[Infowarrior] - FOIA watchdogs: Exemptions up 33 percent under Obama

[Richard Forno]

(c/o jh)

FOIA watchdogs: Exemptions up 33 percent under Obama
By SEAN REILLY | Last Updated:December 15, 2011

http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20111215/AGENCY04/112150302/

Some federal agencies are relying more heavily on exemptions to
withhold information under the Freedom of Information Act, two
watchdog groups said in an analysis released Thursday.

The study examined FOIA performance at 15 major agencies in fiscal
2008 and 2010. It found the nine statutory exemptions were used 33
percent more often in fiscal 2010 — the first full fiscal year under
President Obama — than in fiscal 2008, the last full year of President
Bush's administration.

Without changes to the "culture of secrecy" still prevalent at many
agencies, the Obama administration will fail to meet its goal of being
the most transparent and accountable in history, said Anne Weismann,
chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
(CREW), which produced the report with OpenTheGovernment.org. The
Justice Department, which sets FOIA policy for the rest of the
government, was one of the agencies citing some exemptions more
frequently, the study found. The Treasury Department showed the most
significant decline in its use of exemptions.

The groups found, however, that agencies had generally made major
progress in cutting their FOIA request backlogs, with the cumulative
total dropping from about 126,200 at the end of fiscal 2008 to 64,500
at the same point in 2010.

At the 15 agencies reviewed, the overall number of requests increased
by 11 percent during the two-year period. In an e-mail, Justice
Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona called it unsurprising that
agencies would assert more exemptions as more requests are processed.
She also said agencies are increasing the number of requests in which
they release at least some information, as opposed to making full
denials.

The analysis also questioned the accuracy of the data that the
government uses to assess agencies' handling of FOIA requests. The
average processing times published in the Interior Department's 2010
annual report, for example, were contradicted by figures listed on
FOIA.gov, an online clearinghouse Justice launched in March , the
study found.

Justice had already found and corrected some of the problems flagged
in the report, Talamona said. At the same time, she said, the
department "recognizes that the [FOIA.gov] site is new and evolving
and is committed to making improvements."

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