Advocates urge improvements to FOIA process

Civil libertarians and national security experts told lawmakers Wednesday that the longstanding law that lets citizens request full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased government documents is essential for government accountability.

Caroline Fredrickson, the American Civil Liberties Union's top lobbyist, said in prepared congressional testimony that the Freedom of Information Act is "democracy's X-ray" and is a priceless tool for revealing government waste, fraud, abuse and corruption.

Recent documents uncovered by the ACLU thanks to FOIA showed that the government has been spying on peace groups and torturing detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq, she told the House Government Reform and Oversight Information Policy Subcommittee in a mid-afternoon session.

But Fredrickson said in her statement that FOIA's effectiveness has been undermined by the Bush administration, specifically through an October 2001 directive by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft for agencies to adopt a policy of non-disclosure.

The current White House is "intentionally and improperly shielding itself from public view, using 'national security' as a barrier to prevent Americans from seeing what's happening inside our government," Fredrickson said. She urged Congress to rescind the Ashcroft memorandum and emphasize the presumption toward disclosure.

Meredith Fuchs, general counsel for the National Security Archive, said in her testimony that plenty of good comes from FOIA, but the process is "plagued by inefficiency, delay and sometimes outright obstruction."

FOIA requires agencies to process requests within 20 business days, but a 2003 archive audit identified unprocessed requests as old as 16 years, she said. The examination was repeated two years ago with similar findings.

According to Fuchs' testimony, addressing the delays requires better reporting so problems are identified promptly; improved leadership and tracking of requests by agencies; more resources to handle FOIA requests; and penalties for departments that do not answer requests within the required timeframe.

Clark Hoyt, who testified on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, also had some recommendations. He said a FOIA ombudsman should be created within the federal government to serve as a "champion for FOIA training and compliance [and] a place where individuals seeking to exercise their rights under FOIA can go for help short of filing a lawsuit."

Hoyt's group consists of 10 media groups committed to openness in government. "FOIA has become an essential tool for journalists attempting to find out for the public what the vast and complex federal government is up to," he said.

Subcommittee Chairman William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., called FOIA "one of the cornerstones of our democracy" and said a bill introduced last session provided a "practical and measured approach to remedying problems identified by the requester community."

That measure would have reduced the number of disputed FOIA requests through mediation and improved the information reported by agencies, he said. The bill is "an excellent starting point for legislation this Congress," Clay said.

Linda Koontz, director of information management for the Government Accountability Office, and Melanie Ann Pustay, acting director for the Justice Department's office of information and privacy, also were expected to testify at the hearing.