We’re glad to see that OGIS has begun posting its “Final Response Letters”, in which the office explains what FOIA requesters have sought from agencies, what OGIS has done to help requesters, and how agencies have reacted. Although OGIS has…
FOIA, reforming FOIA
Encourage support for FOIA reform
by Rick Blum •
When the Senate reconvenes after the August recess it should quickly act on a bill authored by a bipartisan pair of FOIA champions in the Senate that would strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The bill, S. 2520, the FOIA…
National Security Reporting, Unauthorized Disclosures
DNI’s media policy is a new gag order that cuts the flow of news
by Rick Blum •
The Sunshine in Government Initiative strongly objects to Intelligence Community Directive 119 (ICD 119), which bans all but pre-approved contacts between the intelligence community and journalists and others who disseminate news and analysis. The Directive has the practical effect of…
National Security Reporting, Unauthorized Disclosures
SSCI’s Cybersecurity Bill Would Chill News Reporting
by Rick Blum •
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014 (CISA), released as a draft by Chairman Dianne Feinstein on June 17 and soon to be considered by the Senate Intelligence Committee, would threaten the flow of accurate news and information to the…
Congress, FOIA, reforming FOIA
Leahy-Cornyn bill gives FOIA reform a boost
by Rick Blum •
Prospects for a new round of reforms of FOIA just got brighter as Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) introduced legislation to strengthen FOIA on June 24. The bill contains important, commonsense changes to strengthen transparency of the…
FOIA
FOIA helps journalists show problems at VA go back years
by Rick Blum •
Current headlines describing backlogs and long wait times at Veterans Affairs clinics are nothing new to the journalists who have used FOIA to document them. In 2005, Knight Ridder reporters Chris Allen and Alison Young documented lengthy backlogs of benefits…