The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has been strongly criticized for its overuse of secrecy and lack of transparency, is now pushing to lock down information among congressional offices. DHS officials have asked congressional aides to sign nondisclosure agreements that would prohibit them from publicly disclosing information from DHS even though the information is unclassified.

In three separate cases in the past month, agency scientists have claimed that government agency officials have suppressed or softened their scientific findings, allowing policies harmful to public health and the environment to be carried out despite scientific evidence of their potential harm. Antidepressants and Vioxx

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced an amendment to the Senate intelligence reform bill that would heighten government secrecy and threaten civil liberties. The amendment seeks to build upon the secret surveillance powers granted to the government under the Patriot Act. Kyl Amendment

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee blasted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week for urging drug companies to withhold information on the efficacy of antidepressants used on children. The controversy comes just as patient advocacy groups, the American Medical Association, and a dozen medical journal editors are calling on pharmaceutical companies to register their clinical trials in order to meet increasing public demand for information on the effectiveness and safety of drugs. Lack of Information on Clinical Trials Leads to Use of Ineffective Drugs