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4.8 Million Security Clearances: A Symptom of Excessive Secrecy

Nearly 5 million people are cleared for access to our government’s protected information. That’s certainly a lot, considering Executive Order 12968 instructs agencies to keep clearances for access to classified information to a minimum. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, asked the Government Accountability Office to shed some light on how the clearance designations were made. GAO’s answer? Inconsistently and sometimes, incorrectly. But what’s missing from the GAO’s recommendations for a more effective and efficient security clearance system is the role of overclassification.

07/27/2012

Intell Comittees' Leak Proposal Ignores the Source

Steve Aftergood over at Secrecy News has posted a great write-up and analysis of the proposal to handle unauthorized leaks of national security information that the leadership of the Intelligence Committees' plans to attach to the Fiscal Year (FY) Intelligence Authorization bill. The proposal will be a part of the Senate version of the bill, which will be released in full as early as Friday, July 27.

07/26/2012

No Complete Record of FOIA Processing Available Until 2014

Anyone who wants to compile a complete record of the federal government's record of processing FOIA requests over the last decade will have to wait until 2014 to get access to information about the President's Office of Administration (OA) currently held at the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

07/19/2012

Reps Launch New Effort to Free CRS Reports

On July 10, Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ) introduced a bill, H.Res 727, that would give the public access to widely distributed reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

07/11/2012

"New" McCain Cybersecurity Bill Just as Bad on FOIA as Old Version

Last week Senator McCain and his fellow cosponsors of S. 2151, Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education, Information, and Technology Act (SECURE IT) announced the introduction of S.3342, a "retooled" version of the bill. Despite some changes to the bill that backers say is intended to address concerns with the earlier version, it still threatens privacy and civil liberties, and guts the public's right to information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

07/03/2012

Oh, the Places FOIA'll Go - Freedom of Information Law Turns 46

This 4th of July marks the 46th anniversary of the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA is a bedrock law of democracy: it allows citizens to find out what the government is doing, and to hold officials accountable for their actions. In just the last year, people have used records handed over as a result of a FOIA request to shed light on the the Federal Bureau of Investigation's secret surveillance letters, the government's actions leading up to and as a result of the 9/11 attacks, words the Department of Homeland Security monitors on social media sites, misleading information in the FBI's 'domestic terrorism' training material on activists, and countless other important issues. But as we honor FOIA's past, we want to also share some thoughts on FOIA's future.

06/26/2012

Fulfilling GAO.gov’s Potential

Open government is about more than open information, just as accessibility is about more than availability. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’ investigative arm, produces reports full of information about how the government is doing its job and recommendations for improving performance but its website’s busy structure and lack of navigability fails to serve its openness and accountability agenda.

06/26/2012

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same? State Secrets

In September 2009 Attorney General Holder announced a new State Secrets policy that we and others in the openness and accountability community welcomed as an important step towards placing some much needed checks and balances on the use of the privilege. Even as we cheered the announcement, though, we noted that critical questions remained about how the policy would be implemented and judicial review of claims was still necessary. More than two years into the policy's implementation, we are beginning to get a sense of some of those answers. And it does not look good for open and accountable government.

06/22/2012

Rushing Leaks Legislation through Congress Threatens Openness and Accountability

UPDATED: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advocates for open and accountable government are warning the leadership of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees not to follow through on their current plan to rush a bill to address recent leaks of classified national security information. Doing so would run a real risk of writing into law policies that not only do not work but also endanger other critical national priorities.

06/13/2012

Congress and the Public Should Think Long and Hard about How to Handle Leaks of Classified Info

In response to recent leaks of highly-classified national security information, the leadership of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees have announced that they are working together to develop legislation that gives the federal government the tools it needs to stop leaks. The legislation will be added to the Senate's version of the annual intelligence authorization bill, and -- as the House already passed its version of the authorization bill -- be included in the final conference package that will be sent to the President before the end of the session. While Congress' goal of doing something to protect the US' legitimate secrets is honorable, their strategy for getting the bill to the President as quickly as possible could end up producing legislation that hurts other critical national interests.

06/07/2012

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