WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal agencies are struggling to keep up with the growing number of requests for public information, raising questions in Congress about the Obama administration’s dedication to transparency.
The backlog of unfulfilled requests for documents has doubled since President Barack Obama took office, according to a recent report by the Justice Department. The number of requests has also spiked.
“The president has committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee. “But that’s not the case when it comes to filling FOIA requests.”
Chaffetz cited examples of people waiting years for documents only to have their requests denied. In other cases, federal agencies blacked out information that was already public elsewhere. One document produced by the Federal Communications Commission blacked out a press release that had already been publicly released, Chaffetz said.
Chaffetz’ committee wrapped up two days of hearings on the Freedom of Information Act Wednesday, with some Republican members chastising federal officials responsible for disclosing public information.