House Subcommittee Asks Archive for FOIA Reform Advice
Archive General Counsel Testifies that Congress Should Mandate Solutions; Cites 17 Year Delays, Lost Requests, and Agency Obstruction of FOIA
For more information contact:Meredith Fuchs - 202/994-7000
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, February 14, 2007 - National Security Archive General Counsel Meredith Fuchs today told the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that, "problems [with the Freedom of Information Act system] will not be solved unless Congress mandates solutions.
"Ms. Fuchs recommended that Congress reform the FOIA to require better annual reporting and tracking of FOIA requests, citing examples of processing delays as long as 17 years and agency mismanagement or obstruction of requests causing delay.
She also called on Congress to stop agencies from playing litigation games that cost requesters and taxpayers money and waste judicial resources. She referenced examples of agencies that fail to take responsible legal positions until after a requester has filed a lawsuit and then suddenly reverse course when it becomes clear that a court will likely rule against the agency.
She advocated revision of the FOIA's attorneys' fees provision as a solution.
Ms. Fuchs explained that, "Despite many outstanding people administering FOIA programs throughout the government - and they deserve praise for their work - there are far too many FOIA offices that fail to live up to the expectations of the law and the needs of the taxpaying public."
Ms. Fuchs testified on a panel that included Clark Hoyt, former Washington Editor for Knight Ridder, who testified on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, and Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. In addition, representatives of the General Accounting Office and the Department of Justice testified.
The Archive has been at the forefront of organizations using and assessing the Freedom of Information Act.
The Archive has completed five government-wide audits of FOIA administration (supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation). Recommendations from the Archive's reports on those audits have been adopted in President Bush's Executive Order 13,392 ("Improving Agency Disclosure of Information"), included in FOIA legislationintroduced in earlier Congresses by Senators Cornyn and Leahy, and Congressmen Smith and Waxman, and included as goals in many of the 91 agency FOIA Improvement Plans developed under the Executive Order.For more information, see today's posting at
http://www.nsarchive.org/ .
THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
No comments:
Post a Comment