Editorial: Keeping government open

Friday, March 9, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

Si nce the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the federal government has expanded what it wants kept secret and in the process has trounced on the letter and spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.

In the name of fighting terrorism, the Bush administration has clamped down on releasing information and advised agencies to lower the threshold for keeping documents secret. Now, if there's even a hint of a concern about whether a document should be released, the information is considered confidential.

Also, government officials have used loopholes in laws to ignore, deny or delay public requests for information.

A bill being considered by a House committee, however, would give the Freedom of Information Act a significant and needed revision that would make government more accountable and more transparent.

The bill would mandate that all government documents are presumed open. The government could still claim any number of privacy exemptions - such as those to protect national security, sensitive personnel information and trade secrets - to keep documents confidential, but officials would have to justify their decisions.

It would also order the Government Accountability Office to regularly audit the Homeland Security Department to see if the secrets it is keeping truly deserve secrecy.

There are other needed changes in the bill, such as tightening the requirements for government to respond to requests, holding officials accountable for violating the law and providing an ombudsman to help people solve problems with records requests.

In this Bush era of secrecy, the bill is refreshing. It would help restore the public's right to know. We hope Congress agrees.