FOIA backlog


Some stretches back at least fifteen years
Remember, this is just what they have admitted.

Five agencies have requests for public information that go back 15 years or more, according to a new review from an independent open government group.

Many of the 87 departments and component agencies reviewed face extensive backlogs of requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act, the report from the National Security Archive at George Washington University stated. Some requests to the State Department, CIA, Air Force, Justice Department criminal division and FBI have been pending more than 15 years, the group said.

The review, released in anticipation of the 1967 FOIA law's 40th anniversary on July 4, found that the oldest pending FOIA request was made to the State Department on May 5, 1987, on behalf of the Church of Scientology. The request asked for all documents related to that church or "cults" from the department's offices responsible for the Vatican and Italy. And at least seven pending FOIA requests were made in the 1980s.

"Forty years after the law went into effect, we're seeing twenty years of delay," said Tom Blanton, the Archive's director. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant, but this kind of inexcusable delay by federal agencies just keeps us in the dark."

The report is the result of a set of January 2007 FOIA requests filed by the Archive asking agencies for copies of their 10 oldest pending FOIA requests. Five months later, a third of the agencies had not responded, despite the fact the law requires responses within 20 days.

And politicos wonder why people don't trust government to be honest.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - July 3, 2007 at 11:17 AM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved