Open Government Act finally passed by GWB

[GUS]

AT LAST GW BUSH DID SOMETHING GOOD. The Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) has been signed by BUSH and we can depend on an improvement of government openess. Updating FOIA was THANX to Leahy who worked hard helping this legislation win the support of Congress to securie its enactment. According to Leahy:

"The OPEN Government Act will improve the FOIA process by:
Imposing meaningful deadlines on agencies handling information requests;
Establishing a FOIA hotline;
Bringing government records held by private contractors into full public view;
Creating a FOIA Ombudsman to provide an alternative to costly litigation between FOIA requestors and federal agencies; and Allowing federal agencies to waive FOIA fees for freelance journalists and bloggers."

[freewolf46]

AT LAST GW BUSH DID SOMETHING GOOD. The Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) has been signed by BUSH and we can depend on an improvement of government openess. Updating FOIA was THANX to Leahy who worked hard helping this legislation win the support of Congress to securie its enactment. According to Leahy:

"The OPEN Government Act will improve the FOIA process by:
Imposing meaningful deadlines on agencies handling information requests;
Establishing a FOIA hotline;
Bringing government records held by private contractors into full public view;
Creating a FOIA Ombudsman to provide an alternative to costly litigation between FOIA requestors and federal agencies; and Allowing federal agencies to waive FOIA fees for freelance journalists and bloggers."

I haven't read the act so I can not say, but I would suspect that it is more show than anything else. Just from the paragraph you presented, "more meaningful deadlines" might not matter if they also classify more stuff as too much of a threat to security. And the part that says Allowing federal agencies to waive FOIA fees for freelance journalists and bloggers" doesn't mean crap because of the word allow doesn't mean anything if the agencies make the decision. Yes they can allow, but they how many times "will" they?

[lenny]

Yes, "in the interest of national security" is usually just doublespeak for "in the interest of covering up treasonous criminal activity."

If W' signed it then you can bet it's bullshit.

[Bruce McAuley]

And buried in the bones of the legislation will likely be a small catch that says anything the Ombudsman says goes, and WHO gets to appoint the Ombudsman in the first place?
But I'm like Lenny, I don't trust anything Bush signs to be good for the People, just Big Oil and the Have Mores.

Bruce