Sunshine Week sheds light on open government

When it comes to government, none of us can do it alone. In fact, we must depend on others -- our elected officials -- to reach decisions that will affect us all in the most positive way possible.

Working together, making our opinions known, reaching a consensus and hammering out public policy -- we are blessed with a system of government that works just that way, when it is working correctly.

But withhold information, squelch discussion and smother dissent, and the system breaks down. Only when all sides of an issue receive a full and fair airing is there a chance that the best solution to a problem will be found.

Those are a few of the reasons that The Associated Press and several other media organizations are conducting the national Sunshine Week beginning Sunday, to spotlight the problem of increased secrecy in government.

Under the 38-year-old Freedom of Information Act, the federal government is supposed to share its records with the public, except when secrecy is necessary to protect national security, or the privacy of individuals or businesses.

But, thanks to post-September 11 and other measures, government secrecy has become more and more the norm. And it's not just news organizations that are feeling the pinch. In fact, while the total number has increased, most requests under the Freedom of Information Act are made by private individuals, especially those requesting information from the Social Security administration or Veterans Administration.

The government is becoming more and more tight-lipped, according to an Associated Press story to be released Monday.

According to the story, the percentage of requested information that is eventually released in full has been declining since 1998 at the Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Interior, State, Transportation and Treasury departments.

At the CIA, just 12 percent of the FOIA requests were granted in 2004, down from 44 percent in 1998. The FBI complied with requests completely just 1 percent of the time in 2004, compared to 5 percent in 1998.

But there are more local manifestations of increased secrecy, such as HIPAA -- the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act -- placing restrictions on the way small-town residents, for example, can find out about their friends and neighbors. One newspaper, in fact, was even told it couldn't be told the location of a fire because of HIPAA rules!

Yes, in the age of the Internet and terrorism, there are real concerns about privacy and national security. But only if we allow overly restrictive rules to erode our free and open society will the terrorists win.