Wednesday, January 21, 2009
President Pledges Changes to FOIA
Posted by David Winkler-Schmit on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Is the new president trying to make it easier on journalists, bloggers and concerned citizens?
Today, during a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama announced tougher regulations on lobbyists, but he also told reporters he is instructing agencies that receive Freedom of Information Act requests to work harder to honor and make public the requested information, instead of trying to find legal reasons for denying the request.
"Starting today, every agency and department stands on the side of those who seek information," Obama said.
This news might not leave media member (they can be a skeptical bunch) thinking they have a new friend in the White House, and as MSNBC points out, “Some reporters, particularly those who traveled with the campaign, might see irony in statements like these, since the Obama campaign and transition were as tight and on message as the Bush campaigns and administration. It is no secret the news media -- the ultimate information seekers -- got as much information out of the Obama team, as it was authorized to give, which usually wasn't much.”
Time and the number of FOIA requests filled will tell, so make fill out a form today.
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Comments (2)
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IMHO more public posturing that amounts to nothing, and arrogantly implies previous administrations were violating the law. His statement assumes the agencies doing the releasing aren't trying to follow the law and respond with due diligence. It also assumes the guy with the black marks-a-lot lining out the non-releasable info cares about the opinion of the President. I used to spend two weeks during the summer responding to FOIA requests, and would have hundreds of pending requests handed to me on the first day of work. The problem is the manpower to respond. Following the law or applying the criteria isn't the problem. It is very time consuming to, figure out what is being requested, find the requested material, review it, eradicate non-releasable portions, then prepare a reply for transmission. Your suggestion to fill out a form today is (I assume in jest) but very counter productive to getting what you request promptly.
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The suggestion was somewhat in jest, but letting people know the contact points for FOIA requests doesn't seem like a bad idea to me. If FOIA is creating the log jams you're suggesting, then maybe the government should look for better solutions.
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