BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (720 words)
High secrecy comes at a high price in dollars and democracy
FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
(MCT)
Last year our government spent $6.5 billion — or $22 for every woman, man and child in the United States — to classify and secure its millions of accumulated secrets. That is 60 percent more than it spent just two years before, and the most it has spent on secrecy for at least the past decade — not even counting the cost of keeping the CIAís extensive records secret. Sorry, the CIA keeps that figure classified.
Now suppose you work for the government and know every memo you stamp as secret costs taxpayers roughly $459 to store and secure. Would you think of the costs before slamming your ìsecretî stamp to the paper? If the cost does not give you pause, would you consider that your secret stamp may keep your memo from the eyes of those who could take action and potentially save lives? Too often it seems the roughly 4,000 individuals in the federal government who create classified documents routinely disregard such questions.
Excessive secrecy is so widespread that government officials appeared before Congress and flat out acknowledged the problem.
One Defense Department official estimated half of all information currently classified should be available to the public. Another said, and I quote, ìIt is no secret that government classifies too much information.î
This includes old or insignificant documents; details that potentially could embarrass or incriminate agency officials or their bosses; and even jokes, such as an item in a decades-old memo describing a fictional plot against Santa Claus.
Of course many secrets are justified and necessary, especially post 9/11. We would not want our enemies to know the identities of intelligence agents, or the combinations for locks to dams or gates at chemical plants. The public should know the extent and nature of the problems, so they can make responsible decisions to protect their families and communities.
As the 9/11 Commission and Congress found, one of the most powerful weapons we have against harm by crime, carelessness or catastrophe is an informed public. Armed with the right information, the public — along with a free press — can direct attention and resources to problems and hold our leaders accountable. Access to the needed facts allows independent watchdog groups, news media and whistleblowers to provide public scrutiny of nursing homes, foster care, highway safety, consumer and environmental protection, and more.
That is why public demand for information from government agencies continues to rise with more than 3 million requests under the Freedom of Information Act last year alone. The number of requests nearly quadrupled in the last six years. Yet resources devoted to handling requests have held steady.
Instead of pushing to declassify more information and share it among government agencies and the public, the executive branch is doing the opposite, spending a mere $1 to release old secrets in 2003 for every $120 it spent to maintain secrets already on the books.
Congress should now follow the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and act quickly to end classification abuse and encourage greater transparency. The Restore Open Government Act of 2004, introduced Sept. 14, would implement several key reforms and be a good start.
Separate legislation with bipartisan support would establish a board to hear appeals of agency decisions to classify documents. Thatís another step in the right direction.
Openness, not secrecy, makes our democracy and economy strong. Information in the right hands can produce medical breakthroughs, advance technology, apprehend criminals, and make us safer, healthier and more productive. At best, excessive secrecy is an abuse of the fundamental trust that the public places in government. At worst, it puts uncounted lives and communities at risk, and wastes billions of taxpayersí dollars.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Rick Blum coordinates OpenTheGovernment.org, a coalition of more than 30 organizations concerned about rising government secrecy. Readers may write to him at: OMB Watch, 1742 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20009, or via e-mail at blumr@ombwatch.org.
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© 2004, OMB Watch
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