So much for public's right to know

Published: March 23, 2008 6:00 a.m.
So much for public's right to know
Commentary by Sylvia A. Smith
Washington editor

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration wants to pick and choose what you are permitted to know when it comes to spending your tax dollars.

A brash, sweeping statement? You bet. True? Sadly, yes.

How else to explain the White House’s continued acceptance of a 2001 memo written by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft telling federal agencies to withhold documents whenever they could – and that the Justice Department would defend them in court.

This is a sharp contrast to the Clinton-era standard. During that administration, federal documents were censored only when their publication would result in real harm.

If you need any convincing, consider the fragments of a report I received from the Veterans Administration last week.

You spent $530,000 for a 78-page assessment of the recommendation to close the outpatient services at the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center and direct veterans to Indianapolis for their care.

But you will never see the consultant’s recommendations or the information used to reach those suggestions.

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