A joint report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and OpenTheGovernment.org recently highlighted a number of inefficiencies and discrepancies in federal Freedom of Information Act request processing. But according to New York Times staff writer Matthew Wald, this concerning phenomenon is hardly a new development.
In his latest column, Wald provided a prime example of the type of bureaucratic inefficiency that so many have come to associate with Washington. Earlier this month, his office received the final response from the Department of Defense in regards to an FOIA request filed in June 1997.
"The intent of the Freedom of Information Act was to provide citizens, scholars and journalists a window into the workings of their government; but sometimes it seems as though the shades are drawn," Wald wrote.
In a number of cases, these delays are more than simple frustrations. Historical scholars have often had to publish their books without the benefit of the information requested in their FOIA requests, according to Wald, and some open applications were filed by now deceased parties.
CREW, OpenTheGovernment.org and Wald are all in agreement that, if left unresolved, these administrative issues could further the erode the fundamentally democratic ability of citizens to monitor and hold public officials accountable for their actions.
