Keeping Things Murky

Given the White House preference for secrecy, it comes as no surprise that the rest of government has developed a similar attitude. What comes as a surprise, however, is that federal agencies are doing so in the face of a 1996 law requiring more transparency. From today's Washington Post:

In 1996, Congress intended to keep government ahead of the curve by amending the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to require that agencies put more public information on their Web sites. Posting important and most-requested records online, the theory went, would burn through a raft of hard-copy FOIA requests, save money and eliminate waiting time. ...

A review of 149 federal agencies found that only 1 in 5 posts on its Web site all the records required and that even fewer -- 6 percent -- tell people how to request what does not appear there. Two-thirds do not provide indexes to their major records systems, or they provide guides that are so unclear they are worthless. Only 1 in 4 agencies includes an online FOIA submission form on its Web site.

This failure to comply with the law, advocates of open government say, amounts to another stiff-arm by the executive branch to Congress's demand for greater transparency.

The worst offender of the law? The Defense Department, one of the agencies responsible for the development of the internet. It can hardly claim lack of expertise in website building, so one is left with the conclusion that it deliberately chose not to comply with the e-FOIA of 1996.

Congress might want to look into why federal agencies such as the Defense Department can't comply with federal law.