SGI Recommends First Steps for FOIA Ombudsman

The National Archives and Records Administration should use resources when allocated from Congress for the new Office of Government Information Services to strengthen public trust in federal agencies' responses to Freedom of Information Act requests and cultivate a reputation for fairness in helping resolve disputes over government documents, according to recommendations released today from the Sunshine in Government Initiative.

Read the press release. SGI also summarizes the full set of recommendations. 2008-04-18

U.S. Representatives Boucher, Pence receive SGI's Sunshine Award

On April 15th, tax day for most Americans, SGI honored Representatives Rick Boucher of Virginia and Mike Pence of Indiana for their commitment and work to strengthen accountability and openness in government. The coalition presented its 2008 Sunshine Award during a ceremony at the joint convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and Newspaper Association of America in Washington, DC. Representatives Boucher and Pence have strongly pushed for a federal shield law to protect a reporter's sources. For more, read about the award & past recipients as well as the full release (pdf).

2008-04-15

Leahy & Cornyn Push Congress to Be Open About New FOIA Carve-outs

In the days before Sunshine Week, Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX), in many respects the generals leading the charge for open government, have introduced the OPEN FOIA Act, which pushes Congress to clearly disclose any legislation that would put information beyond the public's reach through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

With over 30 bills affecting government transparency in the 110th Congress thus far, some provisions would make documents secret without anyone noticing and no public debate. In fact, finding these provisions early enough engage in a discussion about them can be full-time work.

"Either poorly drafted or intentionally stuck in the darks corners of legislation, these ideas need to be vetted carefully," said SGI coordinator Rick Blum. "Some get shot down quickly, others are rewritten to be less damaging. But some still sneak through, I'm sure. The OPEN FOIA Act would help the public at least find these secrecy proposals so we can at a minimum discuss and debate them openly."