議会は秘密を逆転させ始める

議会の現在の民主党導かれた会議は業積の平凡なリストだけから年末の休憩を始めたが、より大きい政府の秘密にブッシュ政権のスライドを逆転させ始めた。上下両院は両方手近にこの週立法を情報行為の中央政府自由を増強する承認し、市民に政府がであるものまで知る権利があることを再確認する。

It’s the first major revamping of the FOIA in 10 years and, most important, begins to reestablish the fact that open government is intrinsic to the operations of a successful democracy, an ideal that President Bush and his cohorts dampened in the past seven years.

Foremost in the reforms is an indirect reversal of former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s order in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, in which he instructed federal agencies to lean against releasing information if they were uncertain about how its being made public would impact national security.

We’ve seen too often since then how the Ashcroft order was abused to essentially block citizens and the media from gaining requested information.

The new legislation sets up more responsive guidelines for agencies responding to FOI requests. Most important, it restores the presumption that government information to be released unless there is a specific finding that disclosure would cause harm. Penalties on federal agencies that do not comply with the new rules have been substantially increased.

In addition, the legislation brings nonproprietary information held by government contractors under the FOIA.

Majority Democrats had planned a more expansive rolling back of the Bush secrecy initiatives. However, the party’s slim majorities in both chambers required more compromise with minority Republicans. Still, this strengthening of the FOIA provides a good start to letting the sunshine in which can be built upon in 2008.

http://www.connpost.com/opinion/ci_7774070

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