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Week 3- Level 1 Challenge: The Information is Free

THE INFORMATION IS FREE

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives citizens the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. It is a staple for engaged activists and members of the press in getting information from the government. In a word (or two) it allows for citizen oversight. There is a lot of public information that is never made public, and you will be surprised by what you can do through FOIA. As a note, only executive branch agencies are subject to FOIA; Congress and the courts are exempt. For this Challenge, you will file a FOIA request.    

Once you have completed this Challenge, please submit your work in the L1 Challenge Assignment.

 

PREPARATION

In order to file a FOIA request, there is some preliminary work that must first be done. First and foremost, you must consider the issue on which you would like to receive information, the kind of information are you interested in receiving, and the agency from which you will request the information. I recommend proceeding in the following order:

  1. Identify an interest/subject area on which you can file a FOIA request. What matters is that the information has not yet been made public. Here is a list of ideas:
  • Information on military/defense programs from the Department of Defense
  • Information on environmental issues from the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Information about food labeling from the Food and Drug Administration
  • Information on border protection from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (within the Department of Homeland Security)
  • Information on any government contracting program from any agency
  • Once you have identified an issue area, conduct an online search to see what, if any, information is already available on that issue. This will prevent you from requesting information that has already been made public.  *Important note: There are nine exemptions under FOIA that an agency can use to deny information. That does not mean you can’t ask; it just means you should be aware of what the exemptions are when making your request in order to ask for information that the agency will provide and not exempt (see resources below for more information).
  • Identify which federal executive agency has jurisdiction over the issue, and would therefore have the information you will request. Many federal agencies are composed of several component agencies. For example, the Department of Defense includes the Department of the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Defense Logistics Agency, etc. There are 21 component agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. This will require you to spend some time ensuring you have the correct agency. The good news is that every agency has a FOIA page on their website, which will provide you an overview and specific instructions on how to file and where to send a FOIA request. The bad news is that each agency handles FOIA requests in a different manner. There is no uniform procedure, so be sure to read on the agency website the specific manner in which to file a request. Most agencies will allow for requests to be received via mail (hard copy), fax, web-submission form, and sometimes by email.

 

ACTION

  1. Write up a "request letter".  There is a general format to request letters which you will need to follow (Use the resource link provided below!). 
  2. Send this letter (aka "file a request") for the information from the agency you identified above.
  3. Submit a copy of the request letter you sent, and any response you may have received in the Assignment area.

REFLECTION

  • Write a 1-page reflection paper in which you analyze the importance of citizen oversight in a democracy. Not every democratic nation has a law like FOIA that provides any citizen a process to request information from their government.
    • Is a law like FOIA beneficial to a healthy democracy?
    • What did you learn from going through the process of filing a FOIA request? Is there a benefit to citizen oversight?

 

RESOURCES

Title

The National Security Archive FOIA page, George Washington University

URL

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foia.html Links to an external site.

Annotation

From this main page, there is a menu on the left side that provides a valuable resource on how to file a request, the process itself, and the legislative history of FOIA. There are also links to current media stories that deal with Freedom of Information and a copy of the text of the Freedom of Information Act. This is a primary resource that will be invaluable in completing this Challenge.

 

Title

FOIA.gov

URL

http://www.foia.gov/ Links to an external site.

Annotation

This is the government’s FOIA page, run through the Department of Justice, which provides data and resources on FOIA requests going back to 2008. This website can provide an additional resource in learning about the process of filing a request, as well as providing a complete agency list of all agencies subject to FOIA. This website may also be helpful in providing ideas for requests, and by seeing the recent data on FOIA requests.

 

Title

Freedom of Information (FOIA) Collections page, Stanford University

URL

http://www.archive-it.org/collections/924 Links to an external site.

Annotation

This page provides a listing of websites and databases that house documents made public through FOIA. Many of these websites are great resources to explore what information is being requested, why, by whom, and what specifically is happening across a host of issue areas. These resources are helpful in understanding how and why activists and engaged citizens are using FOIA to provide citizen oversight, and may be helpful in providing examples or ideas for your request.

 

Title

Occupy Supply FOIA Resources, FireDogLake

URL

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/foia/ Links to an external site.

Annotation

This is another page of resources used by activists to learn about and file FOIA requests, providing you another example of how engaged (and average) citizens provide oversight on issues.

 

 

RUBRIC

 

No credit

Below expectations

Meets expectations

Identification of an issue and information

The student requested information that has already been made public.

The student successfully identified an issue and a non-public piece of information, but requested the information from the wrong federal agency.

The student successfully identified an issue, a non-public piece of information, and the corresponding federal agency from which to request the information.

 

File a request

The student did not file a FOIA request.

The student filed FOIA request, but did not put in the time to research the issue, the information being requested or the agency from which the request was made.

The student filed FOIA request and demonstrated thought put into the request, by providing for a well thought out request sent to the proper agency.

Reflection

The student did not submit a final reflection paper, or submitted one that demonstrates no thought was put into answering the questions asked.

 

The student submitted the paper, and required request letter, but did not fully develop responses to the questions asked.

 

The student submitted the paper, and required request letter, answered fully each question being asked and demonstrated that a thoughtful response was provided.