Two dozen public interest and journalism groups objected to provisions in defense and intelligence authorization bills that would expand the zone of secrecy around the federal government's intelligence-gathering operations. The National Security Agency is seeking an blanket exemption for "operational files" from search, review and disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Defense Department's budget authorization bill for fiscal year 2004 includes a provision that would further shroud the National Security Agency (NSA) in secrecy, even though no public case has been made for the provision. The Senate language, included in the proposed FY 2004 Defense Authorization Act (S. 1050, sec. 1035), would exempt all "operational files" of the NSA from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments early last month in the first Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case (United States Department of Justice v. City of Chicago) to reach the Supreme Court in years. However, just days before the March 4 oral argument the Supreme Court cancelled the hearing, removed the case from its docket, and ordered the lower court's judgment vacated. This is the second time in recent years that a last minute development has removed a FOIA case from the Supreme Court's docket.

Recently the Bush administration and several lead Republicans in Congress have begun pushing to make permanent the governmental powers temporarily expanded by the USA Patriot Act. The USA Patriot Act, which greatly expanded the government’s ability to spy on citizens, only gained wide support when many of the critical provisions were designed to expire or sunset at the end of 2005, unless Congress re-authorizes them.