Access to Government Information in the United States

Description:

The Constitution of the United States makes no specific allowance for any one of the co-equal branches to have access to information held by the others and contains no provision expressly establishing a procedure for, or a right of, public access to government information. Nonetheless, Congress has legislated various public access laws. These include two records access statutes — the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) — and two meetings access statutes — the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and the Government in the
Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b). Moreover, due to the American separation of powers model of government, interbranch conflicts over the accessibility of information are neither unexpected nor necessarily destructive. The federal courts, historically, have been reluctant to review and resolve “political questions” involving information disputes between Congress and the executive branch. Although there is considerable interbranch cooperation, such conflicts probably will continue to occur on occasion.
Creator(s):
Creation Date: January 7, 2005
Partner(s):
UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Collection(s):
Congressional Research Service Reports
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Usage:
Total Uses: 42
Past 30 days: 0
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Creator (Author):
Relyea, Harold C.
Access to Government Information in the United States
Creator (Author):
Government Division
Publisher Info:
Place of Publication: Washington D.C., USA
Date(s):
  • Creation: January 7, 2005
Description:

The Constitution of the United States makes no specific allowance for any one of the co-equal branches to have access to information held by the others and contains no provision expressly establishing a procedure for, or a right of, public access to government information. Nonetheless, Congress has legislated various public access laws. These include two records access statutes — the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) — and two meetings access statutes — the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and the Government in the
Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b). Moreover, due to the American separation of powers model of government, interbranch conflicts over the accessibility of information are neither unexpected nor necessarily destructive. The federal courts, historically, have been reluctant to review and resolve “political questions” involving information disputes between Congress and the executive branch. Although there is considerable interbranch cooperation, such conflicts probably will continue to occur on occasion.
Physical Description:

4 pages.
Language(s):
Subject(s):
Partner:
UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Collection:
Congressional Research Service Reports
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Identifier:
Resource Type: Report
Format: Text
Rights:
Access: Public