FEATURE
Shhh!!: Keeping Current on Government Secrecy
by Laura Gordon-Murnane
Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon in 2001, the Bush administration has issued
important and far-ranging policy directives that include
executive orders, memoranda, and new legislation, all
designed to ensure the safety of the nation and protect
the American public against future terrorist attacks.1 At
the same time, these very policy changes have profoundly
impacted how American citizens gain access to taxpayer-supported
government information. Frequently, news stories highlight
the removal of reports, database files, and documents
once available to the American public that have become
unavailable due to national security concerns.2
Since September 11, 2001, several important trends
have affected access to federal documents and information.
First and foremost, the federal government is keeping
more information away from the public. In July 2005, The New
York Times reported that the government in a single
year (2004) classified more than 15 million pages,
while declassifying only 28 million pages.3 Not
surprisingly, the increased secrecy is very expensive
and costly. The Information Security Oversight Office
(ISOO) issued its 2004 Report on Cost Estimates for
Security Classification Activities and found that "the
total security classification cost estimates within
Government for FY 2004 is $7.2 Billion." This represents
an "11 percent increase above the cost estimates reported
for FY 2003."5 Furthermore, in its 2004
Report to the President, ISOO warned that "over classification,
besides needlessly and perhaps dangerously restricting
information sharing, also wastes untold dollars."6 Secrecy
is also costly in terms of sharing information and
being prepared to deal with threats to national security.
The 9/11 Commission identified over-classification
of documents and the "need to know" culture as one
of the serious problems that led to a failure of imagination.7
A government watchdog organization, OpenTheGovernment.org,
released its own Secrecy Report Card 2005 (see the
sidebar on page 35) in September 2005, detailing the
rising costs of secrecy and the increasing number of
classified documents.8
A second trend has more and more Americans finding
it necessary to file Freedom of Informatin Act (FOIA)
requests to get access to government information. In
May 11, 2005, testimony before the Subcommittee on
Government Management, Finance and Accountability,
Linda D. Koontz, director, information management issues
for the Government Accountability Office, stated that "the
number of requests that agencies received increased
by 71 percent from 2002 to 2004." Agencies also reported
that "they have been processing more requests — 68
percent more from 2002 to 2004.... For 92 percent of
requests processed in 2004, agencies reported that
responsive records were provided in full to requesters."9 However,
the GAO report noted that "the number of pending requests
carried over from year to year — known as the
backlog — has been increasing, rising 14 percent
since 2002."10
The Society of Environmental Journalists released
a report entitled "A Flawed Tool: Environmental Reporters’ Experiences
with the Freedom of Information Act"11 (see
the sidebar above left). Based on interviews with 55
reporters who use FOIA, the report "revealed growing
shortcomings in the way the government is treating
FOIA requests."
When it comes to FOIA requests, many government agencies
employ a delaying strategy. And the strategy seems
to be effective. Reports, articles, documentaries,
news reports must be written and filed without requested
FOIA information. The agencies can embrace this practice
and suffer no penalties or consequences, even when
the requests come from the press.
Federal agencies have also removed government documents
from agency Web sites and databases (see the sidebar
at left). Steven Aftergood, director of the Project
on Government Secrecy, wrote in Slate magazine
that government agencies have "restricted access to
unclassified information in libraries, archives, Web
sites, and official databases."12 No complete
list, inventory, or catalog of all the removed materials
is available. In the absence of this inventory, Aftergood,
OMBWatch, the Memoryhole, Crytome.org, and other groups
have tried to publicize and make available documents
and materials that have been removed.
The removal of unclassified documents has led to a
fourth trend. More and more unclassified documents
previously available "are now barred to the public
and identified as ‘sensitive but unclassified’ or ‘for
official use only.’"13 The federal
government is employing strategies to keep unclassified
information hidden from the American public by creating
a whole new class of ill-defined, vague "classifications" that
go far beyond the exemptions written into law by FOIA
(see the sidebar on page 37).
OpenTheGovernment.org has compiled a list of 50 such
vague classifications (see the sidebar on page 39)
but speculates that there could be as many as 60 designations.
In my own research, I have found a few more designations
that OpenTheGovernment.org did not include in their
list. These designations are troubling and require
continued scrutiny because "such unchecked secrecy
threatens accountability in government and promotes
conflicts of interest by allowing those with an interest
in disclosure or concealment to decide between openness
or secrecy."14
As a nation, we must wrestle with the very real concerns,
challenges, and threats to our national security, but
our deliberations and actions must work within the
context of a democratic society that passionately embraces
open and transparent government. We need an information
access policy that is thoughtful, practical, and transparent.
In a statement before Congress, Mr. William Crowell,
former deputy director of the National Security Agency
(NSA), argued that "we must shed our current cold-war
need-to know mentality and replace it with a culture
based on a need-to-share."16 A former executive
of one of the nation’s leading intelligence agencies
urges us to share information, not hide it.
Librarians and information professionals excel at
sharing information and resources with clients, customers,
patrons, researchers, scientists, journalists, and
students. In the interest of sharing information, here
is a list of Web sites, blogs, listservs, and newsletters
that could help clients needing access to government
documents but who might experience difficulty locating
that information. The list is arranged by government
watchdog sites, sites that provide access to government
documents, sites that document government secrecy,
and advocacy groups that report on FOIA news. I hope
that you find this list useful for you, your colleagues,
and your patrons.
Government Watchdog Groups
Annenberg Political Fact Check — Annenberg
Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
http://www.factcheck.org/
Director: Brooks Jackson
E-mail alert sign up: http://www.factcheck.org/article331.html#
No RSS feeds
A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at
the University of Pennsylvania, the Annenberg Political
Fact Check provides an independent examination of statements
and policies made by government officials, members
of Congress, and advocacy organizations. It checks
the accuracy of the statements made.
BushSecrecy.org
http://www.bushsecrecy.org/index.cfm
Blog
— SecrecyBlog (updated irregularly): http://www.bushsecrecy.org/blogindex.cfm
E-mail alerts available
No RSS feeds
BushSecrecy.org is a project run by Public Citizen.
The site focuses on four topics: regulatory deception,
executive privilege, FOIA, and national security. It
provides access to letters from senators to the administration,
GAO reports, EPA reports, Justice Department memos,
and the FOIC Agency FOIA database. It also links to
the Public Citizen’s FOIA home page, FOIA regulations,
FOIA annual reports, e-mail addresses, and FOIA contact
information.
Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT)
http://www.cdt.org/
Executive director: James X. Dempsey
Open Government: http://www.cdt.org/righttoknow/
Podcast: http://www.cdt.org/publications/vpp/audiocast.xml
E-mail alerts: http://www.cdt.org/publications/
Join the Activist Network: http://www.cdt.org/join
RSS Feed: http://www.cdt.org/headlines/recent.rss
The Center concentrates on the law, technology, and
policy within the context of promoting democratic values
and constitutional liberties in the digital age. CDT’s
site is very active. If you want to learn about Congressional
activities in relation to technology, visit this site
regularly. It provides headlines and news and has an
interesting section called "Ten Most Wanted Documents" [http://www.cdt.org/righttoknow/10mostwanted/].
It also carries news and links to pending legislation,
reports published by CDT, and testimony and speeches.
The site has started a podcast with discussions of
important issues relating to government, technology,
and privacy. The site also has an "Open Government" section
that details government activities, legislation, and
news.
Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
http://www.cjog.net/
Coordinator: Pete Weitzel
No e-mail alerts (but an e-mail address is available)
Site is searchable
No RSS feeds
"The Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
is an alliance of more than 30 journalism-related organizations
concerned about secrecy in government and the increasing
closure of public records and meetings at all levels
of government." The CJOG has a very useful Web site
that combines current headlines on FOIA and government
secrecy, FOIA and secrecy stories from inside and outside
the "Beltway," and stories about new and existing legislation.
The site identifies useful resources, including Web
sites, experts, reports, sources, and how to find government
documents. Such an active site with such a wealth of
useful FOIA news and reports from around the country
cries out for an RSS feed or at least an e-mail alert
service.
Under Reports and Resources you will find a list of
reports from other organizations as well as a list
of newsletters and listservs [http://www.cjog.net/report.html].
Cryptome
http://www.cryptome.org/
Owner: John Young
No: e-mail alerts
RSS feed: http://cryptome.org/cryptome.xml
"Cryptome welcomes documents for publication
that are prohibited by governments worldwide,
in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy,
cryptology, dual-use technologies, national security,
intelligence, and secret governance — open,
secret and classified documents — but not limited
to those." The site has many links to Federal Register documents
that might have gone unnoticed or unreported. It also
links to new stories, government documents, photos,
and videos.
Early Warning, William Arkin, National and Homeland
Security (Blog)
http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/
E-mail: warkin@igc.org
No e-mail alerts
No RSS feeds
Journalist and author, William Arkin, has started
a new blog called "Early Warning." He plans to use
the blog to "report daily on the comings and goings
of the security community — military, special
ops, intelligence, homeland security." He also uses
the blog as an archive for posting documents that have
come into his possession. He plans to use the blog
to go into more detail on stories and issues that are
no longer front-page material for the mainstream media.
Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
http://www.fas.org/main/home.jsp
President: Henry Kelly
News section (main page): http://www.fas.org/main/news.jsp
"The Federation of American Scientists is a nonprofit,
tax-exempt, 501c3 organization founded in 1945 as the
Federation of Atomic Scientists." The Federation tackles
many different issues, including U.S. chain of command,
arms trade, nuclear weapons, terrorism, nanotechnology,
and government secrecy. The site links to news stories
and recently published reports.
FAS Project on Government Secrecy
http://www.fas.org/main/content.jsp?formAction=325&projectId=5
Director: Stephen Aftergood
Secrecy News Archive: http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/index.html
Electronic Newsletter — Secrecy News and Security
News;
sign up: http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
The project "works to challenge unwarranted secrecy
and to promote reform of national security information
policy and practice." Aftergood is an active believer
in representative and democratic government with a
voice both passionate and thoughtful. He believes that
democratic government has a responsibility to be truthful
and honest to its citizens, but he also believes that
some information should be classified. He aims for
a balance between what government should keep classified
and what the American public should be able to see.
The site is very active with new information provided
on a regular basis.
Aftergood is real fan of librarians and believes that
librarians play a very important and active role in
providing help and assistance to the public looking
for hard-to-find government information.
This is one of the most important sites on the Internet,
maintaining a fresh and current archive of government
documents that have been removed from the Web. If you
are interested in government secrecy issues, visit
this site regularly. Sign up for Secrecy News — "an
e-mail publication of the FAS Project on Government
Secrecy. It provides informal coverage of new developments
in secrecy, security and intelligence policies, as
well as links to new acquisitions on our Web site.
It is published 2 to 3 times a week, or as events warrant."
Freedom of Information Clearinghouse
http://www.citizen.org/litigation/free_info/
E-mail alerts available: http://action.citizen.org/signUp.jsp
No RSS feeds
The Freedom of Information Clearinghouse is a joint
project of Public Citizen and Ralph Nader’s Center
for Study of Responsive Law. The site provides an introduction
to FOIA; Drafting FOIA requests; Legal Research and
Litigation Resources; and Speeches, Reports, Comments
on Agency Rules. It also includes specific sections
on the FOIA and Government Secrecy [http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/
FOIAGovtSec/index.cfm?ID=4956];
Presidential Records Access [http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/
FOIAGovtSec/PresRecords/index.cfm];
and Briefs, Testimony, Memoranda [http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/index.cfm].
GlobalSecurity.org
http://www.globalsecurity.org/
Director: John E. Pike
E-newsletter available: http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/index.html
No RSS feeds
Launched in 2000, GlobalSecurity.org provides access
to military news around the world. The site includes
a section called Hot Docs, which links to documents
from DOD, FBI, and congressional votes. If you are
interested in global security issues, this is a great
place to start.
Internet Archive
http://www.archive.org/
Digital librarian, director, and co-founder: Brewster
Kahle
Founded in 1996, "The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit that was founded to build an ‘Internet
library,’ with the purpose of offering permanent
access for researchers, historians, and scholars to
historical collections that exist in digital format." This
ever-growing site includes archived Web pages, texts,
audio, moving images, and software downloads. It is
an invaluable source of information and a great place
to search and browse for previously released documents,
particularly using its
"Wayback Machine."
MemoryHole
http://www.thememoryhole.org/
Owner: Russ Kick
E-mail updates: Weekly Government Secrecy News [http://www.thememoryhole.org/updates.htm]
Blog
— Memoryholeblog [http://www.thememoryblog.org/]
RSS feed: http://www.thememoryblog.org/index.rdf
"The Memory Hole exists to preserve and spread material
that is in danger of being lost, is hard to find, or
is not widely known." This site provides access to
a wide range of documents, including government files,
corporate memos, court documents (e.g., lawsuits and
transcripts), police reports and eyewitness statements,
congressional testimony, reports (governmental and
nongovernmental), maps, patents, Web pages, photographs,
video, and sound recordings, news articles, books (and
portions of books). The site updates regularly.
National Security Archives
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
Director: Thomas S. Blanton
Subscribe to the National Security Archive e-mail
alert:
http://hermes.circ.gwu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nsarchive&A=1
FOIA section: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foia.html
Document section: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/index.html
Section on Government Secrecy: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
NSAEBB/index.html#secrecy
No RSS feeds
"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)." If
you are looking for government documents, visit this
site.
"The Archive’s holdings include more than two
million pages of accessioned material in over 200 separate
collections. Supporting some 30 terminals, the Archive’s
computer system hosts major databases of released documents
(over 100,000 records), authority files of individuals
and organizations in international affairs (over 30,000
records), and FOIA requests filed by Archive staff
and outside requesters on international affairs (over
20,000 records)." Subject areas include Europe, Latin
America, Nuclear History, China and East Asia, U.S.
Intelligence, Middle East and South Asia, The September
11th Sourcebooks, Humanitarian Interventions, and Government
Secrecy [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/index.html].
The site is a constant mix of newly available historical
documents, news articles on government secrecy, and
links to documents. An invaluable site for those doing
historical research.
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC)
http://www.nswbc.org/index.htm
President: Sibel Edmonds
E-mail address and contact information available:
http://www.nswbc.org/contact_us.htm
No RSS feeds
Founded in August 2004, the Coalition is an independent
and nonpartisan alliance of whistle-blowers who felt
compelled to reveal problems, abuse, fraud, and waste
within the federal government. The site links to congressional
testimony, letters, members’ Op-Ed articles,
reports from the Department of Justice, and current
news articles.
OMB Watch
http://www.ombwatch.org/
Executive Director: Gary Bass
Section on Information Access News: http://www.ombwatch.org/info
OMB Watch List of e-mail newsletters:
• OMB Watcher (biweekly newsletter):
http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/623
• Budget and Tax Policy: http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/141
• Estate Tax: http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/140
• Information
& Access List: http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/1485
• Government Grant Streamlining:
http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/1122
• Nonprofit Advocacy: http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/136
• Public Right to Know: Community
Toxics Watch http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/132
• Regulatory Issues: http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articlestatic/131
BudgetBlog: http://www.ombwatch.org/budgetblog NonprofitBlog: http://www.ombwatch.org/nonprofitblog
Reg•Watch: http://www.ombwatch.org/regwatch
No RSS feeds for any of the blogs
OMB Watch was formed in 1983 and oversees federal
regulation, the budget, information collection and
dissemination, proposed legislation, testimony by agencies,
and much more [http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/269].
Topics within Information Access News include Homeland
Security, Environmental Right to Know, Data Quality
Act, Peer Review, Politics
& Science, Freedom of Information, Whistleblowers,
and State Policies. This section is very active and
OMB Watch provides an e-mail alert service to keep
readers current on new articles, news, reports, and
hearings that relate to access to government information.
A very important site. See the sidebar on page 41 for
other OMB resources.
OpenCRS.com
http://www.opencrs.com/
All recent reports: http://www.opencrs.com/syndication/recentlyadded.xml
All recently added: http://www.opencrs.com/syndication/recent.xml
RSS feeds
Recently, the above-mentioned Center for Democracy
and Technology created this new site with a collection
of more than 8,000 Congressional Research Service reports
and a searchable archive.
The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries has
also launched it own archive of CRS Reports [http://digital.
library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/index.tkl]. This archive
is larger than OpenCRS.com, with a searchable and browseable
archive.
Project on Government Oversight — POGO
http://pogo.org/index.html
Executive director: Danielle Brian
E-mail alert sign up: a very active and informative
blog, well worth subscribing to [http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/pogo/
signup/signUp.jsp?key=36 POGOBlog: http://pogoblog.typepad.com/]
Specific e-mail alerts: http://www.pogo.org/forms/pressroom.html.
List includes e-mail alerts in these areas: Global
News List; Defense News List; Energy &
Environment News List; Open Government News List; Contract
Oversight News List.
RSS feed is available for all investigations: http://www.pogo.org/rss/pogo.xml
RSS feed
— Katrina Contracting: http://pogo.org/rss/pogo-katrina.xml
Founded in 1981, POGO investigates corruption, waste,
and fraud in the areas of defense, energy and environment,
contract oversight, and open government. Links to news
stories as well as original reports. The section on
Open Government includes information on campaign finance
disclosure and reporting, the False Claims Act, FOIA,
government reform, government secrecy, and protecting
whistleblowers. This section also provides access to
news articles and commentary, congressional letters,
panel discussions, POGO investigations, Federal
Register notices, memos, and congressional testimony
[http://pogo.org/p/x/archiveopengov.html].
Washington Watch Dog
http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/rtk/index.html
Includes RSS Feeds for each area of interest: http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/rtk/
critical_energy_infrastructure/all/whats-new.xml
No information on who runs this site, but a Whois
search revealed that OMBWatch and Les Blomberg, executive
director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, hold
the domain name. The site carries new federal documents
published within the last 14 days in the areas of Critical
Energy Infrastructure Information, Critical Information,
Data and Information Quality, E-Government, Information
Policy, Right-to-Know, Sensitive but Unclassified,
and Whistleblowers. Great way to stay current.
FOIA News
ACLU
http://www.aclu.org/
Executive director: Anthony D. Romero
Blog
— Reform the Patriot Act: http://blog.reformthepatriotact.org/
RSS feeds available for blog
Sign up for e-mail alerts: https://www.aclu.org/team/member.cfm
RSS feeds for news alerts and action alerts: http://action.aclu.org/feed/rss24.xml
and
http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AP_syndicationalerts
The ACLU was founded in 1920 as a nonprofit and nonpartisan
organization to promote and defend civil liberties.
The ACLU concentrates on many different areas, including
but not limited to, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty,
Disability Rights, Free Speech, Immigrants Rights,
Lesbian and Gay Rights, National Security, Safe and
Free, and Voting Rights. This is a very active site
and provides access to documents requested by the ACLU
under FOIA. The section Safe and Free covers topics
that include PATRIOT Act, Secrecy, Dissent, Surveillance,
No Fly Lists, and Detentions [http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/].
The section on National Security [http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurityMain.cfm] concentrates on individual rights and open government.
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information (University
of Florida)
http://brechner.org/
Executive director: Sandra F. Chance
No e-mail alert
No RSS feeds
No blog
"The Brechner Center answers queries about media
law from journalists, attorneys, and other members
of the public." A collection of FOIA resources includes
an eclectic list that links to FOIA organizations,
electronic records, the Brechner Center’s own
database collections, Brechner reports, and FOIA guides
[http://brechner.org/resources.asp]. The site concentrates
on Florida but has links to national and international
FOIA organizations.
The Citizen Access Project at the University of
Florida
http://www.citizenaccess.org/
Project director: Bill Chamberlin
A related site to the Brechner Center for Freedom
of Information, the Citizen Access Project offers state-by-state
comparisons on access to government information. A
useful site if you need to learn more about state FOIA
laws and filing state FOIA requests.
Common Cause
http://www.commoncause.org/
President and CEO: Chellie Pingree
Section on Government Accountability: http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=192069
Section on Open Government: http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=202869
E-mail updates available
No RSS feeds for site or blog
Common Cause, founded in 1970, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
advocacy organization that works to keep government
officials accountable to the public. Common Cause works
in the areas of government accountability, election
reform, media and democracy, and money in politics.
The site’s press center provides access to press
releases, released letters, and congressional testimony.
The site also provides links to Common Cause’s
own reports and studies as well as documents/reports
from other organizations.
The Common Blog [http://www.commonblog.com/] is an
active blog and anyone is free to comment. It deals
with all areas of interest to Common Cause. E-mail
alerts are available.
Counsel for a Livable World — The National
Security Legislative Calendar
http://www.clw.org/
E-mail alert: subscription
RSS/Atom feeds: http://www.clw.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/archive_rss/nscalendar/;
http://www.clw.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/archive_atom/nscalendar/
The Counsel for a Livable World was founded in 1962
by nuclear physicist Leo Szilard. Its mission is to
educate Senators and members of Congress on nuclear
weapons, strategic and conventional weapons, the military
budget, and United Nations’ peacekeeping operations.
The Counsel publishes a National Security Legislative
Calendar every Monday when Congress is in session [http://www.clw.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/nscalendar/].
Electronic Privacy Information Center
http://www.epic.org
Executive director: Marc Rotenberg
EPIC FOIA Notes [http://www.epic.org/foia_notes/note1.html] is an online newsletter that provides access to documents
obtained by EPIC under FOIA. An e-mail subscription
to FOIA Notes is available.
EPIC e-mail alert: The biweekly alert [http://www.epic.org/alert/] covers issues related to privacy and civil liberties
in the information age
No RSS feeds
"EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington,
D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention
on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy,
the First Amendment, and constitutional values." Latest
privacy news appears in the center column. Policy Issues
includes a section on Open Government. The site includes
EPIC’s FOIA docket, news, selected FOIA documents,
FOIA Guides, and Legal documents on FOIA [http://www.epic.org/open_gov/].
Freedom of Information Center
http://www.missouri.edu/~foiwww/
Executive director FOI Center: Charles N. Davis
No RSS feeds
Established in 1958, the Center has an impressive
collection of more than 1 million documents from state,
federal, and local governments that deal with access
to information. The Web site also maintains an archive
of documents. It also carries current FOIA-related
news and a long list of continuously updated topics,
some updated more frequently than others. Subscribe
to The Advocate at foi@missouri.edu.
Freedom Forum
http://www.freedomforum.org/
The First Amendment Center
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/
President: Newseum Peter S. Prichard
No e-mail alert
No RSS feeds
The Freedom Forum, established in 1991, is a nonpartisan
foundation that focuses on the areas of a free press,
the First Amendment, and free speech. The First Amendment
Center, a part of the Freedom Forum, features research
in First Amendment issues, including free speech, free
press, religious liberty, free assembly, and freedom
of petition. The site provides daily First Amendment
news, a First Amendment Library (a searchable and browseable
collection of documents that includes Supreme Court
opinions, transcripts of Supreme Court oral arguments,
legislation, and other historical materials), and guest
analyses by legal scholars.
FreedomInfo.org
http://www.freedominfo.org/
Managing editor: Thomas Blanton
FOIA News Digest: http://www.freedominfo.org/news.htm
IFTI Watch
— News about Access to Information in International
Financial and Trade Institutions [http://www.freedominfo.org/ifti.htm]
E-mail alert: http://hermes.gwu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=freedominfo&A=1
No RSS feeds
"This site is a one-stop portal that describes best
practices, consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign
strategies and tactics, and links the efforts of freedom
of information advocates around the world. It contains
crucial information on freedom of information laws
and how they were drafted and implemented, including
how various provisions have worked in practice." The
site includes FOIA news from around the world, case
studies, original reports, analysis pieces, and links
to other FOIA organizations, international financial
and trade institutions, media links, etc.
Government Accountability Program
http://www.whistleblower.org/template/index.cfm
President and corporate accountability director & development
director: Louis Clark
Free e-mail alerts (and, if you are a journalist,
you can specify what topics of interest you cover):
http://www.whistleblower.org/program/journalist_edit.cfm
No RSS feeds
"The Government Accountability Project’s mission
is to protect the public interest by promoting government
and corporate accountability through advancing occupational
free speech and ethical conduct, defending whistleblowers,
and empowering citizen activists." The site bills itself
as the nation’s leading whistle-blower organization.
The organization concentrates on five program areas:
Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability,
Food and Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National
Security. The center column provides current news about
key whistle-blower legislation and news stories about
whistle-blower court cases. There is also a whistle-blowers
network and links to resources about filing whistle-blower
complaints.
Government Documents obtained through FOIA
http://action.aclu.org/torturefoia/
This section of the ACLU site contains hundreds if
not thousands of documents released by government agencies
as a result of FOIA requests made by the ACLU.
Investigative Reporters and Editors
http://www.ire.org/
Executive director: Brant Houston
RSS feed for Extra Extra!: http://www.ire.org/extraextra/index.rdf
"Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. is a grassroots
nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality
of investigative reporting." The site has a FOIA and
First Amendment Center and "is designed to be a central
repository for IRE information about FOI activities
and links to other valuable FOI resources. Providing
examples and guidance for new FOI requests ideally
will help speed the process and improve the success
rate."
Only IRE members can access a FOIA database and FOIA
tip sheets, but other FOIA-related information is available
to nonmembers, including a list of useful links to
FOIA sites and organizations, best resources, FOIA-related
speeches, interviews, and projects, and stories about
FOIA culled from Extra! Extra! [http://www.ire.org/foi/].
The site provides a list of listservs that members
and nonmembers can join
[http://www.ire.org/membership/listserv.html].
Judicial Watch
http://www.judicialwatch.org/
President: Tom Fitton
Judicial Watch Blog: http://www.judicialwatch.org/corrchron/
Weekly e-mail newsletter: http://www.judicialwatch.org/infonet.shtml
RSS Feed for JW Blog: http://www.judicialwatch.org/corrchron/index.rdf
Established in 1994, Judicial Watch bills itself "as
an ethical and legal ‘watchdog’ over government,
legal, and judicial systems,"
seeking to promote ethics and morality in government.
Judicial Watch lists four areas of focus: Fighting
Secrecy, Battling Corruption, Watching the Courts,
and Promoting Integrity. The section Fighting Secrecy
is organized into several areas — Open Records
Project, Open Records Litigation, Documents Uncovered,
Judicial Financial Disclosure Project, and Open Records
Laws. The Open Records Project is available to "other
conservative non-profit organizations in order to help
the open records process work in support of conservative
public policy."
National Freedom of Information Coalition
http://www.nfoic.org/index.htm
Executive director: Katherine Garner, also executive
director for the Freedom of Information Foundation
of Texas
Provides a list of State FOIA newsletters: http://www.nfoic.org/Newsletter.html
FOI-L listserv is supported by NFOIC: http://www.nfoic.org/FOIL.html
No e-mail updates
No RSS feeds
"The National FOI Coalition joins First Amendment
and open government organizations from individual states
in a self-supporting alliance as they seek to protect
the public’s right to know through the education
of media professionals, attorneys, academics, students
and the general public."
The center section provides access to FOIA news stories.
In the section under Resources, the center provides
a guide on "obtaining information guaranteed under
state and federal open meetings and open records laws.
Regularly updated and maintained, these pages contain
descriptions and links for FOI publications, contacts,
legislation and current events." A really useful source
for finding FOIA-related sites, organizations, contacts,
and practical resources on how to file FOIA requests
[http://www.nfoic.org/web/index.htm].
Nieman Watchdog Journalism Project
http://niemanwatchdog.org
Nieman Watchdog project editor: Barry Sussman
No e-mail alerts
RSS feed is available: http://niemanwatchdog.org/feed.xml
The Nieman Watchdog Journalism Project, founded in
1938, is part of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism
at Harvard University. It was established "to help
the press ask penetrating questions, critical questions,
questions that matter, questions not yet asked about
today’s news." Journalists should find the "Ask
This" section interesting. It includes a list of stories
and suggested questions from university faculty and
journalists around the country. The section includes
a list of questions and provides links to useful resources
for additional research. Brief biographical information
appears about the persons suggesting the questions.
The site also lists current stories that focus on the
responsibilities of the press in challenging government
leaders to provide accurate information for the American
public.
Society of Professional Journalists
http://www.spj.org/index.asp
Executive director of the Society of Professional
Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi Foundation: Terry Harper
FOIA News: http://www.spj.org/foia_news.asp
Short list of FOIA resources as well as a list of
FOIA contacts (phone numbers) for selected states:
http://www.foiadvocates.com/links/index.html
Sign up for a weekly PressNotes mailto: pressnotes@spj.org
No: RSS feeds
"The Society of Professional Journalists is dedicated
to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone
of our nation and our liberty." The Society has a committee
that deals with Freedom of Information issues. This
committee "is the watchdog of press freedoms across
the nation. It relies upon a network of volunteers
in each state organized under Project Sunshine. These
SPJ members are on the front lines for assaults to
the First Amendment and when lawmakers attempt to restrict
the public’s access to documents and the government’s
business. The committee often is called upon to intervene
in instances where the media is restricted."
The SPJ site has a really useful section on FOIA that
includes FOIA News, FOIA Basics, FOIA and Daily News
Coverage, Red Flags (a section that describes what
reporters should look for when government officials
try to prevent public access to government information,
hearings, reports, etc.), a FOIA A–Z resource,
and links to FOIA resources [http://www.spj.org/foia.asp].
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
http://www.rcfp.org/
Executive director: Lucy Dalglish
E-mail Alerts: http://www.rcfp.org/getnews.html
E-mail news releases: http://www.rcfp.org/news/releases/mailinglist.html Behind the Home Front — RCFP blog: http://www.rcfp.org/behindthehomefront/
RSS feed available: http://www.rcfp.org/behindthehomefront/
data/behindthehomefront.xml
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP)
is an important resource in learning about free speech
issues. The site provides a biweekly newsletter, 24
hour hotline, and the really useful "Tapping Officials’
Secrets" section — "a complete compendium of
information on every state’s open records and
open meetings laws. Each state’s section is arranged
according to a standard outline, making it easy to
compare laws in various states" [http://www.rcfp.org/cgi-local/tapping/index.cgi].
The RCFP has a great blog — Behind the Home
Front. The blog is a daily chronicle of news in "homeland
security and military operations affecting newsgathering,
access to information and the public’s right
to know."
The blog welcomes tips, suggestions, and comments.
Great way to stay current, especially if you use the
RSS feed.
Society of Environmental Journalists
http://www.sej.org/
Executive director: Beth Parke
Useful Links: http://www.sej.org/resource/index4.htm
SEJ Member Blogs and More: http://www.sej.org/resource/index14.htm
Today’s Headlines: http://www.sej.org/news/index1.htm
Environmental Journalism Today: http://www.sej.org/news/index2.htm
TipSheet: http://www.sej.org/rss/tipsheet.rss
WatchDog TipSheet: http://www.sej.org/rss/watchdog.rss
EJToday: http://www.sej.org/rss/ejtoday.rss
Environmental Events Calendar: http://www.sej.org/rss/calendar.rss
Useful Links: http://www.sej.org/rss/links.rss
RSS feeds: http://www.sej.org/pub/index5.htm
The Society was founded in 1990 by award-winning journalists. "The
mission of the Society of Environmental Journalists
is to advance public understanding of environmental
issues by improving the quality, accuracy, and visibility
of environmental reporting." The site has an impressive
collection of materials, including a links library,
environmental blogs, e-news headlines, Environmental
Journalism Today, and the TipSheet.
A joint product of SEJ and the Radio and Television
News Directors Foundation, the TipSheet section provides
biweekly news tips to notify journalists of potential
environmental stories and sources. It is a great way
to stay in touch with environmental stories and an
RSS feed makes it easy to keep current [http://www.sej.org/pub/index1.htm].
The section on FOIA provides access to a useful list
of resources and tools: "FOIA Fundamentals," "Key FOIA
Resources on the Internet,"
"FOIA War Stories," and contacts for help with FOIA
issues. Includes FOIA letter generator [http://www.sej.org/foia/index1.htm].
BeSpacific.com
http://www.bespacific.com/
E-mail alerts: http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html
RSS feeds are available: RSS 2.0, RSS 1.0, MyYahoo!,
and Bloglines (scroll to bottom of right column)
Law librarian Sabrina Pacifici’s legal blog.
Daily posts on topics relevant to anyone interested
in government information, legislation, and librarians.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Blog
http://www.thebulletin.org/weblog/
E-mail subscription list is available
RSS feed: http://www.thebulletin.org/weblog/index.rdf
The staff members for the magazine have put together
a blog, which is updated irregularly. If you are interested
in reading what is important to nuclear scientists,
start here. Wide-ranging discussions appear on many
things atomic and nuclear and what the government is
doing, not doing, and maybe shouldn’t be doing.
Defense Tech
http://www.defensetech.org/
Editor: Noah Shachtman
RSS feed: http://www.defensetech.org/index.rdf
All things defense — keep abreast of news, reports,
people in the military, and the government. Good list
of bloggers, government Web sites, military Web sites,
and news and intel, security blogs, and geeks and scientist
Web sites and blogs.
Fedblog from the Government Executive magazine
http://www.govexec.com/fedblog/
Executive editor: Tom Shoop
RSS feeds available: http://www.govexec.com/rss/
This blog reports on a wide variety of reports, hearings,
and events going on in the federal government. Good
way to stay on top of current government issues. Links
to other blogs.
Free Government Information
http://freegovinfo.info/blog
RSS feed available: http://freegovinfo.info/node/feed
"The Free Government Information was initiated by
Jim A. Jacobs, James R. Jacobs, Shinjoung Yeo, three
librarians at University of California San Diego, along
with Daniel Cornwall, librarian at the Alaska State
Library, in order to raise public awareness of the
importance of government information and create a community
with various stakeholders to facilitate an open and
critical dialogue." This very thoughtful and active
site is worth checking out.
The Insider
http://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/insider.asp?issue=06162005
InsideDefense.com introduces the Insider, an
exclusive, free news report for defense professionals.
Published every Tuesday and Thursday, The Insider reports
news on the Defense Department, Congress, and the defense
industry.
The Resource Shelf and Dockuticker
http://www.resourceshelf.com
http://www.docuticker.com
E-mail subscriptions: http://www.resourceshelf.com/update/
The Resource Shelf RSS feed: http://www.resourceshelf.com/resourceshelf.xml
Docuticker RSS feed: http://www.docuticker.com/docuticker.xml
Gary Price has put up an amazing collection of documents,
reports, news, and articles. A must-read.
Washington Post’s Federal Diary
Stephen Barr: The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400643.html
Not really a blog but a good place to check on a regular
basis to see what is happening in the government.
Listservs
FOI Advocate
http://foi.missouri.edu/newsletter/index.html
A newsletter of the National Freedom of Information
Coalition produced by the University of Missouri FOI
Center.
National Freedom of Information Coalition — FOI-L
Listserv
http://www.nfoic.org/FOIL.html
The National Freedom of Information Coalition runs
an online discussion group maintained by Syracuse University.
The listserv concentrates on access to public records,
open meetings, and trends in state legislation. This
listserv functions at the level of those who deal with
FOIA issues every day and carries practical advice
and suggestions on how to deal with FOIA issues.
Guides and Other Resources
The American Presidential Project — Presidential
Records
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/
The Public Papers of the Presidents contain most presidential
public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference
remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive
Orders, and similar documents published in the Federal
Register and the Code of Federal Regulations,
as required by law, are usually not included for the
presidencies of Herbert Hoover through Gerald Ford
(1929–1977), but are included beginning with
the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977). Documents
within the Public Papers are arranged in chronological
order with remarks or addresses assumed as coming from
the White House in Washington, D.C., unless otherwise
indicated.
Department of Justice
FOIA Contacts
http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/foiacontacts.htm
Federal Depository Library Program
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html
GPO Access has a complete list of all of the FDLP
libraries across the country. Go to
http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/alldep.cgi.
Federation of American Scientists
http://www.fas.org/sgp/foia/citizen.pdf
Federation of American Scientists provides online
access to
"A Citizen’s Guide on Using the Freedom of Information
Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government
Records," released by the House Committee on Government
Reform on Sept. 5, 2005.
Government Documents Roundtable — American
Libraries Association
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/GODORT
Active site and listserv on government documents issues
and the Repository Library Program. Listserv is available
to anyone interested in Government Documents issues.
Go to GovDoc-L
[http://docs.lib.duke.edu/federal/govdoc-l/index.html].
Guide to Using Declassified Documents and Archival
Materials for U.S. Foreign Policy and World Politics
Page
http://www.gened.arizona.edu/dgibbs/declassified.htm
Created by David N. Gibbs University of Arizona
How to Make a FOIA Request
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foia/howtofoia.html
The National Security Archive has a useful collection
of documents on how to make a FOIA request.
Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press
http://www.rcfp.org/foi_letter/generate.php
FOI Letter Generator
Librarian/Historical Advocacy Organizations
Advocacy Listserv
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/aalladvocsubscribe.html (members only)
American Association of Law Libraries
http://www.aall.org/
President: Claire M. Germain
American Association of Law Libraries — Washington
office http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/
Robert L. Oakley Washington Affairs Representative,
and Mary Alice Baish, Associate Washington Affairs
Representative
The Washington office provides updates on new legislation
as well as issue letters, briefs, action alerts, reports,
testimony, and news updates for professional law librarians.
Really useful if you are interested in finding out
what Congress is doing and how it might impact the
professional librarian.
American Historical Association
http://www.historians.org/
Professional organization representing historians
that promotes the collection and preservation of historical
documents and artifacts, historical research, and historical
studies.
American Libraries Association (ALA)
http://www.ala.org
ALA Washington Office Online (ALAWON)
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/news.htm
ALAWON is a free, irregular e-mail publication of
the ALA Washington office.
Issues and Advocacy
http://www.ala.org/ala/issues/issuesadvocacy.htm
Includes section on the PATRIOT Act and access to
government information
[http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/
governmentinfo/governmentinformation.htm].
National Coalition for History
http://www.h-net.org/%7Ench/
Bruce Craig (Director)
The Coalition is an advocacy group for professional
historians and archivists and lobbies Congress to ensure
adequate funding for the National Endowment for the
Humanities, the National Archives, the Library of Congress,
and the Historic Preservation Fund. The Coalition also
monitors
"copyright, historic preservation, freedom of information,
government secrecy, and archival access issues and
provides information to the news media on these issues."
National Coalition for History WASHINGTON UPDATE
http://www.h-net.org/~nch/
Bruce Craig: Director and Editor
Subscribe to the newsletter:
http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=HNCH&month=0507&
week=a&msg=IrJLJxP3DIjI1VmgK7uV4A&user=&pw=
National Coalition for History NCH publishes a free
weekly electronic newsletter for those interested in
historical and archival issues.
OpenTheGovernment.org Secrecy Score Card 2005 — Key
Findings
• $148 is spent creating new secrets
for every $1 spent releasing old secrets.
• 15.6 million classification decisions
cost $7.2 billion.
• Every choice to classify documents
as a secret costs taxpayers $460.
Flawed Tool: Environmental Reporters’ Experiences
with the Freedom of Information Act
(Society of Environmental Journalists)
• Government agencies delayed releasing
FOIA-requested information. Some requests were delayed
for more than a year.
• Energy, Defense, FDA, and Mine
Safety and Health Administration were the agencies
most cited for failing to respond promptly to journalists’ FOIA
requests.
• Monitoring FOIA requests or finding
out who was in charge of overseeing requests proved
difficult.
• Requiring FOIA requests for routine
inquiries — departments of Energy and Mine
Safety and Health Administration and FERC, EPA, all
used this strategy.
• Fee waivers are now frequently
challenged — delaying the process.
• Excessive redactions — large
sections of the documents received were blacked out,
making them meaningless.
Sample Information Removed from Government Web Sites4
• Department of Defense Telephone
Directory
• Defense Technical Information
Center (DTIC) Joint Electronic Library [http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine] went
offline on April 8, 2005, to remove the report "Joint
Doctrine of Detainee Operations." The Library was
restored the following week minus this and other
reports.
• Congressional Research Reports — Previously
available from Representatives Mark Green and Christopher
Shays, this was ended in late 2003.
• Envirofacts Web Site — In
March 2002, access was limited to U.S. EPA employees,
U.S. contractors, the military, federal government,
and state agency employees. No direct public access.
• EPA removed Risk Management Plans
(RMP) from EPA’s Web Site — Though controversial,
these plans provided information about chemical plant
worse-case scenarios and were a way for the public
to be informed about chemical accidents and how to
prepare for them in case of emergencies.
Sensitive but Unclassified Designations 17
"Information [Held by DHS] that could be sold for
profit"
"Information that could pose a physical risk to personnel"
Chinese Space Program Equipment or Technology
Computer Security Act Sensitive Information (CSASI)
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
Contractor Access Restricted Information (CARI)
Controlled But Unclassified (CBU)
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Critical Energy Infrastructure Information (CEII)
Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) DEA Sensitive
(DEA-S)
DEA Sensitive Information*
Defense Information (formerly Restricted Data)
Department of Homeland Security Information
Technology (DHS IT)
DOD Special Nuclear Materials*
DOD Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information *
Export Administration Regulation Information (EAR)
Federal Information Security Management Act Information
(FISMA)
Financial Institution Information (FOIA b8)
For Official Use Only (FOUO)
General Services Administration Sensitive But Unclassified
Building Information (GSA-SBU-BI)
Grand Jury Information
Internal Personnel Rules and Practices (FOIA b2)
International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)
Law Enforcement Sensitive (LES)
Limited Official Use Only (LOU)
Missile Technology Control Regime Annex (MTCR)
Missile Technology Control Regime MTCR U.S. — Nominated
Agents (MTCR)
Nonpublic Information (Office of Government Ethics)
Nuclear Proliferation Act Information (NNAI)
Official Use Only (OUO)
Operations Security Protected
Secret Patents
Personal Privacy Information (FOIA b6)
Privacy Act Protected Information (PAPI)
Privileged Information (FOIA b5)
Proprietary Information (PROPIN)
Safeguards Information (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
(SGI)
Select Agent Sensitive Information (SASI)
Sensitive But Unclassified (Department of Homeland
Security (SBU DHS)
Sensitive But Unclassified (Department of State) (DOS-SBU)
Sensitive But Unclassified Technical Information (SBUTI)
Sensitive Homeland Security Information (SHSI)
Sensitive Information*
Sensitive Security Information (SSI)
Sensitive Unclassified (SU)
Special Nuclear Material (SNM)
Specifically Exempt from Disclosure by Statute (FOIA
b3)
Trade Secrets (FOIA b4)
Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information (UCNI)
Unclassified Export-Controlled Department of Defense
Technical Data
United States Munitions List (USML)
Voluntarily-Provided Information (Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA)
Well Information (FOIA b9)
*Identified by author
Other OMB Resources
OMB Watch also has launched a series of other valuable
resources including these sites:
Citizens for Sensible Safeguards
http://www.sensiblesafeguards.org/
E-mail alert sign-up: http://www.sensiblesafeguards.org/signup.phtml
Citizens for Sensible Safeguards was launched in the
1990s as a coalition consisting of almost 300 founding
member groups, an impressive array of public interest
organizations including labor, environmental, consumer,
health, low-income, human needs, educational, and religious
communities. The site provides access to news, current
developments, reports, and links to useful sites [http://www.sensiblesafeguards.org/background.phtml].
OpenTheGovernment.org
http://openthegovernment.org/
Director: Rick Blum
E-mail newsletter is available: http://openthegovernment.org/pscripts/otg_becomeadv.php
No RSS feeds
"OpenTheGovernment.org is an unprecedented coalition
of journalists, consumer and good government groups,
environmentalists, labor and others united out of a
concern for what U.S. News and World Report called
a ‘shroud of secrecy’ descending over our
local, state and federal governments. We’re focused
on making the federal government a more open place
to make us safer, strengthen public trust in government,
and support our democratic principles" [http://openthegovernment.org/article/subarchive/2/].
The site provides news highlights, policy updates,
information on public trust and accountability, FOI
resources, strategies on how to access government information,
and Homeland Security policies. In the last few years,
OpenTheGovernment.org has released a "Secrecy Report
Card," which details the rise of secrecy in the federal
government. The "Secrecy Report Card" provides an important
contrast to government transparency from that of the
Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO). The site
also provides a useful list of policy issues that Openthegovernment.org
monitors, complete with links to legislation, memos,
hearings, testimony, letters, and reports.
The Right-to-Know Network
http://www.rtknet.org/
The Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET), another service
provided by OMB Watch, provides free access to numerous
environmental databases. With the information available
on RTK NET, you can identify specific factories and
their environmental effects and identify the people
and communities affected.
Working Group on Community Right-to-Know
http://crtk.org
Subscribe to Working Notes E-update: http://crtk.org/subscribe.cfm
The Working Group on Community Right-to-Know helps
people defend and improve our right-to-know about environmental
and public health concerns. Areas of interest include
Information Reform, Legislative Watch list, Corporate
Accountability, International, Community Toolbox, Industrial
Toxics, Spills & Emergencies, Transportation, a
Library Newsletter Archive, Posting and Labeling, My
Environment, and Drinking Water.
Endnotes
1 Policy changes that have impacted access to government
information include the following:
Ashcroft Memorandum on FOIA October 12, 2001, Attorney
General John Ashcroft FOIA Memorandum October 12, 2001
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/2001foiapost19.htm;
Executive Order 13233: Further Implementation of the
Presidential Records Act — issued on November
1, 2001, Executive Order 13233: Further Implementation
of the Presidential Records Act. November 1, 2001 [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/
releases/2001/11/20011101-12.html];
Card Memorandum: Guidance on Homeland Security Information
Issue: Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments
and Agencies — March 19, 2002 [http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/2002foiapost10.htm];
Homeland Security Act of 2002: Homeland Security Information
Sharing Act — see Public Law 107-296 Homeland
Security Act of 2002 — Section 211: Critical
Information Infrastructure Information Act 2002
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?d
bname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ296.107];
and Executive Order 13292: Further Amendment to Executive
Order 12958, As Amended, Classified National Security
Information, issued on March 25, 2003 [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030325-11.html].
2 See Christopher H. Schmitt and Edward T. Pound, "Keeping
Secrets: The Bush Administration is Doing the Public’s
Business Out of the Public Eye. Here’s How — And
Why," US News
& World Report, December 22, 2003 [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/031222/22secrecy.htm];
Steven Aftergood’s Secrecy News [http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/];
OMB Watch [http://www.ombwatch.org]; and Susan Nevelow
Mart, "Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government
Information Removed from the Internet be Reclaimed?"
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
June 13, 2005 [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=391323].
3 Scott Shane, "Increase in the Number of Documents
Classified by the Government," New York Times, July
3, 2005 [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/politics/03secrecy.html?ex=
1120968000&en=bf2a9d953687b4b9&ei=5070&emc=eta1].
4 Steven Aftergood, Slate, March 17, 2005 [http://slate.msn.com/id/2114963/].
See also Secrecy News [http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html] and OMB Watch [http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/213] for a more detailed and updated list of information
that has been removed from government Web sites.
5 Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) 2004
Report on Cost Estimates for Security Classification
Activities [http://www.archives.gov/isoo/reports/2004-cost-report.pdf or http://www.archives.gov/isoo/reports/2004-cost-report.html].
6 Information Security Oversight Office, 2004 Report
to the President, March 31, 2005
[http://www.archives.gov/isoo/reports/2004-annual-report.pdf].
7 The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
States. Authorized Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
417 pp. Public Statement: Release of 9/11Commission
Report, The Hon. Thomas H. Kean and The Hon. Lee H.
Hamilton July 22, 2004 [http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911ReportStatement.pdf].
8 Secrecy Report Card 2005: Quantitative Indicators
of Secrecy in the Federal Government; A Report by OpenTheGovernment.org,
Americans for Less Secrecy, More Democracy. September
2005 [http://www.openthegovernment.org/otg/SRC2005.pdf].
9 GAO reported that for 92 percent of requests processed
in 2004, the records requested were granted in full.
GAO acknowledged that it did not have FOIA reports
from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency
for International Development and also acknowledged
that some agencies — the Department of State,
the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Science
Foundation — had "made full grants of requested
records in less than 20 percent of the cases processed."
GAO further reported that in eight of the 25 agencies
examined, requests for records were granted 60 percent
of the time. The complete picture of disclosure is,
by GAO’s own report, incomplete. Therefore, the
claim that 92 percent of the requests were filled completely
is somewhat misleading. GAO Report: Information Management:
Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. Testimony
before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance
and Accountability, Committee on Government Reform,
House of Representatives. pp. 16–17 [http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05648t.pdf].
10 GAO Report: Information Management: Implementation
of the Freedom of Information Act. Testimony before
the Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance
and Accountability, Committee on Government Reform,
House of Representatives. p. 2 [http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05648t.pdf].
11 Society of Environmental Journalists: "A Flawed
Tool: Environmental Reporters’ Experiences with
the Freedom of Information Act." Report of the First
Amendment Task Force of the Society of Environmental
Journalists. September 12, 2005 [http://www.sej.org/foia/SEJ_FOIA_Report2005.pdf].
12 Steven Aftergood, "The Age of Missing Information:
The Bush Administration’s Campaign Against Openness,"
Slate, Thursday, March 17, 2005 [http://slate.msn.com/id/2114963].
13 Steven Aftergood, Slate, March 17, 2005 [http://slate.msn.com/id/2114963].
14 National Security Archive, FOIA Basics [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foia/guide.html].
15 Secrecy Report Card 2005: Quantitative Indicators
of Secrecy in the Federal Government; A Report by OpenTheGovernment.org,
Americans for Less Secrecy, More Democracy. September
2005 [http://www.openthegovernment.org/otg/SRC2005.pdf],
pp. 9–10.
16 Secrecy Report Card 2005: Quantitative Indicators
of Secrecy in the Federal Government: A Report by OpenTheGovernment.org,
Americans for Less Secrecy, More Democracy. September
2005 [http://www.openthegovernment.org/otg/SRC2005.pdf],
p. 9.
17 Hearing before the Subcommittee on National Security,
Emerging Threats and International Relations of the
Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives,
August 24, 2004. Serial No. 108-263 [http://fas.org/sgp/congress/2004/082404transcript.html].
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