[Mb-civic] Report Shows Bush Increasing Government Secrecy

[The Daily Mislead]

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THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< www.Misleader.org >
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NEW REPORT SHOWS BUSH INCREASING GOVERNMENT SECRECY

President Bush has said that he wants to "create a culture of
transparency"[1] in government, but according to a new report to be released
today by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), his administration is going to
extraordinary lengths to increase government secrecy.

The Waxman report is consistent with earlier signs that the Bush
administration is doing everything it can to limit the amount of information
the public can get from its government. Last month, a coalition of 30
organizations issued a report saying "Secrecy has increased dramatically in
recent years under the policies of the current administration." The report
found that "the number of documents being classified has jumped 40 percent
from 2001" and that the number of documents declassified in 2003 was about
one fifth the amount declasssified in 1997. The result "is an increasing
backlog of requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act."[2]

To find Waxman's full report see both his personal office website,[3] and
the House Government Reform Committee's Minority website[4] today.


Sources:

1. "President Bush Remarks at Summit of the Americas Ceremony,"
WhiteHouse.gov, 1/12/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1136375&l=55430.
2. "White House takes secrecy to new levels, coalition reports," San
Francisco Chronicle, 8/27/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1136375&l=55431.
3. Website of Representative Henry Waxman, 9/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1136375&l=55432.
4. Government Reform Minority Office Website, 9/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1136375&l=55433.


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