February 07, 2008

NY Times Calls for Restoration of FOIA Ombuds

An opinion piece in today's New York Times calls on Congress to resist the President's efforts to eliminate the newly-created Ombuds for Freedom of Information Act disputes.

Rather than fulfilling Congress’s bipartisan mandate to establish the ombudsman at the respected National Archives, the Bush budget attempts a shell-game switch of the new watchdog to the Department of Justice. Mediator? This is the very administration-friendly agency already responsible for defending agencies against lawsuits by citizens denied their information requests.
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The ombudsman’s independence is at the heart of repairing the information law. Congress must strike down the president’s end-run and keep the new watchdog at the National Archives, alert to the public’s understandable suspicions about its government.

(
NY Times.)

Prior post: Bush Defunds FOIA Ombuds Program.

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