federal agencies fall short of the requirements of the Freedom of Info Act

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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Sunshine_Week_Delays.html

Sunday, March 12, 2006 · Last updated 9:18 a.m. PT

AP review: Gov't missing deadlines, limits

By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP NATIONAL WRITER

Many federal agencies fall far short of the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, repeatedly failing to meet reporting deadlines while citizens wait ever longer for documents, an Associated Press review has found.

Requests for information ranging from historical records to federal contracts usually take months and sometimes take years to be filled; most departments missed the Feb. 1 deadline to send legally required annual reports to the Justice Department (and many still haven't been submitted) and the Justice Department hasn't produced an annual summary of FOIA reports for two years.

"Federal FOIA is the water torture. It's just drip, drip, drip. You wait and you wait and you wait," said Charles Davis who heads the National FOI Coalition.

The Freedom of Information Act, signed 40 years ago by President Johnson, dictates that federal records must be shared with the public unless they involve national security or private information about an individual or business.

Johnson's statement at the signing - "A democracy works best when the people have all the information that the security of the Nation permits" - has been echoed repeatedly by lawmakers in both parties in recent years, who have updated the law periodically with deadlines and restrictions to prompt quicker responses.