Freedom of Information

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Obama Administration to Continue Extraordinary Rendition Program, Promises Oversight

Aug 25, 2009 by Roger Strother*

On Aug. 24, President Obama’s Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies released an announcement that upholds a controversial policy concerning the interrogation of terrorism suspects known as extraordinary rendition. To the chagrin of the human rights community, the administration has determined that it will continue the practice of sending these individuals to third countries for detention and interrogation.

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Taskforce Deadline for CUI Review Quickly Approaching

Aug 13, 2009 by Roger Strother*

August 27 is the deadline for completion of recommendations to be made by an interagency taskforce assigned by the president that address the issue of secrecy labeling in the federal government. No indication as of yet as to what those recommendations may contain. As part of our effort to educate the government and the public on the importance of this issue, we interviewed several experts about the key questions.

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Administration Believes State Secrets is a Constitutional Privilege

Aug 4, 2009 by Roger Strother*

Last week, the Obama administration quietly filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court that gives us a glimpse into the president’s interpretation of executive branch power. Seemingly seeking to expand and protect this power, the administration argued that the state secrets privilege is “constitutionally rooted.”

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Court Rules that CIA Committed Fraud in State Secrets Case

On July 20, a federal district court judge ruled that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) committed fraud while attempting to get a fifteen-year-old case dismissed on state secrets grounds.

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White House Refuses to Release Visitor Logs

On July 22, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for withholding White House visitor logs. The logs pertain to individuals who visited the White House to discuss health care policy. Some see the administration’s refusal to disclose the logs as a continuation of Bush administration secrecy.

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OMB Watch Submits Recommendations on Handling Sensitive, Unclassified Information

On July 8, OMB Watch released a report that explores the impact of secrecy labeling practices within the federal government. The report, Controlled Unclassified Information: Recommendations for Information Control Reform, was submitted to the newly formed presidential task force established to review current policies and to reform the overuse of Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) control markings.

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New Report Shines Light on Secrecy Labeling of Government Information

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2009—Today, OMB Watch published a report that explores the impacts of secrecy labeling practices within the federal government. The report, Controlled Unclassified Information: Recommendations for Information Control Reform, shines a light on how government withholds unclassified information from the American people and offers recommendations on how to balance the need to protect sensitive materials with the duty to disclose information to the public.

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Chemical Security Legislation Begins to Move Through Congress

The House Homeland Security Committee passed legislation June 23 that would greatly reduce the risks and consequences of a terrorist attack on a chemical facility. The bill also includes small but important improvements in the accountability of the nation's chemical security program. However, industry-sponsored amendments and the continued risk of excessive secrecy during implementation diminish the value of the bill.

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Open Government Directive Experiment Wraps up July 6

On Monday, July 6, the Obama administration plans to conclude the third and final phase of its innovative online process to solicit public participation in the creation of an Open Government Directive. The process is the first of its kind for public involvement in executive branch policymaking.

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Chemical Security Bill Withstanding Industry Assault

Jun 19, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

Today the House Homeland Security Committee continues its deliberations on a bill that improves security and accountability at chemical facilities. The bill, which would reauthorize and greatly enhance existing security procedures for chemical plants, has so far weathered well the repeated attacks by committee Republicans to gut it.

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more resources

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

Obama Administration to Continue Extraordinary Rendition Program, Promises Oversight

Aug 25, 2009 by Roger Strother*

Taskforce Deadline for CUI Review Quickly Approaching

Aug 13, 2009 by Roger Strother*

Administration Believes State Secrets is a Constitutional Privilege

Aug 4, 2009 by Roger Strother*

Court Rules that CIA Committed Fraud in State Secrets Case

White House Refuses to Release Visitor Logs

OMB Watch Submits Recommendations on Handling Sensitive, Unclassified Information

New Report Shines Light on Secrecy Labeling of Government Information

Chemical Security Legislation Begins to Move Through Congress

Open Government Directive Experiment Wraps up July 6

Chemical Security Bill Withstanding Industry Assault

Jun 19, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

Pages

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us