Lieberman speaks up for Sunshine in Government:
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Lieberman last
week provided the most detailed critique of Bush Administration
secrecy policy yet offered by any presidential contender, and
proposed a plan outlining specifically how he would tear down
what he called the "Bush wall of secrecy."
Under President Bush, "the federal government--which is supposed
to be 'of, by, and for the people'--is doing more and more of
its own business in the shadows," Lieberman noted in a January
9 statement.
Bush Administration secrecy is "eroding the public's confidence
in their leadership and making it harder for independent
watchdogs to hold our government accountable," he said.
Sen. Lieberman outlined what he would do differently as
President, beginning with a reversal of many of the secrecy
positions advanced by the Bush Administration.
He would annul the October 2001 Ashcroft memorandum of Freedom
of Information Act policy, which encouraged agencies to
withhold information whenever legally possible. He would
"commit to no more secret task forces," a pointed reference to
Vice President Cheney's controversial closed-door Energy Task
Force.
He would "reverse the Bush executive order on presidential
records," which imposed extraordinary restrictions on public
access to the records of past Administrations. And where the
Bush Administration had moved to purge government web sites, he
would "ensure that key government information that has been
posted on the Internet will remain available to the public."
The most innovative proposal is one to "grade agencies on
fighting secrecy," which is intended to inculcate openness as a
positive value throughout the executive branch. The Lieberman
statement explained:
"In the Bush Administration, secrecy sometimes seems to be a
form of loyalty. Joe Lieberman will require and reward
openness--by mandating that all agency heads establish and
implement an openness plan and then requiring agency officials
to disseminate the most information possible, consistent with
national security. The plans will be audited and scored in
annual Open Government Report Cards," the Lieberman statement
said.
The January 9 Lieberman statement on secrecy almost completely
escaped public and media attention. A copy is available here:
fas.org |
