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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Legislative Update on Homeland Security Act

As Congress wrestles to move along legislation to establish a Department of Homeland Security, the House and the Senate are taking significantly different approaches to information provisions for the new Department.

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Department of Homeland Secrecy

The secrecy proposal began in President Bush’s proposal for the creation of a new Homeland Security Department as a single vague and overly broad sentence describing a new FOIA exemption for information concerning “infrastructure” and “vulnerabilities” that was “voluntarily submitted.” Numerous information provisions which go much further have now been proposed to replace this section of Homeland Security Act.

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Links

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2000 Attack

Official Secrets Act [ OSA Homepage | The Issues | 2001 Attack | Congressional Letter | 2000 Attack | Links ] A Chronology of the 2000 Attack The links below were provided by the Project on Government Secrecy, directed by Steven Aftergood. In response to Section 303 of H.R. 4392, individuals of various organizations generated a sign-on letter in opposition.

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Congressional Letter

Official Secrets Act [ OSA Homepage | The Issues | 2001 Attack | Congressional Letter | 2000 Attack | Links ] Congressional Letters "As it is my understanding that Senator Shelby plans to include anti-leaks legislation as part of the Senate's version of the FY2002 Intelligence Authorization bill, I wanted to take this opportunity to assert that the House Committee on the Judiciary would seek immediate referral of any legislation that incorporates criminal provisions addressing the unauthorized disclosure of classified information."

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2001 Attack

Official Secrets Act [ OSA Homepage | The Issues | 2001 Attack | Congressional Letter | 2000 Attack | Links ] A Chronology of the Most Recent Attack On September 4, 2001 the hearing on the "leaks" criminalization provision was cancelled by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Robert Graham. Click to read more. In response to the "leaks" provision, organizations created a sign-on letter expressing opposition.

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Official Secrets Act

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Senate Appropriations Subcommittees Push for Limited FY 2003 Community Technology Funding

On July 16, the survival of two key federal programs working to bridge the digital divide was given an additional boost during markup sessions for FY 2003 appropriations.

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The Issues

Official Secrets Act [ OSA Homepage | The Issues | 2001 Attack | Congressional Letter | 2000 Attack | Links ] The Most Important Issues The following was prepared by Kate Martin, Center for National Security Studies. Summary: The Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee have announced their intention to include a provision in the Intelligence Authorization bill, which would make criminal public disclosures of all classified information.

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Letter to Press on Cyber Disclosure

Several organizations wrote to express their strong support for two bills that address important cyber-security issues, H.R. 2435 (Davis-Moran) and S. 1456 (Bennett-Kyl). December 21, 2001 The PresidentThe Honorable George W. Bush President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President:

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Pages

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.

Legislative Update on Homeland Security Act

Department of Homeland Secrecy

Links

2000 Attack

Congressional Letter

2001 Attack

Official Secrets Act

Senate Appropriations Subcommittees Push for Limited FY 2003 Community Technology Funding

The Issues

Letter to Press on Cyber Disclosure

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