This is absolutely bizarre. The Department of Homeland Security says it is an invasion of privacy to publish the office phone numbers of their public information officers — you know, the people they designate to answer questions for the public and the press.
Some federal agencies post the office phone numbers of public affairs staff on their websites.
Not the Department of Homeland Security, which believes their release poses “a clearly unwarranted invasion” of employee privacy.
That was the department’s response when it denied a Federal Times Freedom of Information Act request for the office phone numbers of its official spokesman. Personal privacy exemptions to FOIA are more commonly used to block disclosure of personnel or medical files.
DHS’ response typifies what many see as the Obama administration’s unfulfilled promise to shed more light on government operations through FOIA, the key federal open records law.
The day after President Obama took office in January 2009, he directed agencies to “adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure” when responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.
“I just can’t say that I’ve seen the kind of changes I expected,” Anne Weismann, chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, said last week. “It’s been a big disappointment.”
At Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Executive Director Jeff Ruch said his organization files a new lawsuit roughly every three weeks to force agencies to release records. In general, Ruch said, the administration has been leading by “aspiration instead of perspiration.
“They’ll put out a lofty memo, but take no steps to make sure that people are following the memo,” Ruch said.
As someone who talks to PIOs all the time, I find this absolutely baffling.
6 comments
Skip to comment form ↓
slc1
October 14, 2011 at 10:27 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And, of course, the lamestream media will never raise this issue with the president at a news conference.
joshuaz
October 14, 2011 at 10:30 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Interesting bit from the article:
In a March report that surveyed the FOIA performance of 25 agencies, OMB Watch found agencies granted all information requests — without any redactions — 48 percent of the time. That ended a seven-year stretch in which agencies approved increasingly fewer requests.
But that 48 percent figure is far below the average for the final years of the Clinton administration, when requesters received everything they sought more than 70 percent of the time.
So this administration is doing better than Bush but not nearly as well as Clinton. That’s an important distinction since a lot of people seem to like claiming that Obama is doing as badly as Bush. By this metric he is more transparent.
Of course, part of the real problem here is that as Ed’s headline reflects, this administration promised so much more and has done so little.
ManOutOfTime
October 14, 2011 at 11:46 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Transparently Kafkaesque!
Pierce R. Butler
October 14, 2011 at 12:03 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Wonderfully reassuring to hear that the Department of Home Snoopery places such an absolute premium on Americans’ right to privacy!
Has anyone filed an FOIA request to find out which agencies open what kind of folders on those who file FOIA requests?
fastlane
October 14, 2011 at 12:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And how does the Department of the Fatherland feel about unwarranted wiretaps on the proles??
wheatdogg
October 15, 2011 at 2:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
MEMO
To: American public
From: DHS
RE: PIO accessibility
Henceforth, federal Public Information Officers will only speak to the public when they damn well feel like it.
Thank you for your understanding.