George Washington University

November 1, 2024

Thank you all for organizing this important 50th anniversary event for the Freedom of Information Act of 1974. I was there years before and at the creation of this legislation that recognizes that information is the currency of democracy. I want to share briefly a description of the effort to get this bill enacted, led by the great California Congressman John Moss in the House and later by Senator Ted Kennedy in the Senate. Congressman John Moss got through Congress in 1966 a bare-bones Freedom of Information Law. Today, people may not be aware that the opposition to this legislation and the 1974 Act came not just from the Executive Branch agencies and departments but also from many business lobbyists. Both groups had a common interest in government secrecy, for both similar and different reasons. Overcoming their opposition, including corporate demands for the government to recognize mere assertions of trade secrets in, for example, the regulatory agencies and the Department of Defense, was a formidable challenge to those of us in the civic community and our champions in Congress.

As the presenters at today’s event will no doubt describe, this kind of opposition continues to this day to undermine the citizens’ implementation of the Act by obstructive delays and frivolous excuses. The State Department is one of the worst offenders. So the obstacles to using the Freedom of Information Act need to be documented through Congressional hearings to lay the foundation to refine and strengthen this important law. Sanctions against recalcitrant agencies should be easier to use, and more effective deterrents against officious conduct by government officials need to be established.

The Freedom of Information Act has to be brought up to date in the context of new technology that can both either obscure or facilitate the transparency and access to information that the public has a right to know. Citizens around the country have to use this Act much more. High schools and colleges should teach students about the Freedom of Information Act and how to use it. There are plenty of manuals and pamphlets ready to be used in schools and in adult education classes.

Therefore, I hope in celebration of a great civic victory you will provide a lighted path forward to further the use of Freedom of Information laws, which serve as mighty pillars of a resurgent democracy at the federal and state level.

Thank you.