Agencies Let in the Sun

By Charles S. Clark

Sunshine Week is associated with the loose league of nonprofits, libraries and news organizations known as the open government community. But this year the Obama administration appears to be joining in the celebration, with the Office of Personnel Management and the Justice Department both offering new Freedom of Information Act tools.

OPM on Monday offered guidance on job classifications for employees administering FOIA, and Justice launched an all-FOIA website. "Select any agency and you'll see top-line data, like the number of requests for the most recent year and the number of total and partial grants made," boasted Melanie Ann Pustay, director of Justice's Office of Information Policy.