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The Information and Access Program focuses on defending and advancing the public's right to know. Unfortunately access to government information is under near constant attack. This program tracks and analyzes policies that affect the public's right to know and works to improve them. Our goal is to increase the quality of, access to, and use of government information.

Information & Access News for 2005. For news from previous years, see the Archive.

News

Report Documents Political Meddling with Science at EPA 04/29/2008
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists are faced with widespread political interference that has significantly increased under the Bush administration, a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows. Hundreds of the scientists surveyed (60 percent) reported some degree of political meddling, ranging from unnecessary delays to forced resignations. Read More

Bill Requires Disclosure of Product Defects 04/29/2008
In an effort to improve transparency following litigation on defective products, the House last week introduced the Sunshine in Litigation Act (H.R. 5884). Read More

EPA Submits Plan for Re-Opening Libraries 04/15/2008
Responding to congressional demands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is re-opening libraries that the agency closed over the past several years. However, it appears that the content of the libraries will be more limited, and the facilities will be subject to stricter central supervision, raising concerns from critics about the role politics will play. Read More

Problems Disclosed on Classification Procedures at Intelligence Agencies 04/15/2008
A recent report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) reviews the classification procedures at eight agencies and finds significant problems, which unnecessarily complicate classification procedures and inhibit the free flow of information. Read More

New OMB Watch Report Unveils Top Five Open Government Questions for Candidates 03/19/2008
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2008—OMB Watch today released a report that names the top five open government questions that Americans would like candidates for federal office to answer before the November elections. Top Open Government Questions for Candidates, based on a survey of more than 2,000 people, was released in conjunction with Sunshine Week. Read More

House Passes Compromise FISA Bill 03/18/2008
The House recently rejected the president's request to pass and send to the White House a Senate bill to extend surveillance authority and grant telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for assisting in wiretapping. Instead, on March 14, the House passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 3773), which rejects immunity for telecommunications companies and imposes stronger civil liberties safeguards. Read More

Sunshine Week Arrives 03/18/2008
The week of March 17 marks the third annual national Sunshine Week, a nonpartisan campaign to promote openness in government and access to public records. Read More

EPA Blasted for Library Closings 03/18/2008
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was blasted in both judicial and congressional forums for closing seven of its libraries over the past several years. In a Feb. 15 ruling, a federal arbitrator found EPA guilty of unfair labor practices with respect to the closings. One month later, Congress heard testimony from several sources, including the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that EPA's library restructuring plan was poorly conceived, planned, and implemented. Read More

Pressure Flushes CDC Report Out of Hiding 03/18/2008
In response to allegations of suppression of science, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a draft report that the agency will continue to modify due to CDC concerns that the report too closely links environmental pollution with adverse health effects in the Great Lakes region. Read More

EPA Releases 2006 TRI Data 03/04/2008
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 2006 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data on Feb. 21. This is the fastest data release in the history of the program, although it still constitutes more than a year of lag time from the period the data refers to, and it still takes four months longer than Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory. The 2006 data, which marks the first year that facilities are allowed to stop detailed reporting on chemical waste of less than 5,000 pounds, indicates that nationwide, 4.25 billion pounds of toxic pollution were released, which was a two percent decrease from 2005. Read More

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