Ensuring government transparency through FOIA reform : hearing before the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, first session, February 27, 2015.

Ensuring transparency through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) : hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, first session, June 2, 2015.

Ensuring transparency through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) : hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, first session, June 2, 2015.

The consequences of governmental reform are not always intended. In this book, Suzanne J. Piotrowski examines how federal management reforms associated with the National Performance Review have affected, and are still affecting, implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. The intersection of the New Public Management movement and the implementation of the U.S. federal government's transparency policy is, she argues, a clear example of unforeseen outcomes. Particular attention is paid to performance management, customer service, and contracting out initiatives, as well as to unintended consequences and their future implications for public administration scholars, practitioners, and reformers.

When President Obama took office, one of his first actions was to release a new memo on FOIA directing agencies to adopt a presumption of openness. In a statement to the public, the President said "Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstone of this presidency." Many transparency groups have expressed concern with the Obama Administration's compliance with FOIA. The concerns address a variety of issues, including agency stonewalling, delays and excessive fees. The Central Intelligence Agency had a class action lawsuit filed against it for illegally discouraging requests by imposing significant fees without notifying requestors. The Department of Homeland Security has also been accused of charging exorbitant fees on FOIA requests. In a review of agency FOIA logs, there was one case where the agency charged the requestor over $70,000. The Department of Justice, which is responsible for setting agency FOIA compliance, has also been accused of defending Federal agencies when they choose to withhold documents. When asked by the Supreme Court about President Obama's presumption of openness, a Department of Justice lawyer said, "We do not embrace that principle." Clearly, there is more work to be done to ensure that citizens get prompt and substantive responses to their requests for government information.