ACLU Warns Congress on Excessive Secrecy
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2008
10:28 AM
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CONTACT: ACLU
Mandy Simon, 202-675-2312, media@dcaclu.org |
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ACLU Warns Congress on Excessive Secrecy
Says Public Access to Documents Should Be Fiercely Protected
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WASHINGTON, DC - June 11 - At a hearing today, the American Civil Liberties Union told a key House subcommittee that unnecessary obstacles to information sharing at the Department of Homeland Security are clouding government transparency. Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, testified in front of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment regarding recently-introduced legislation entitled “The Improving Public Access to Documents Act of 2008.”
“Government secrecy should be an oxymoron but it instead is increasingly becoming the standard,” said Fredrickson. “Limiting public access to unclassified information impacts all Americans because it strikes at the very heart of an open and vibrant democracy. Documents created at taxpayers’ expense are being hidden from the public. What remains of government accountability is suffering due to excessive secrecy.”
The Bush administration recently released a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies creating a framework for limiting dissemination of information through “controlled unclassified information” (CUI). The “Improving Public Access to Documents Act of 2008” limits the scope of the executive’s recommendations by compelling the DHS to develop policies and programs that regulate the federal government’s dissemination of unclassified documents.
The bill makes clear that controlled unclassified information can be shared with state, local, and tribal governments, the private sector, and the public. The bill ensures public access to such unclassified information through the Freedom of Information Act.
“The public’s access to information should face as few hurdles as possible,” said Fredrickson. “Government transparency is the bedrock of democracy and no administration should have the power to ignore the public’s right to know. We applaud Congresswoman Harman for introducing this important legislation that will ensure the public’s right to information.”
The ACLU’s testimony can be found at: http://www.aclu.org/natsec/gen/35610leg20080611.html
To learn more about the ACLU’s work on government secrecy, go to: www.aclu.org/safeandfree/secrecy
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