Resource Center :
Policy :
Policy
This section provides background and analysis of various policies that could restrict the public's access to government information and infringe on their right to know important information.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed by Congress in 1966 and amended in 1974 in order to create an open government. The FOIA applies only to federal agencies and does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Each state has its own public access laws.
Whistleblower Protection
Whistleblowers have been and continue to be extremely useful in revealing illegal or inappropriate government actions. Whistleblowers are modern day heroes of accountability, safeguarding government against corruption and mismanagement, alerting citizens of unseen threats lurking where we least expect it. The only reasonable and responsible government action is to stand along side whistleblowers and protect them as earnestly as they try to protect the government and the people. Unfortunately, many government policies and court decisions have significantly reduced the protections Congress established under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Homeland Security Policies After September 11, the federal government passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the law contains two provisions that could exempt information from public access. Both the Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) and Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) provisions undermine corporate and government accountability and threaten community right-to-know by hiding information from the public about infrastructure vulnerabilities or any other "sensitive" information.
Data Quality Act and Peer Review Bulletin
The Data Quality Act (also known as the Information Quality Act) passed through Congress in Sec. 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554; H.R. 5658). The guidelines, implemented in 2002, could be misused to delay, manipulate, and unfairly affect the outcome of federal agencies' activities.
Access to Judicial Information
Over the years the courts have made many important decisions on government policies of secrecy and information restriction. State courts, U. S. Circuit Courts, and even the Supreme Court offered key rulings on secrecy. These decisions help set boundaries on, as well as create opportunities for, government secrecy. Understanding these rulings and remaining aware of new ones are important tasks for those advocating against government secrecy. Additionally, the use of secrecy in court proceedings is an important issue that has gotten recent attention from advocates.
E-Government
In 2002 the federal government passed and signed into law the E-government Act, which seeks to promote greater use of Internet-based information technology across the federal government. The law authorizes $345 million for an e-government fund over the next four years.
The bill, spearheaded by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), marks the first comprehensive effort aimed directly at dealing with electronic information, covering a wide range of issues such as information security and disaster preparedness, the digital divide and government employee training, and information management and dissemination.
