply, in human rights, in arms controls and democratic institutions."

    Australia:

    FOI Research Unit, Univ. of Tasmania Law School.  Articles and abstracts from the Freedom of Information Review as well as information from the Freedom of Information Research Unit.

    Missen article for CFOI, UK, on Australian experience: http://www.cfoi.org.uk/missen.html

    Australian Administrative Review Council
         The Council is responsible for overseeing and monitoring the Australian system of Administrative review and provides advice to the Attorney-General on strategic and operational matters relating to that system.
     

    Australian Human Rights and Civil Rights: Victor Perton
         Focuses on equal opportunity, freedom of information, bill of rights, privacy issues and Parliamentary protection of human rights in Australia. Also find related international links.



    Canada:
  • Colin Bennett, PhD, Privacy, Data Protection and FOI researcher, University of Victoria, BC. [mailto]
  • Alasdair S. Roberts, PhD, right to information researcher, Maxwell School of Public Administration.
  • Maxwell School, Syracuse, faculty home page: http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/asroberts/
  • FOI NET (page of links and resources): http://www.foi.net
  • Roberts's publications:  http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/asroberts/research.html
  • Canadian ATI request tracking database: http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/asroberts/track/index.html
  • About the CAIRSweb index:  http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/asroberts/track/track_info/cairsweb.html
  • Roberts, Alasdair.  2006.  Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age. Cambridge University Press. [blurb at amazon.co.uk]  [Blurb at Amazon USA] Published in US Jan. '06, in UK May '06.  Covers global openness.
  • The first four pages, readable online at Amazon USA, reveal case studies of materials revealing corruption, released in India and Thailand under their Freedom of Information laws.  The presentation consists of lively, journalistic vignettes rather than a traditional study of public administration.
  • "Synopsis: Nearly forty years ago the U.S. Congress passed the landmark Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) giving the public the right to government documents. This 'right to know' has been used over the past decades to challenge overreaching Presidents and secretive government agencies. The example of transparency in government has served as an example to nations around the world, spawning similar statues in fifty-nine countries. This book examines the evolution of the move toward openness in government. It looks at how technology has aided the disclosure and dissemination of information. The author tackles the question of whether the drive for transparency has stemmed the desire for government secrecy and discusses how many governments ignore or frustrate the legal requirements for the release of key documents. Blacked Out is an important contribution during a time where profound changes in the structure of government are changing access to government documents." -- Amazon UK.
  • "From Publishers Weekly: The conflict between expanding national security measures and preserving civil rights gets an extended examination in this timely history of the right to know. Lawyer and public policy scholar Roberts's occasionally exhausting book covers the right to know movement in a global and historical sense, touching on transparency movements and backlash domestically and internationally (the Freedom of Information Act's 1966 passing, Roberts notes, spurred the creation of similar laws in 60 countries) to show how governments across the world go to great lengths to dip, dodge, skirt and subvert openness laws. His account of the post-9/11 Bush administration depicts a secretive administration that bristles at attempts to reduce the secrecy under which it has conducted the war on terror. As Roberts demonstrates through countless examples, there are various ways for a government to subvert its own right-to-know laws without technically breaking any (classifying non-sensitive information, outsourcing operations, charging fees for information requests), sullying any optimism about the "rhetoric of transparency" that has been spreading as far as China in the past few decades. Roberts remains mindful that the "right to know" isn't a guarantee, but a struggle worth pursuing.

    • Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."  -- Amazon USA
  • "Review: Alasdair Roberts' Blacked Out is a fast-paced, well-informed and engrossing account of the emergence of a worldwide movement to hold governments accountable by requiring them to disclose information they would rather withhold to conceal corruption, bureaucratic incompetence, environmental degradation, human rights abuses and other misconduct. It is essential reading for proponents of open societies.  Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute".  -- Amazon USA
  • "Alasdair Roberts has written a monumentally important book, not only about secrecy and the right-to-know movement, but about the deeply troubling 'ethic of detachment' and quiescence of the American public. What good is significant information about abuses of power if there is no accountability, if no one acts on that information?"

    • Charles Lewis, President, The Fund for Independence in Journalism " -- Amazon USA
  • Government of Canada, Access to Information Review Task Force, full policy review, 2000-02.
    • Canadian Government Unit (Alberta?): Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy


    United Kingdom: EXPANDED, Spring 2006
  • Academic sources:
  • Roberts, Alasdair. (2005). "Spin Control and Freedom of Information." Forthcoming in Public Administration 83(1).  (See further reading, below.)
  • Open Government: a Journal on Freedom of Information. An open access e-journal, containing peer reviewed research and commentary on FOI worldwide and in the UK. Founded by Steve Wood.
  • Freedom of Information Act Blog (by Steve Wood, Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University)
  • Email Steve Wood
  • Dijen Basu.  29 Oct 2004.  Freedom of Information (1).  Devereux Chambers.
  • Patrick Birkinshaw.  1997.  "Freedom of Information", Parliamentary Affairs, 50(1):166-181 (brief introduction available, but full text requires password)
  • Interest groups, press and non-government organizations:
  • Your right to know (BBC, 16 December 2004)
  • Freedom of Information Act (Your Right to Know) Blog (by Heather Brooke, campaigner for open government)
  • International Freedom of Expression Exchange
  • Article 19 organization, selected documents on UK:
  • Response March 1998, [locally mirrored] Censorship News No. 49, to the Government's White Paper on FOIA, 1997.
  • Submission 1999 [locally mirrored] to same bill.
  • Principles of FOI, 1999 [locally mirrored].
  • Papers given at 'The Right to Know' seminar, sponsored by Dutch government and Article 19 organization, February 2000:
  • Mick McAteer, Senior Policy Advisor - Consumers’ Association, "Democracy needs informed consumers," (synopsis)  [Locally mirrored]
  • Peter Roderick of Friends of the Earth, "Environment and Access to Information," synopsis. [Locally mirrored]
  • Marietta Cauchi of Finers Stephens Innocent solicitors, "International and Domestic Internet regulation,". [Locally mirrored]
  • Mark Fisher, MP, "Legislating for Freedom of Information: the UK experience," synopsis. [Locally mirrored]
  • Lindsay Ross, Press Freedom Director of the Commonwealth Press Union, "Media as a Public Watchdog: the Commonwealth Experience," synopsis. [Locally mirrored]
  • Mary Rayner of Amnesty International, "South Africa – Truth and Reconciliation," synopsis. [Locally mirrored]
  • Bronwen Manby, Human Rights Watch, "South Africa's Truth Commission," Paper written in 1996, distributed at  'The Right to Know' seminar. [Locally mirrored]
  • Richard Carver, "Truth, Justice and Information". [Locally mirrored]
  • Campaign for Freedom of Information, UK:Campaign for FOI, UK
  • users' guide to the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and new rights to see personal data [Local]
  • Government statistics highlight "unacceptable" freedom of information delays, 23 June 2005 [Local]
  • Maurice Frankel, on the first year's operation of the FOI Act, article in the Independent, Dec '05 [Local] and article in Press Gazette, Jan. '06. [Local]
  • article on the Information Tribunal’s first three decisions under the UK Freedom of Information Act. [Local]
  • Training Course on use of FOIA, May 16, 2006 [Local]
  •  Scottish Government's consultations on FOIA:
  • Official Materials:
  • Stationery Office's text of the Freedom of Information Act, 2000
  • Information Commissioner's explanation)
  • Official website from the Department for Constitutional Affairs  (http://www.foi.gov.uk)
  • UK Information Commissioner  "The role of the Information Commissioner is to be the independent champion of public openness and personal privacy with various specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and other legislation."
  • Scottish Freedom of Information Act, 2002, and Welsh Code.
  • Scottish Information Commissioner
  • Scottish Freedom of Information Unit
  • Victoria Quay Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ

    • Email: foi@scotland.gov.uk
    Telephone: 0131 244 5405
  • Welsh Code of Practice (updated Jan '05)
  • Research Materials: UK Secrecy & Information Clips.
  • Further reading
  • Birkinshaw, Patrick.  2005.  Government and Information: The Law relating to Access, Disclosure and their Regulation.  London: Tottel. [Reviewed]
  • Birkinshaw, Patrick.  1988.  Freedom of Information: The Law, The Practice and the Ideal.  London: Weidenfeld.
  • Coppel at al..  2004.  Information Rights. Sweet and Maxwell.
  • MacDonald, Jones et al.  2003.  The Law of Freedom of Information.  OUP.



    • United States, Scholarly Papers:

    Privacy Issues:
    Kwiatkowski, Eric , Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.  "USA Patriot Act: Should We Modify It?"  The United States will only be victorious in the current War on Terrorism if it maintains a suitable balance between its privacy and security concerns.  Historically, there has not been a balance between these two areas.  International Conference on Social Science Research, New Orleans, November 11-13, 2004.

    Chris C. Demchak and Kurt D. Fenstermacher.  (2004)  "Balancing Security and Privacy in the Information and Terrorism Age: Distinguishing Behavior from Identity Institutionally and Technologically ", The Forum: Vol. 2: No. 2, Article 6. http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol2/iss2/art6 .
    (Berkeley Electronic Press).
    National security policies adopted after 9/11 have generated an intense and polarized national debate on privacy versus security. Privacy advocates fight to reveal nothing about individuals while security advocates would have authorities know everything. There is, however a middle ground if one decomposes privacy into a basic set of two elements. Full article (requires a login): http://www.bepress.com/cgi/...

    Collection of "Privacy"; plus "the USA Patriot Act": abstracts of political science journals, from PROL, June 2004.

    From APSA Conference '01:
    Priscilla Regan, "Priscilla M. Regan. "From Clipper to Carnivore: Balancing Privacy, Law Enforcement and Industry Interests." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001." [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    Catherine Lu. "Sovereignty as Privacy." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    Abraham Newman, David Back. "In the Shadow of the State: Self-Regulatory Trajectories in a Digital Age." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    Catherine L. Mann . "The New Economy: End of the Welfare State?." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    Rosemary Nagy. "Reconciliation and the Public/Private Distinction: The Role of Victims and Beneficiaries in South Africa's TRC." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    FOIA Issues:
     

  • Article: Babak Armajani, "The Risks and Rewards of Transparency", Governing Magazine, Feb '08:
  •  http://www.governing.com/mgmt_insight.aspx?id=4848&pf=true
  • New book: Herbert N. Foerstel, Freedom of Information and the Right to Know: The Origins and Applications of the Freedom of Information Act. CT: Greenwood Press, (Hardcover, print on demand) prices $77-84, ISBN 0-313-28546-2
  • New book: Robert M. Pallitto and William G. Weaver.  2007.  Presidential Secrecy and the Law.  Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.  $50.00 hardcover, 978-0-8018-8582-2; $25.00 paperback, 978-0-8018-8583-9.
  • The politicization of the Department of Justice, the erosion of professional values and the state of Freedom of Information Act policy were discussed with unusual candor by Daniel J. Metcalfe, former director of the DoJ Office of Information and Policy, in an interview with Tony Mauro of Legal Times. [tip from Secrecy News]  http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1176122643390

    •  
  • Legal aspects of the conflicts between freedom of the press and national security secrecy are freshly examined in a study by University of Chicago Professor Geoffrey R. Stone and colleagues for the First Amendment Center.  See "Government Secrecy vs. Freedom of the Press," December 2006:   http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/PDF/Govt.Secrecy.Stone.pdf [Local]

    •  
  • Jeremy Lewis, "Electronic freedom of information, privacy and security issues during the W. Bush administration."  A paper for the Southern Political Science Association conference, New Orleans, 7 Jan. 2005. References.

    •  
  • G. David Garson, ed. 2000.  Contents, Abstracts and Contributors of Handbook of Public Information Systems. Marcel Dekker. (includes two chapters by Jeremy Lewis.)

    •  
  • WorkingPapers.org index of Public Law papers found online (includes Jeremy Lewis's papers).

    •  
  • Michener, Greg.  2005.  "Engendering Political Commitment: The Grupo Oaxaca -- Expertise, Media Projection -- and the Elaboration of Mexico's Access to Information Law."  Presented at the Southern PSA conference, New Orleans, 6 January 2005.  See Mexico, below.

    •  
  • Dr. Philip Doty, November 10, 2000.  "Freedom of Information in the United States: Historical Foundations and Current Trends." Paper, Universidad Iberoamericana, Primer Congreso Nacional de Derecho de la Información.

    •  
  • Gerti Beautiful, "Openness Sacrificed."  April, 2005.  Verdi (German magazine, applies her own analysis but quotes Jeremy Lewis twice).

    • From verdi.de:: mmm/archives/2005/04/title topic/openness sacrificed
    http://mmm.verdi.de/archiv/2005/04/titelthema/offenheit_[translated into English imperfectly, via Google]
     
  • John Macdonald; Clive Jones.  2003. The Law of Freedom of Information.  New York: Oxford University Press, USA. $380.  ISBN:  0199249946

    •  
  • Bruce Cain, Sergio Fabrinni, and Patrick Egan: "Toward More Open Democracies: The Expansion of Freedom of Information Laws."  Listed in contents page from Bruce Cain, (ed) Dalton and Scarrow, (eds), Democracy Transformed? (OUP, 2003).  From http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926499-6.  [Local]

    •  
  • Patrick Egan, FOIA, abstract of APSA 2003 paper.  With most of text of paper, from PROL index.

    •  
  • PROL index: Political Research Online, alias www.politicalscience.org, full URL: http://archive.allacademic.com/publication/prol_index.php

    •  
  • Amy Grant's graduate research site, 2002: FDA and FOIA. [Has a few links to FDA and to Moyer's Now program of spring 2002, but site was not updated after that.]  Amy Grant, 'FDA, Freedom of Information Cases.' Presentation outline.

    •  
  • From Public Administration Review, Nov/Dec 2002:

    •  Piotrowski and Rosenbloom on protecting Non-Mission Based Values [Local Abstract]

    From APSA Conference '02:
    Abstracts [Local]


    E-Government Issues:
    From APSA Conference '01:
    Darrell M. West. "E-Government and the Transformation of Public Sector Service Delivery." Paper prepared for delivery at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    Andrew Chadwick. "'Interaction between states and citizens in the age of the Internet: "e-government" in the United States, Britain and the European Union'." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001.  [Abstract] [Local PDF] [Author's web site.]

    Patrick Dunleavy, Helen Margetts, Simon Bastow, Jane Tinkler, Hala Yared. "POLICY LEARNING AND PUBLIC SECTOR IT: CONTRACTUAL AND E-GOVERNMENT CHANGE." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF]

    James Fowler. "Partisanship, Incumbency, Mandates, and Divided Government [Draft]: The Impact of Elections on Markets." Paper, 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 30-September 2, 2001. [Abstract] [Local PDF] [Author's web site.]

    From APSA Conference '02:
    Charles C. Hinnant. "Information Technology and Organizational Control: Examining the Management of IT in An Era of E-Government." [Abstract] Paper, 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 29-September 1, 2002. [Abstract, Local] [Paper, Local PDF]

    Caroline Tolbert, Karen Mossberger, Ramona McNeal. "Beyound the Digital Divide: Exploring Attitudes about Information Technology, Political Participation, and Electronic Government." Paper, 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29-September 1, 2002.  [Abstract] [Paper] [Local Abstract] [Local paper]

    Eric Welch, Shelley Fulla. "A Theoretical Framework for Describing Effects of Virtual Interactivity between Government and Citizens: The Chicago Police Department's Citizen ICAM Application." Paper, 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29-September 1, 2002.  [Abstract] [Paper] [Local Abstract] [Local paper]

    Stuart W. Shulman, David Schlosberg. "Electronic Rulemaking: New Frontiers in Public Participation." Paper, 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29-September 1, 2002.  [Abstract] [Paper] [Local Abstract] [Local paper]

    Thomas Zittel. "Political Representation in the Network Society: The Americanization of European Systems of Responsible Party Government? ." Paper, 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29-September 1, 2002.  [Abstract] [Paper] [Local Abstract] [Local paper]


    United States, Supreme Court Opinions:

  • State Secrets privilege -- in film:
  • The personal story behind the 1953 Supreme Court ruling that established the state secrets privilege is explored, with other issues of government secrecy, in the new film "Secrecy" by Peter Galison and Robb Moss.  The film was well received at the Sundance Film Festival, "The question of how much we should rely on methods inconsistent with our values is intelligently and elegantly handled," -- Los Angeles Times film reviewer, Kenneth Turan.
  • DEPT. OF INTERIOR v. KLAMATH WATER USERS PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION No. 99-1871 (2001)
  • Subject: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Inter-Agency/Intra-Agency Exemption, Indian Tribes
  • Question:
  • Whether confidential communications between Indian Tribes and the Department of the Interior, in connection with the federal government's performance of its trust responsibility to protect and manage tribal water rights, are "intra-agency" documents that may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(5).
  • Decisions:
  •      U.S. Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit, Filed: August 31, 1999
  •      United States Supreme Court, Decided: March 5, 2001 [Findlaw] [Local]


    • United States, Other Court Opinions:

    Denial of motion to dismiss the case of employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who were charged under the Espionage Act with illegally receiving and transmitting classified information.  Judge found that those outside government classification circles could in fact be prosecuted -- thereby setting a new precedent. Rosen (AIPAC) Case, 9 Aug.'06


    United States, Congressional Committees and CRS Reports:
    (See FAS.org for the excellent collection of CRS Reports by the Federation of American Scientists)
  • Congressional Research Service, updated July 5, 2007, "Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege: History, Law, Practice and Recent Developments,"    http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL30319.pdf
  • Congressional Research Service, updated February 1, 2007. "Freedom of Information Act Amendments: 110th Congress,"

    •  http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL32780.pdf  [Local PDF]
  • Congressional Research Service. "Protection of National Security Information," June 30, 2006. From http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL33502.pdf  [Local PDF]
  • Harold C. Relyea, "Security Classified and Controlled Information: History, Status, and Emerging Management Issues," Report, June 26, 2006 [local PDF], Congressional Research Service. From http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL33494.pdf
  • House Committee on Government Reform, home page (chair Tom Davis, R-VA-12) :
  •  http://www.reform.house.gov/
  • Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census  [Adam H. Putnam (R-FL-12) Chairman].

    •  http://www.reform.house.gov/TIPRC/
  • House Committee on Government Reform, Minority (Dems) Office, (Rep. Waxman, D-CA) index: http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/index.asp
  • Executive summary of report on Secrecy in the Bush administration, Sep. 2004.

    •  http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/index_exec.asp [Local]
  • Entire Report in PDF, Sep 2004:   [Local]
  • http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/pdf/pdf_secrecy_report.pdf
  • Rep. Waxman's 2004 Bill to Restore Open Government (PDF), summary: [Local]

    •  http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/pdf/pdf_leg_restore_open_government_act_summary.pdf
  • House Report 104-795 to accompany 1996 EFOIA [Local]

    •  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/T?&report=hr795&dbname=cp104&
  • Sen. Leahy (D-VT) statements & bills:
  • Leahy & Cornyn OPEN Government Bill, press release Feb 2005 [Local]

    •  http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200502/021605.html
  • Cornyn Bill “to establish an advisory Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays” .
  • Restore FOIA Bill to amend Homeland Security Act, Congressional Record [Local]

    •  http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2003/s031203.html [via FAS.org]
  • Restore FOIA bill [Local]

    •  http://foi.missouri.edu/internatfoinews/leahy.html [care of Missouri FOI Center]
  • DOJ FOIA UPdate report on Leahy bill, 1994 [Local]

    •  http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_updates/Vol_XV_1/page1.htm
  • Leahy statement on passage of EFOIA, 1996 [Local]

    •  http://leahy.senate.gov/press/199609/960918.html

    United States, Presidency:
  • Yost, Pete, "Justice Dept Argues Limits of FOIA Law", Yahoo/AP, 22 Aug. 2007 [WH admin unit declared outside scope of FOIA]
  • "Attorney General's Report to the President Pursuant to Executive Order 13,392, Entitled 'Improving Agency Disclosure of Information'," October 16, 2006 (1.2 MB PDF, Local) Gushes about minor improvements such as sending postcard acknowledgements instead of letters, and designating Chief FOIA officers.
  • President W. Bush, Executive Order 13,392, on Improving Agency Disclosure, 14 Dec. 2005. [Local]
  • White House Issues page on Patriot Act [Local]

    •  

     
     











    United States, Official Agencies:
  • Department of Energy Opennet is the pioneering bibliographic database on declassified DOE documents.
  • DOE examined 719,040 pages of declassified public records at the National Archives and found [only!] 9 restricted pages in only 38 documents containing nuclear information that it said should not have been disclosed.  See the Twenty-Third Report on Inadvertent Disclosures of Restricted Data and Formerly Restricted Data, November 2006.  [Local]
  • Inspector General's Report 2005 on Criminal Investigation into National Security Adviser Sandy Berger's removal of classified documents from NARA. [Local]
  • USA Today article, July '06: Air Force Tech Lab demurs project despite congressional funding from TX law school professor (ex special forces) of policy research into new restrictions in state laws on FOIA releases.
  • US Joint Terrorism Task Force Memoranda of Agreement:  [Local]
  • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Critical Energy Infrastructure Information (CEII) Non-Disclosure Agreements:  [Local]
  • US GAO, Government Accountability Office, formerly General Accounting Office, Reports on FOIA and EFOIA:
    • Information Security Oversight Office.  2004.  Annual Report of the Information Security Oversight Office for 2003.  Washington DC: USGPO.  http://ww.fas.org/sgp/isoo/2003rpt.pdf.

    CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence is responsible for much of CIA's historical declassification activity.
    National Security Agency Project Opendoor provides a rather daunting compilation of NSA titles that have been declassified lately.
    JFK Assassination Records Collection Reference System at the National Archives.

    US Center for Disease Control, CDC Freedom of Information Act Office publications, resources, and more. CDC FOIA office.

    US FBI's Freedom of Information Act, Introduction: FBI's FOIA unit .
    Displays frequently requested documents on famous crimes and personalities released under the Freedom of Information Act.

    US NIH: Institutes, Centers & Offices: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office

    US Small Business Administration's Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Office

    IRS - The Digital Daily: Income Tax Forms, Instructions, Publications,Regulations, and other stuff,  IRS home page.

    Maxwell Air Force Base - Maxwell Air Force Base, includes Freedom of Information Act Site

    US Department of the Interior - Freedom of Information Act Unit.

    US Social Security Administration, Freedom of Information Reading Room

    NPS, GGNRA: Freedom of Information Act Home Page.

    U.S. Department of Education: Legislation, Regulations, and Policy Guidance. - Recent legislative initiatives of the U.S. Department of Education are listed here, leading one to the full text of the legislation, regulations, analytical commentary, and policy guidance.

    U.S. Department of State FOIA Web Site.

    US Federal Aviation Administration FAA Freedom of Information Act unit .

    U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Home Page EEOC.

    US Dept of Justice, Office of Justice Programs FOIA unit.

    US Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Freedom of Information Act electronic reading room features documents available for viewing or download by the public.

    U.S. Department of Justice Home Page.
     


    United States, Commercial Request Services:




    United States, Statutes:
    (Thanks for some of these to AccessReports.com and National Security Archive)




    United States, States pages:
  • New York State Department of Health Public Forum; Information for Consumers, Providers and Researchers; Health Care Reform and Managed Care, Professional and Medical Misconduct, Physicians; EMS, Emergency Medical Services; Financial and Health Care.
  • South Carolina State, 1999-2000 Bill 3356: Freedom of Information, sale of records.
  • State by State list of FOIA assistance organizations.

    •  

     
     















    United States, Non Governmental Organizations, Interest Groups:
    Freedom of Information specific sites:
  • Access Reports, excellent legal newsletter that covers Freedom of Information Act and privacy issues. Website contains news summaries of material in paid publication, plus links and statutes.

    •  
  • ACLU Freedom Network: Using the Freedom of Information Act

    •  
  • Collaboration on Government Secrecy ("CGS")  The Collaboration on Government Secrecy ("CGS") is a non-partisan educational project devoted to openness in government, freedom of information, government transparency, and the study of "government secrecy" in the United States and internationally. Its mission is to, among other things:

    •     * foster both academic and public understanding of these subjects by serving as a center of expertise, scholarly research, and information resources;
        * promote the accurate delineation and development of legal and policy issues arising in this subject area;
        * conduct educational programs and related activities for interested members of the academic and openness-in-government communities; and
        * become the premier clearinghouse for this area of law both in the United States and worldwide.
  • Federation of American Scientists.  General FOIA and classification issues, including mirror of ISOO Reports.
  • Project on Government Secrecy produces well maintained web pages by Sgteve Aftergood, plus a regularly emailed newsletter: "Through research, advocacy, and public education, the FAS Project on Government Secrecy works to challenge excessive government secrecy and to promote public oversight".
  • Freedom of Information Center, University of Missouri School of Journalism.  This longstanding research library offers access to government documents and information.

    •  
  • National Freedom of Information Coalition.

    •  
  • Public Citizen's Freedom of Information Clearinghouse, general description of the federal Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") and specific guidelines on how to use it effectively when seeking information within the control of governmental agencies.
  • Public Citizen's updated Freedom of Information Clearinghouse includes abundant resources on the Freedom of Information Act.

    •  
  • General Open Government Advocacy Groups:
  • OpenTheGovernment.org Coalition of several leading freedom of information groups and supported by multiple foundations.  "Statement of Values: To protect the safety and well-being of our families, homes, and communities; to hold our government accountable; and to defend the freedoms upon which our democracy depends; we, the undersigned individuals and organizations, believe the public has a right to information held by our government.

    •       The American way of life demands that government operate in the open to be responsive to the public, to foster trust and confidence in government, and to encourage public participation in civic and government institutions.
          The public's right to know promotes equal and equitable access to government, encourages integrity in official conduct, and prevents undisclosed and undue influence from special interests.
          OpenTheGovernment.org seeks to advance the public's right to know and to reduce secrecy in government."
  • Federation of American Scientists (FAS), with a set of good links from Steve Aftergood:
  • Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.  "This document chronicles some newly declassified documents which illustrate where and when the U.S. deployed nuclear missiles overseas. Some countries were not informed of their nuclear status."

    •  
  • CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) has established a documents collection that is searchable by individual pages, each with its own URL, thereby facilitating sharing.  Called the Open Community Document Review System, it contains many public records received via FOIA requests.

    •  
  • Design Chambers Freedom of Information and Regulation of Investigatory Powers collection.

    •  
  • Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project .  Brechner Center for FOI at the University of Florida. Analysis and comparisons of FOI provisions in all 50 states. Has a 50 state comparative project underway.
  • Extracts of Brechner Center materials, for research purposes.

    •  
  • Progress & Freedom Foundation: "A think tank devoted to the study of the digital revolution and its impact on public policy and government: http://www.pff.org/. "
  • First Amendment Project.  "Learn about the Freedom of Information Act, the Public Records act and other major communications law cases at the site for this Oakland-based, nonprofit, public interest law firm that promotes the public's right to know about government activities." (In the Well bulletin board system.)

    •  
  • Freedom House, "a non-profit, nonpartisan organization, is a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world. Through a vast array of international programs and publications, Freedom House is working to advance the remarkable worldwide expansion of political and economic freedom."
  • Sunshine Week.org (March 11-17, 2007) publicizes open government issues annually.
  • Alabama Center for Open Government
  • American Library Association
  • American Society of Newspaper Editors
  • The Associated Press and Freedom of Information
  • The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida
  • Californians Aware: The Center for Public Forum Rights
  • California First Amendment Coalition
  • Center for Democracy and Technology
  • Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
  • Common Cause
  • Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission
  • Copley First Amendment Center
  • Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy
  • First Amendment Cyber-Tribune
  • The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center
  • Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas
  • The Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri
  • The First Amendment Foundation
  • First Amendment Project
  • Georgia First Amendment Foundation
  • Hawaii Office of Information Practices
  • Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan: Ensuring Honest and Open Govt. Resources
  • Indiana Coalition for Open Government
  • Indiana Public Access Counselor
  • Investigative Reporters and Editors
  • Iowa Freedom of Information Council
  • The James Madison Project
  • Judicial Watch
  • Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project
  • Maryland Foundation for Open Government
  • Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government
  • The Media Coalition
  • Minnesota Information Policy Analysis Division
  • Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information
  • National Freedom of Information Coalition
  • National Newspaper Association
  • National School District Honor Roll
  • The National Security Archive
  • New Jersey Foundation for Open Government
  • New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
  • Newspaper Association of America
  • New York State Committee on Open Government
  • North Carolina Open Government Coalition
  • OpenTheGovernment.org
  • Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette First Amendment Fourm
  • Project on Government Oversight
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Public Citizen Freedom of Information Clearninghouse
  • Radio-Television News Directors Association
  • ReadTheBill.org
  • The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • Rhode Island Secretary of State's RSS Feed
  • Society of Professional Journalists' Freedom of Information Resources
  • South Dakotans for Open Government
  • Student Press Law Center
  • Sunlight Foundation
  • Sunshine in Government Initiative
  • Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
  • Texas Attorney General's Open Government Pages
  • The Thomas Jefferson Center for Freedom of Expression
  • The Virginia Coalition for Open Government
  • Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council
  • Washington Coalition for Open Government
  • WatchOurCity.com
  • Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

    •  

     
     















    National Security, Homeland Security, and Open Government Issues:

  •  Cryptome offers an exceptionally rich collection of new official and unofficial documents on security policy.
  • ISOO links (Federal Information Security Oversight Office) on FAS server, including annual reports to congress on the classification system -- for instance, 2003 saw a 25% increase in classification decisions to over 14 million.
  • National Security Archive maintains the largest non-governmental collection of declassified government documents and other valuable resources.
  • National Security Institute offers a handsome library with lots of official documents on security policy.
  • Open the Government.org "Americans for Less Secrecy, More Democracy,"  a "coalition of journalists, consumer and good government groups, environmentalists, labor and others...." Includes these links:
  • FOIA's 40th Anniversary: Agencies Respond to the President's Call for Improved Disclosure of Information

    • In recognition of this important milestone in the history of disclosure of agency information, members and staff of OpenTheGovernment.org, the Sunshine in Government Initiative (SGI), Coalition of Journalists for Open Government (CJOG), National Security Archive, and other friends of openness in government undertook a collaborative look at a sample of the plans submitted by federal agencies in response to E.O. 13392, "Improving Agency Disclosure of Information," issued on December 14, 2005.  View the accompanying table here.
  • Secrecy Report Card 2005

    • Government agencies are expanding secrecy in many areas, according to the findings of our report released on September 4, 2005. Press Release.
  • Secrecy Report Card: An Update

    • The federal government set a new record for keeping secrets in 2004, during which government employees chose to classify information a record 15.6 million times, according to new government figures highlighted in an update to OpenTheGovernment.org's Secrecy Report Card. Press Release
  • Secrecy Report Card: Quantitative Indicators of Secrecy in the Federal Government

    • Government data now confirm what many have suspected: Secrecy has increased dramatically in recent years under policies of the current administration. A 60 percent rise in secrecy during 2003 cost $6.5 billion. Press Release
  • Ten Most Wanted Documents for 2004

    • The 'Ten Most Wanted' is a list of documents that the public identified as the top documents the government should disclose to the public but does not. Press Release, Press Hits
  • Homeland Security Policies

    • "After September 11, the federal government passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the law contains two provisions that could exempt information from public access. Both the Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) and Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) provisions undermine corporate and government accountability...."
  • Chemical Security

    • "Chemical facilities can endanger their workers and communities if not properly safeguarded."
  • Critical Infrastructure Information (CII)

    • "The Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) policy provides secrecy, civil immunity, preemption of state and local disclosure laws, and protection from whistleblowers to corporations that voluntarily submit information on infrastructure vulnerabilities."
  • Memory Hole used FOIA to obtain official documents on State Dept's 2003 Future of Iraq project, which forecast problems ignored by military planners in actual war; a set of official documents posted.  "These documents were released in paper format by the Department of State on 10 Feb 2006 in response to FOIA request 200304121NEA1, filed 18 Oct 2003 by Russ Kick."  Rest of site is a weird admixture of materials, including health and sexuality issues.
  • Project on Government Oversight Founded by Dina Rasor in 1981, mentored by Ernie Fitzgerald, and assisted by "government contractors who risked their careers to get out the storiesof fraud and waste." ... "In the beginning, POGO (which was then known as Project on Military Procurement) worked to expose outrageously overpriced military spending such as the $7,600 coffee maker and the $436 hammer. After many successes reforming the military, POGO expanded its mandate to investigate systemic waste, fraud, and abuse in all federal agencies."
  • Freedom of Information Act articles list, since 2004, on POGO's web.
  • POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian and Board Member David Burnham Named to the National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame, March 8, 2006.
  • Bush nibbles around the edges to improve FOIA and the public's right to government information. December 14, 2005. read this White House Press Release
  • Response to FOIA requests varies significantly, The Hill, November 17, 2005. [Local]
  • POGO Letter - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Closes the Door on Accessing FOIA-able Information. DHS's revised policy for identifying and safeguarding unclassified information could result in serious lapses, misconduct, or even weaknesses in national security going uncorrected, according to letter sent to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. August 31, 2005. [Local]
  • POGO supports the “OPEN Government Act of 2005” – a bi-partisan bill co-sponsored by Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) & Sen. Leahy (D-VT) to strengthen FOIA and public access to government information. For more information about the Cornyn-Leahy bill and related materials, please visit http://cornyn.senate.gov/FOIA/ and http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200502/021605.html. February 10, 2005.
  • Kate Martin from the Center for National Security Studies argues in this memo that pending intelligence reorganization bills will expand the use of the troublesome "sources and methods" exemption to the Freedom of Information Act. October 19, 2004. [Local]
  • POGO letter to David Drabkin, GSA's Deputy Assoc. Administrator -- Office of Acquisition Policy, requesting transparancy and access to federal contract data, which is now controlled by a private contractor, Global Computer Enterprises, Inc. August 9, 2004. [Local]
  • Coalition Letter to Senators Campbell and Inouye, Committee On Indian Affairs, regarding FOIA exemptions in S. 297, the Federal Acknowledgment Process Reform Act of 2003. July 8, 2004. [Local]
  • Freedom of Information Act - FOIA - Resource Links. [Local]
  • POGO Letter - Sample Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Letter. April 28, 2004. [Local]
  • Book: Kristin M. Lord, "The Perils and Promise of Global Transparency" State University of New York Press, 2006: points to dangers of transparency not producing assumed benefits.  Read Intro Chapter, PDF . [Local PDF] Summary:
  • Argues that increasing levels of transparency do not always change international politics for the better.  While the trend toward greater transparency will bring many benefits, Kristin M. Lord argues that predictions that it will lead inevitably to peace, understanding, and democracy are wrong. The conventional view is of authoritarian governments losing control over information thanks to technology, the media, and international organizations, but there is a darker side, one in which some of the same forces spread hatred, conflict, and lies. In this book, Lord discusses the complex implications of growing transparency, paying particular attention to the circumstances under which transparency’s effects are negative. Case studies of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the government of Singapore’s successful control of information are included.
  • “The topic is very significant, and while there is considerable literature on the subject, the author has found something new to say about it. She takes on the conventional wisdom, challenging it with a very sophisticated argument, numerous examples, and interesting, detailed case studies. It will be difficult for serious scholars to repeat the conventional wisdom in the future without referring to the caveats in this book.” — Joseph S. Nye Jr., Harvard University, author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics
  • “This book provides a good survey of an important subject and a critical perspective that is very much needed in a climate where transparency is seen as an obvious good with immediate consequences.” — Monroe E. Price, coauthor of Self-Regulation and the Internet
  • Kristin M. Lord is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is the coeditor (with Bernard I. Finel) of Power and Conflict in the Age of Transparency."
  • Homeland Security Watch: News and analysis of critical issues in homeland security
  • Fawzia Sheikh, "Citing Security, Army Tightens Reins On Science Board Research", Inside the Army, November 13, 2006: the Army Science Board has drastically reduced public disclosure of its unclassified advisory studies, Inside the Army reported.  And by doing so, it may have undermined the impact of its own work.

    •  

     
     




































    United States, Press articles (see below for press centers on FOI:
  • Doug Marlette, "I was a Tool for Satan," Columbia Journalism Review, 2003 (6), (November-December 2003) [A leading cartoonist calls for freedom of speech, with amusing anecdotes.]
  • William Safire,  "You Are a Suspect" [Local], New York Times, November 14, 2002. (On Total Information Awareness Program.)

    •  
  • SCOTT SHANE (NYT) "U.S. RECLASSIFIES MANY DOCUMENTS IN SECRET REVIEW," Tuesday, February 21, 2006, New York Times, Page A1, Column 6, 1520 words.  "In a seven-year-old secret program at the National Archives, intelligence agencies have been removing from public access thousands of historical documents that were available for years, including some already published by the State Department and others photocopied years ago by private historians. The restoration of classified status to more..."
  • ERIC LICHTBLAU (NYT), "F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show," New York Times, Tuesday, December 20, 2005, ; Page A1, Column 6, 1123 words.  "Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show. F.B.I. officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest..."
  • BARRY MEIER, "F.D.A. Had Report of Short Circuit in Heart Devices," September 12, 2005.  "Months before the Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert in June about problems with Guidant Corporation heart devices, the agency received a report from the company showing that some of those units were short-circuiting, agency records obtained by The New York Times show.  But the agency did not make that data public at the time because it treats the information it receives in such reports as confidential. While the agency has a policy of reviewing the reports within 90 days, it is unclear when regulators did so within that time frame or how they first interpreted the information." ... "The F.D.A. initially refused a Times request for several years of Guidant annual filings that was made under the Freedom of Information Act, contending that the filings contained trade secrets. The Times appealed that decision to the agency, and the F.D.A., without citing a specific reason, reversed its position and last week released much of the data."
  • MICHAEL LUO AND CLIFFORD J. LEVY , "As Medicaid Balloons, Watchdog Force Shrinks," New York Times, Tuesday, July 19, 2005, Page A1, Column 1, 3593 words.  "New York's Medicaid program pays more than a million claims a day, feeding a $44.5 billion river of checks to radiologists and ambulance drivers, brain surgeons and orderlies, medical centers and corner pharmacies. Many who get those checks pocket more money than they deserve, and millions of taxpayer dollars..."  [Used documents obtained under state FOIA].
  • ERIC LICHTBLAU, "Social Security Opened Its Files For 9/11 Inquiry," New York Times, Wednesday, June 22, 2005, Page A1, Column 6, 1080 words. "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. The privacy policy typically bans the sharing of such confidential information,..."  [Used documents obtained under FOIA].
  • CLIFFORD J. LEVY and MICHAEL LUO, New York Medicaid Fraud May Reach Into Billions", New York Times, July 18, 2005.  "It was created 40 years ago to provide health care for the poorest New Yorkers, offering a lifeline to those who could not afford to have a baby or a heart attack. But in the decades since, New York State's Medicaid program has also become a $44.5 billion target for the unscrupulous and the opportunistic." ... "New York's Medicaid program, once a beacon of the Great Society era, has become so huge, so complex and so lightly policed that it is easily exploited. Though the program is a vital resource for 4.2 million poor people who rely on it for their health care, a yearlong investigation by The Times found that the program has been misspending billions of dollars annually because of fraud, waste and profiteering. A computer analysis of several million records obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law revealed numerous indications of fraud and abuse that the state had never looked into." ... "According to records obtained from the Health Department under the Freedom of Information Law, 70 executives of nursing homes and clinics personally made more than $500,000 in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Twenty-five executives made more than $1 million."
  • JIM DWYER, with reporting by KEVIN FLYNN, IAN URBINA AND MICHELLE O'DONNELL , "THE SEPT. 11 ARCHIVE: THE RECORDS: Vast Archive Yields New View of 9/11," Saturday, August 13, 2005, Page A1, Column 6, 2228 words.  "Faced with a court order and unyielding demands from the families of victims, the city of New York yesterday opened part of its archive of records from Sept. 11, releasing a digital avalanche of oral histories, dispatchers' tapes and phone logs so vast that they took up 23 compact..."

    •  

     
     














    Press Centers for Freedom of Information:

  • American Society of Newspaper Editors
  • Coalition of Journalists for Open Government (CJOG)
  • "our goal is to provide timely reports on efforts to achieve greater access to public records and meetings and a free flow of information. We also provide background reports and lists of resources that may be of help to you in seeking information.... Email us at cjog@cjog.net or call us at 703-807-2100."
  • Index of their background papers
  • Report, 2005, on increased use of FOIA exemptions, and FOIA staff reductions 2000-04. [Local]
  • FOIA Litigation Report [Local]
  • Harold Relyea, Congressional Research Service, A Brief History of Access to Information.  [Local]
  • Index of their position papers
  • Letter, 2005, to Attorney General Gonzales on Ashcroft's FOIA Guidance Memo [Local]
  • Senate, 2005, Urged To Keep New Biological Defense Agency Subject to FOIA [Local]
  • Letter, 2005, to Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, supporting FOIA reform and OPEN Government Act [Local]
  • Letter, 2005, Supporting Waiver of FOIA Search Fee for The People For the American Way Foundation [Local]
  • CJOG objections, 2005, to Dept. Homeland Security’s regulations on Critical Infrastructure Information [Local]
  • CJOG objected, 2005, to Sensitive Security Information regulations of Transportation Security Administration [Local]
  • Sen. John Cornyn on FOIA Reform: Sen. Cornyn, R-TX, LBJ Journal of Public Affairs, on his hearings and bill to “close loopholes in the law, help requestors obtain timely responses to their requests, ensure that agencies have strong incentives to act on requests in a timely fashion, and provide FOIA officials with the tools they need to ensure that our government remains open and accessible.” [Local]
  • Senate Testimony on the OPEN Government Act.  The Senate subcommittee hearing was held March 15, the first since 1992 dealing with FOIA. The subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Cornyn, heard from six witnesses, all supporting the legislation.

    •     * Walter Mears, former AP Washington Bureau Chief
        * Meredith Fuchs, General Counsel, National Security Archive
        * Mark Tapscott, Heritage Foundation
        * Lisa Graves, senior counsel, ACLU
        * Katherine Cary, Texas assistant AG
        * Tom Susman, attorney, Ropes and Gray

    The OPEN Government Act and Related Legislation
    Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tx) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have introduced three bills affecting the Freedom of Information Act. The first, the OPEN Government Act, would make a series of changes to improve the implementation of the act. A second bill implements just one section of that bill, calling for Congress to explicitly identify any amendments to FOIA as part of proposed legislation. It has passed the Senate. The third bill, Faster FOIA, would create a one-year study commission to review FOIA and its operation and report back to Congress. The Senate and the House have each held one public hearing on the FOIA. Here are links to texts of the three bills, plus analyses of the legislation and transcripts of the testimony at the hearings.

        * Impact Statement, New Legislation
        * Faster FOIA
        * OPEN Government Act - Text
        * OPEN Government Act - Section by Section Analysis
        * OPEN Government Act - Talking Points
     

    House Testimony on How FOIA Is Working
    Members of the subcommittee were looking at how well the current Freedom of Information Act and asked the witnesses repeatedly about the lack of “incentives” or “consequences” to motivate better performance by agencies in response to records requests. There were three witnesses at the May 11 hearing from the requester community and three from government agencies. Sen. Cornyn submitted a letter rebutting Justice Department testimony.

        * Linda Koontz, Government Accountability Office
        * Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States
        * Carl Nichols, Deputy Assistant Attorney General
        * Statement of Sen. John Cornyn
        * Jay Smith, Cox Newspapers, Newspaper Association of America
        * Mark Tapscott, The Heritage Foundation
        * Ari Schwartz, Center for Democracy and Technology

    Using the Freedom of Information Act.  More than three million requests are filed each year and for many, it's a long wait before the documents are produced. For journalists, filing a FOIA request should be a last resort.

    Citizens Guide to Freedom of Information Act, first published in 1977, was updated by the House Committee on Government Reform and released as House Report 109-226, on Sept. 20, 2005. It directly contradicts the Oct. 12, 2001 “Ashcroft” memo to agencies, saying: “The standard should not be to allow the withholding of information whenever there is merely a sound legal basis for doing so.”

    Government Secrecy