The New Dark Age

Archive findings show agencies lagged in fulfilling Obama orders: “A for effort, Incomplete for results,” says Archive director
For more information contact:
Tom Blanton – 202/994-7000

www.nsarchive.org/NSAEBB/NSAEBB308/index.htm

Washington, DC, March 16, 2010 – Marking Sunshine Week and James Madison’s birthday, celebrated as Freedom of Information Day, President Obama today called for redoubled efforts towards more open government, while his chief of staff and White House counsel specifically directed agencies to revise their Freedom of Information guidance and practice towards greater disclosure.

The President’s statement that “our work is not done” recognized the same reality found by the National Security Archive’s FOIA Audit released earlier this week, that federal agencies were lagging behind White House leadership on fulfilling the orders and directives on FOIA issued by President Obama on his first day in office, and by Attorney General Holder during last year’s Sunshine Week.

“The Obama administration deserves an A for effort,” commented National Security Archive director Tom Blanton, “but an Incomplete for results. We concluded it’s too soon for a final judgment, that some agencies were achieving best practice, but most agencies had yet to walk the walk.”

Blanton noted that the Archive’s audit specifically called for continued pressure and leadership, both inside and outside government. “Today’s statements from the White House, and yesterday’s speech from the Attorney General, send a clear message to the agencies,” said Blanton. “That’s one of the key factors we’ve found over years of experience that make a difference in how agencies treat the public.”

The White House memorandum from Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Counsel Bob Bauer should be particularly helpful since one of the Archive’s audit findings was that only a minority of agencies had already updated their FOIA materials in response to the Obama and Holder memos.

Follow the link below for more information:

www.nsarchive.org/NSAEBB/NSAEBB308/index.htm

For more on the White House reaction to Sunshine Week, see The White House Blog:

www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/15/sunshine-over-washington-dc

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THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.