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16 Mar, 10 tweets, 3 min read
It’s #SunshineWeek and the annual Foilies are out. The Foilies “name-and-shame” government agencies and officials who have been obstacles to transparency and public access to information.
eff.org/deeplinks/2021…
This year’s Foilies highlighted two sets of FOIA requests we made. The “The Juking the FOIA Stats Award” went to the CDC based on our lawsuit. The CDC had been systematically rejecting FOIA requests by claiming they are overly broad or burdensome.
Then, the CDC categorized those “overbroad” requests as “withdrawn,” and closed the file without releasing any records. Between 2016 and 2019, CDC closed between 21 to 31 percent of FOIA requests it received as “withdrawn.”
After we sued, the CDC began releasing documents.
americanoversight.org/document/compl…
The Foilies also shamed the State Department for concealing even trivial information, such as details of former Sec. Mike Pompeo’s food orders.
In response to our FOIA for communications between State & Pompeo’s spouse, State redacted far more than it should have, even blanking out what type of sandwich Pompeo wanted. It left an assurance that there would be “plenty of dry snacks and diet cokes.”
americanoversight.org/document/foia-…
Although these instances represent the limitations of the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA is still an incredible tool for exposing what happens behind the scenes of the federal government. Anyone can request executive branch records.
It was through FOIA requests — and then litigation — that we were able to uncover key State Department records regarding former President Donald Trump’s Ukraine scheme in late 2019, documents that were cited in his first impeachment trial.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Our lawsuit for USPS records last summer produced nearly 10,000 pages of records that showed, among other things, that USPS had a plan to send masks to every American household that never came to fruition. americanoversight.org/new-post-offic…
Learn more about our ongoing investigations using FOIA here:
americanoversight.org/investigations

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More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
17 Mar
We’ve published documents from the Florida Dept. of Health that show that for at least a month in the spring of 2020, Florida officials resisted using the CDC’s system to track Covid-19 data.
americanoversight.org/documents-show…
The thousands of pages of documents show early data-gathering and testing difficulties, including disagreements between Florida health officials and officials at the CDC.
As cases of Covid-19 continued to emerge in the U.S. in February 2020, the records show that for at least a month Florida officials resisted using the CDC’s system to track Covid-19 data.
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
17 Mar
A vital tool for the preservation of a democratic government is the Freedom of Information Act. As the abuses of the Trump administration have made clear, FOIA contains significant weaknesses. This #SunshineWeek, we outline 7 reforms to improve transparency and accountability.
1. Require adequate resources for responding to FOIA requests. Many of the problems with modern FOIA backlogs are a question of supply and demand: There are too many requests for agencies to satisfy with too few resources.
foiaproject.org/2019/12/15/foi…
The statute requires that agencies respond to requests within 20 working days, but in practice, the deadline is meaningless. Agencies rarely come close to meeting it, and many don’t produce records for years.
americanoversight.org/seven-reforms-…
Read 25 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
17 Mar
Today, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to discuss Covid-19 in nursing homes. Our Covid-19 hub public documents database includes some important reports on deaths in nursing homes.
finance.senate.gov/hearings/a-nat…
A GAO report found that pre-pandemic, infection control deficiencies were present in most nursing homes, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services only implemented enforcement actions for 1 percent of non-severe deficiencies.
gao.gov/assets/gao-20-…
A Senate report that analyzed data reported to CMS and CDC by nursing homes for July and August 2020 found persistent shortages of PPE, testing, and staffing in nursing homes.
aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
16 Mar
New: The @washingtonpost reports that the Army initially pushed to deny D.C.’s request for a National Guard presence before the Jan. 6 rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
The Post obtained an internal draft memo that stated the military wouldn’t be necessary to help with crowd control and traffic unless more than 100,000 people attended.

This reporting adds further detail to the security failures that preceded the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.
But many unanswered questions remain. As the Post noted, “the political appointees and generals who were leading the Pentagon on Jan. 6 haven’t been called to testify publicly on the matter before Congress.”
Read 6 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
16 Mar
We’re tracking oversight of the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s a big week on the Hill. Congress is investigating how the U.S. can do better and who should be held accountable for pandemic response failures. Here’s a breakdown of the hearings:
Today, the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the role of FEMA and emergency management in the Covid-19 response.
appropriations.house.gov/events/hearing…
On Wednesday, March 17, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on Biden administration actions to increase Covid-19 vaccinations. Dr. Anthony Fauci and others will testify.
energycommerce.house.gov/committee-acti…
Read 7 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
15 Mar
Trips to swing states ahead of the 2020 election by former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and former Sec. of Labor Scalia cost taxpayers nearly $60,000 for staff travel and expenses, according to new records we obtained.
americanoversight.org/records-show-n…
Wheeler took highly publicized trips to Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina in October 2020, with public engagements on a variety of issues ranging from agricultural concerns to deregulating high-powered boat engines.
Such government-funded trips by Trump cabinet officials to key states in the run-up to Election Day raised significant questions about violations of the Hatch Act, the law that bans officials from using government resources to influence elections.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrah…
Read 6 tweets

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