1. Monthly archive
  2. July 2017

July 2017

The War on the Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is what enables regular people to pester powerful federal agencies into handing over information about what they’ve been up to. FOIA’s website calls it “the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.” It’s hardly surprising then that government accountability groups balked when, in early April, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) directed multiple agencies under his committee’s jurisdiction to start classifying all communications with the committee as official “congressional records” not subject to FOIA.

Probably best to back up a tick: FOIA applies only to executive agency records. Congressional records are a different creature entirely (as are presidential records), enjoying greater privacy protections. But not every document that has been created by or sent to Congress qualifies as a congressional record. Basically, if anyone at an agency is interacting with the finance committee in any way, Chairman Hensarling wants to make sure that you can’t find out any details about it. You can see how this might not be great in terms of promoting government accountability.

Rural Groups Challenge Microsoft's Spectrum Push

Cattlemen, wheat growers, "agri-women" and state agriculture departments are all pushing back on Microsoft's push for reserved TV spectrum channels for unlicensed use, saying broadcasting is vital to rural connections (even as Microsoft is arguing it needs the spectrum to provide rural broadband connectivity). That is according to a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai from nine agriculture groups to the FCC.

Chairman Pai has made rural broadband a prime directive for the agency. "While our organizations certainly understand the need for improved broadband access in rural America and support the deployment of high-speed broadband in our communities, this proposal will only serve to deprive our members of critical access to local broadcast television coverage." The National Association of Broadcasters, which circulated the letter to reporters, has told the FCC that Microsoft's proposal should be a nonstarter. The agriculture groups, which include the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, agree and sung the praises of local ag news in their letter.

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