USA Today, March 16, 2008
By Matt Kelley

Rules imposed by President Bush have improved federal agencies' responses to requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act, but a huge backlog of unanswered requests remains, says a study to be released today.

The study from the National Security Archive at George Washington University says Bush's 2005 order helped streamline the processing of requests under FOIA, the 1967 law which allows citizens access to information in government files. Some agencies have made little progress because the order doesn't include penalties for poor performance or increased funding to process requests, the report says.

"Many of the same old scofflaw agencies are still shirking their responsibilities to the public," archive director Tom Blanton said.

The backlog of pending requests dropped 2%, to 212,000 from 217,000, from the end of 2005 through last Oct. 1, the report says. About a third of agencies with backlogs saw those backlogs grow, including several where progress on answering older requests was offset by a surge of new requests, the report says.

"The order was only a small step for open government," Meredith Fuchs, the archive's top lawyer, said in a statement. The study was paid for by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, an organization started by newspaper publishers that works to improve journalism and access to government information.

The Bush order set up chief FOIA officers at 90 federal agencies and required those agencies to enact plans to improve their processing of requests. The archive, which sent requests to all 90 agencies, said almost all of the government workers handling its requests were courteous and helpful.

The report criticizes the Treasury Department for repeatedly asking people who filed requests to reaffirm their interest in receiving the information requested.

Information officers at the CIA and Transportation Department didn't respond to phone calls about the status of requests, the report says.

The head of a Justice Department office that advises agencies on how to respond to FOIA requests said the study showed the government is becoming more responsive.

"That many agencies have made significant improvements without additional funding is a real credit to the professionals who work there," said Melanie Pustay, head of the department's Office of Information and Privacy. "Obviously, though, backlog reduction is an area that continued to need attention."

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