Return to Article: Watchdog, lawmakers eye better information flow
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The gist of my testimony is somewhat misrepresented in this article. My concern is that there is no enforcement mechanism built into either FOIA or the E.O. DOJ and OMB each have leadership roles in this area, but neither has mandated authority or responsibility to enforce compliance (and neither attempt it).
My testimony focused on two of the "improvement areas" laid out by Justice in its guidance on the E.O. These are affirmative disclosure, posting frequently requested records, policies, manuals and FAQs on Web sites; and proactive disclosure on the Web of publicly available information.
In it, I say "What is most striking to me is the future-oriented language used to describe what most of the agencies plan to do in these areas. Bear in mind that we are almost 10 years out from the passage of the 1996 Amendments and over nine years beyond the point at which most of the requirements set out therein were supposed to have been met. And yet, repeatedly, in the narratives we find that said agency will meet these statutory requirements - with the promised date often being mid-2007.
Indeed, the two entities one would hope would provide exemplary models for others - the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and Budget - fail to do so."
Further on, "The lack of serious implementation of 10-year-old amendments to FOIA exemplified here is indicative of one of the serious problems with any procedural reforms to FOIA: there is no enforcement mechanism provided and no repercussions for ignoring these requirements. Even the Department of Justice, which Congress arguably intended to have oversight responsibility in the executive branch for the implementation of these amendments, has not fully implemented them (according to their own report). Nor has the Office of Management and Budget which has oversight responsibilities for information policy across the Executive Branch."
Thus, while I single out DOJ and OMB, the point is meant to be illustrative, not to say that they "are not serious about reform." They may or may not be, but it was not a point made in my testimony.
My testimony and the report on which it is based, "FOIA's 40th Anniversary: Agencies Respond to the President's Call for Improved Disclosure of Information," can be found at http://www.openthegovernment.org/
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