Palmer on Freedom of Information Act Abuses

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Gary Palmer, a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, participated in a hearing concerning abuse of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and says the following:

"Congress created the Freedom of Information Act because, as Justice Brandeis believed, sunlight is one of the best disinfectants. FOIA was intended to be a tool to be used by everyday citizens and the media to hold their Government accountable, simply by making most government documents available upon request.

"However, as today's hearing demonstrated, the public has not been afforded the full benefit of the law. Instead, they have faced unlawful denials, delays and stonewalling. This problem has been ongoing for some time, but it has accelerated under the Obama Administration. At the end of fiscal year 2014, nearly 160,000 requests were reported as backlogged. Even when documents are provided, they are often heavily redacted in ways that violate both the spirit and letter of the law.

"Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said ‘Excessive secrecy has significant consequences for the national interest when, as a result, policymakers are not fully informed, government is not held accountable for its actions, and the public cannot engage in informed debate.' I could not agree more. A culture of secrecy has seized the federal bureaucracy. Congress should work to change this culture through aggressive oversight and revisions to the law to ensure there is less abuse of the process."

Today's hearing focused on requesters of documents through FOIA. A subsequent hearing will follow tomorrow that will focus on Administration officials charged with administrating FOIA. A video of Congressman Palmer's Testimony is available below:

https://youtu.be/QQGMcRoUCXw

For any additional questions, contact:
Cliff Smith, (202) 225-4921, clifford.smith@mail.house.gov