Lift barriers to free flow of information
One of the great things we have in a democracy is the freedom to act upon our curiosity.
If we suspect government is doing something wrong, we can take steps to make things right. Or even discover we were mistaken in our suspicions. One way we do this is by filing freedom of information requests. Armed with the truth gleaned from documents, citizens and the press have the power to use a dishonest government's own information against it, thus holding it accountable.
Yet government officials too often resist shedding their deceit. They fear less the consequence of ignoring federal freedom of information laws than the backlash from releasing potentially embarrassing information. Or they sit on FOIA filings, hoping requesters will grow weary of the challenge, or the costs of continuing their crusade, and go away.
Take, for example, what the National Security Archive at George Washington University found in its Knight Open Government Survey released in July. Some pending federal government requests date back to the 1980s. Five federal agencies reported an FOIA backlog of 15 years or more even though the law requires agencies to respond within 20 business days. Only one in five agencies fully complied with the Freedom of Information Act as last revised in 1996. The National Security Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
This hasn't bothered the Bush administration much. It would just as soon stamp FOIA requests "DOA" than "ASAP."
Fortunately, Congress is fed up with the delays and has initiated reforms. Legislation approved by unanimous voice votes in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate aims to facilitate the flow of information that can and should be freely shared with the public without compromising national security.
The bill would create a tracking system that would allow FOIA filers to monitor their requests. It holds agencies to a firm 20-day deadline in responding to requests. An ombudsman would be hired to not only resolve disputes over what information should be released, but also provide counsel to FOIA requesters and government agencies in order to avoid litigation and processing delays.
Another provision would shift the burden of legal costs for legitimate FOIA requests where it belongs -- on government. Whenever information is released as a result of litigation, the government must reimburse the FOIA requesters' legal bills.
Of course, these reforms will only prove to be effective if there is consistent and firm follow through, and rigid enforcement.
But first, they must become the law of the land. That's now up to President Bush.
"We're an open country," the president said in an April 2004 news conference. "And we're a country that values our openness."
Bush can back up that statement with the stroke of a pen, signing these FOIA reforms into law.