Government Secrecy Under Bush *Updated*

[Ant]

This post is a little lengthy, but its worth reading at least the first few paragraphs.  I posted the executive summary of a report by congress entitled 'Secrecy in the Bush Administration.'  Its reports like this one, and others similiar to it that I have pointed out before that explain why so many people are strongly opposed to the Bush Administration.  Many of the people on this board who enjoy criticizing me seem to believe I'm a far left liberal that just hates conservative values, or hates republicans.  That is just not the case, the reason why so many people in this country verge on hatred of this president is for reasons like the one outlined in this report.  Yes you can do a good job of reflecting criticism here and there, and calling reports like this false or exagerated, but eventually when you start to see a wave of information criticizing the president you have to concede that some of the analysis just might be true.  Again, when it comes down to it, all americans are on the same team, contrary to the attitude of many, I don't care if my 'team' wins.  I don't even have a 'team' I'm on.  I just think it is worth it to all of us to be aware of the reasons why Bush may not be what he seems. 

Executive Summary: Secrecy in the Bush Administration

Open and accountable government is one of the bedrock principles of our
democracy. Yet virtually since inauguration day, questions have been raised about
the Bush Administration’s commitment to this principle. News articles and reports
by independent groups over the last four years have identified a growing series of
instances where the Administration has sought to operate without public or
congressional scrutiny.

At the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, this report is a comprehensive
examination of secrecy in the Bush Administration. It analyzes how the
Administration has implemented each of our nation’s major open government laws.
The report finds that there has been a consistent pattern in the Administration’s
actions: laws that are designed to promote public access to information have been
undermined, while laws that authorize the government to withhold information or to
operate in secret have repeatedly been expanded. The cumulative result is an
unprecedented assault on the principle of open government.

The Administration has supported amendments to open government laws to create
new categories of protected information that can be withheld from the public.
President Bush has issued an executive order sharply restricting the public release of
the papers of past presidents. The Administration has expanded the authority to
classify documents and dramatically increased the number of documents classified. It
has used the USA Patriot Act and novel legal theories to justify secret investigations,
detentions, and trials. And the Administration has engaged in litigation to contest
Congress’ right to information.

The records at issue have covered a vast array of topics, ranging from simple census
data and routine agency correspondence to presidential and vice presidential records.
Among the documents that the Administration has refused to release to the public
and members of Congress are (1) the contacts between energy companies and the
Vice President’s energy task force, (2) the communications between the Defense
Department and the Vice President’s office regarding contracts awarded to
Halliburton, (3) documents describing the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib, (4)
memoranda revealing what the White House knew about Iraq’s weapons of mass
destruction, and (5) the cost estimates of the Medicare prescription drug legislation
withheld from Congress.

There are three main categories of federal open government laws: (1) laws that
provide public access to federal records; (2) laws that allow the government to
restrict public access to federal information; and (3) laws that provide for
congressional access to federal records. In each area, the Bush Administration has
acted to restrict the amount of government information that is available.

Laws That Provide Public Access to Federal Records

Beginning in the 1960s, Congress enacted a series of landmark laws that promote
“government in the sunshine.” These include the Freedom of Information Act, the
Presidential Records Act, and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Each of these
laws enables the public to view the internal workings of the executive branch. And
each has been narrowed in scope and application under the Bush Administration.

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act is the primary law providing access to information
held by the executive branch. Adopted in 1966, FOIA established the principle that
the public should have broad access to government records. Under the Bush
Administration, however, the statute’s reach has been narrowed and agencies have
resisted FOIA requests through procedural tactics and delay. The Administration
has:
• Issued guidance reversing the presumption in favor of disclosure and instructing
agencies to withhold a broad and undefined category of “sensitive” information;
• Supported statutory and regulatory changes that preclude disclosure of a wide
range of information, including information relating to the economic, health, and
security infrastructure of the nation; and
• Placed administrative obstacles in the way of organizations seeking to use FOIA
to obtain federal records, such as denials of fee waivers and delays in agency
responses.

Independent academic experts consulted for this report decried these trends. They
stated that the Administration has “radically reduced the public right to know,” that
its policies “are not only sucking the spirit out of the FOIA, but shriveling its very
heart,” and that no Administration in modern times has “done more to conceal the
workings of government from the people.”

The Presidential Records Act

The Presidential Records Act, which was enacted in 1978 in the wake of Watergate,
establishes the important principle that the records of a president relating to his
official duties belong to the American people. Early in his term, President Bush
issued an executive order that undermined the Presidential Records Act by giving
former presidents and vice presidents new authority to block the release of their
records. As one prominent historian wrote, the order “severely crippled our ability to
study the inner workings of a presidency.”

The Federal Advisory Committee Act

The Federal Advisory Committee Act prevents secret advisory groups from
exercising hidden influence on government policy, requiring openness and a balance
of viewpoints for all government advisory bodies. The Bush Administration,
however, has supported legislation that creates new statutory exemptions from
FACA. It has also sought to avoid the application of FACA through various
mechanisms, such as manipulating appointments to advisory bodies, conducting key
advisory functions through “subcommittees,” and invoking unusual statutory
exemptions. As a result, such key bodies as the Vice President’s energy task force
and the presidential commission investigating the failure of intelligence in Iraq have
operated without complying with FACA.

Laws that Restrict Public Access to Federal Records

In the 1990s, the Clinton Administration increased public access to government
information by restricting the ability of officials to classify information and
establishing an improved system for the declassification of information. These steps
have been reversed under the Bush Administration, which has expanded the capacity
of the government to classify documents and to operate in secret.

The Classification and Declassification of Records

The classification and declassification of national security information is largely
governed by executive order. President Bush has used this authority to:

• Reverse the presumption against classification, allowing classification even in
cases of significant doubt;
• Expand authority to classify information for longer periods of time;
• Delay the automatic declassification of records;
• Expand the authority of the executive branch to reclassify information that has
been declassified; and
• Increase the number of federal agencies that can classify information to include
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Agriculture, and
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Statistics on classification and declassification of records under the Bush
Administration demonstrate the impact of these new policies. Original decisions to
classify information — those in which an authorized classifier first determines that
disclosure could harm national security — have soared during the Bush
Administration. In fiscal years 2001 to 2003, the average number of original
decisions to classify information increased 50% over the average for the previous five
fiscal years. Derivative classification decisions, which involve classifying documents
that incorporate, restate, or paraphrase information that has previously been
classified, have increased even more dramatically. Between FY 1996 and FY 2000,
the number of derivative classifications averaged 9.96 million per year. Between FY
2001 and FY 2003, the average increased to 19.37 million per year, a 95% increase.
In the last year alone, the total number of classification decisions increased 25%.

Sensitive Security Information

The Bush Administration has sought and obtained a significant expansion of
authority to make designations of Sensitive Security Information (SSI), a category of
sensitive but unclassified information originally established to protect the security of
civil aviation. Under legislation signed by President Bush, the Department of
Homeland Security now has authority to apply this designation to information
related to any type of transportation.

The Patriot Act

The passage of the Patriot Act after the September 11, 2001, attacks gave the Bush
Administration new authority to conduct government investigations in secret. One
provision of the Act expanded the authority of the Justice Department to conduct
secret electronic wiretaps. Another provision authorized the Justice Department to
obtain secret orders requiring the production of “books, records, papers, documents,
and other items,” and it prohibited the recipient of these orders (such as a telephone
company or library) from disclosing their existence. And a third provision expanded
the use of “sneak and peak” search warrants, which allow the Justice Department to
search homes and other premises secretly without giving notice to the occupants.

Secret Detentions, Trials, and Deportations

In addition to expanding secrecy in government by executive order and statute, the
Bush Administration has used novel legal interpretations to expand its authority to
detain, try, and deport individuals in secret. The Administration asserted the
authority to:
• Hold persons designated as “enemy combatants” in secret without a hearing,
access to a lawyer, or judicial review;
• Conduct secret military trials of persons held as enemy combatants when deemed
necessary by the government; and
• Conduct secret deportation proceedings of aliens deemed “special interest cases”
without any notice to the public, the press, or even family members.

Congressional Access to Federal Records

Our system of checks and balances depends on Congress being able to obtain
information about the activities of the executive branch. When government
operates behind closed doors without adequate congressional oversight,
mismanagement and corruption can flourish. Yet despite Congress’ constitutional
oversight role, the Bush Administration has sharply limited congressional access to
federal records.

GAO Access to Federal Records

A federal statute passed in 1921 gives the congressional Government Accountability
Office the authority to review federal records in the course of audits and
investigations of federal programs. Notwithstanding this statutory language and a
long history of accommodation between GAO and the executive branch, the Bush
Administration challenged the authority of GAO on constitutional grounds, arguing
that the Comptroller General, who is the head of GAO, had no “standing” to enforce
GAO’s right to federal records. The Bush Administration prevailed at the district
court level and GAO decided not to appeal, significantly weakening the authority of
GAO.

The Seven Member Rule

The Bush Administration also challenged the authority of members of the House
Government Reform Committee to obtain records under the “Seven Member Rule,”
a federal statute that requires an executive agency to provide information on matters
within the jurisdiction of the Committee upon the request of any seven of its
members. Although a district court ruled in favor of the members in a case involving
access to adjusted census records, the Bush Administration has continued to resist
requests for information under the Seven Member Rule, forcing the members to
initiate new litigation.

Withholding Information Requested by Congress

On numerous occasions, the Bush Administration has withheld information
requested by members of Congress. During consideration of the Medicare legislation
in 2003, the Administration withheld estimates showing that the bill would cost over
$100 billion more than the Administration claimed. In this instance, Administration
officials threatened to fire the HHS Actuary, Richard Foster, if he provided the
information to Congress. In another case, the Administration’s refusal to provide
information relating to air pollution led Senator Jeffords, the ranking member of the
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, to place holds on the
nominations of several federal officials.
On over 100 separate occasions, the Administration has refused to answer the
inquiries of, or provide the information requested by, Rep. Waxman, the ranking
member of the House Committee on Government Reform. The information that the
Administration has refused to provide includes:
• Documents requested by the ranking members of eight House Committees
relating to the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere;
• Information on contacts between Vice President Cheney’s office and the
Department of Defense regarding the award to Halliburton of a sole-source
contract worth up to $7 billion for work in Iraq; and
• Information about presidential advisor Karl Rove’s meetings and phone
conversations with executives of companies in which he owned stock.

The 9-11 Commission

On November 27, 2002, Congress passed legislation creating the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (commonly known as the
9-11 Commission) as a congressional commission to investigate the September 11
attacks. Throughout its investigation, however, the Bush Administration resisted or
delayed providing the Commission with important information. For example, the
Administration’s refusal to turn over documents forced the Commission to issue
subpoenas to the Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Administration also refused for months to allow Commissioners to review key
presidential intelligence briefing documents.

The Collective Impact

Taken together, the actions of the Bush Administration have resulted in an
extraordinary expansion of government secrecy. External watchdogs, including
Congress, the media, and nongovernmental organizations, have consistently been
hindered in their ability to monitor government activities. These actions have
serious implications for the nature of our government. When government operates
in secret, the ability of the public to hold the government accountable is imperiled.                   

[tommyilromano]

Look at it this way... If Kerry won you would be pretty bored. Imagine not thinking about how much you dislike Bush all day.

[Ant]

The link to the full report is available here:

http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/index.asp

I haven't bothered to read past the executive summary, and probably won't, but who knows maybe some of you will find it interesting. 

[King Tech Quadafi]

Secrets in the white house ant? 

no way I wouldve neva thunk it.

Stop being a puppet

[Rampant]

The link to the full report is available here:
http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/index.asp

no thanks

[7even]

And a third provision expanded
the use of “sneak and peak” search warrants, which allow the Justice Department to
search homes and other premises secretly without giving notice to the occupants.

LoL.

[M Dogg™]

The link to the full report is available here:
http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/secrecy_report/index.asp

no thanks

the .gov means it's an offical government document. That means, wither it's democrat or republican, that it's seen as the truth according to the U.S. gov. Stop being close minded.

[Rampant]

im not close minded. I understand that this stuff goes on. Things like the patriot act are nothing new to me.

[Ant]

Secrets in the white house ant? 

no way I wouldve neva thunk it.

Stop being a puppet

Seriously, I don't know what side of the issues you stand on except that you like being loud-mouthed, and arrogant.  Everyone knows there are secrets in the whitehouse, but our system of government regulates the difference between open and confidential information.  Stop being an idiot. 

[King Tech Quadafi]

I dont have no stand on the issues you talk about, because those are non-issues to me. Youre specific thread is titled "Govt secrecy under Bush" . The purpose of the thread was to villify Bush. This makes you a puppet. Because I dont hear any barking from you about why this system exists that allows for the creation of this kinda shit. Susequently, I dont hear any barking from you about Democrat complicity in this law, I mean they signed up for the Patriot Act. So your whole point is dumb and contradictory. Its like making fun of some ones small dick, when you got one ya self.

[Ant]

Your talking about people having small penises?  Ok let me put it to you like this.  If you want to have an actual conversation, or debate about something don't come at me like a liittle kid that just tosses around insults to make themselves sound hard on an internet board.  Then we can actually talk, and discuss, instead you want to just run your mouth and say I'm smarter than everyone else.

And furthermore, I don't worship democrats, and the problems that exist in their party frustrate me as well.  But the biggest problem in the US government right now, is that we have neocon ideologues in power.  That is what most of my posts are about. I've pointed out that this is a dicussion forum quite a few times now, why don't you take that under consideration, and when you come on here, you come here actually to discuss, instead of coming here to feed your ego.