The latest homeland security bill in the Senate, sponsored by Sens. Phil Gramm (R-TX) and Zell Miller (D-GA), contains information provisions that would exempt documents voluntarily provided to the new Department of Homeland Security from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The language is exactly the same as the Leahy-Bennett-Levin amendment that resolved this issue in Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s (D-CT) bill on homeland security. Lieberman’s bill failed to pass a cloture vote after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) filibustered the bill.

Two recent polls present a mixed picture about public access to government information in the post-9/11 environment. When asked about whether specific information should be removed from the web, most people say no. But their views change dramatically if the government argues that the information could help terrorists. On One Hand

September 5, 2002, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to the President's Management Council concerning its review of agency draft data quality guidelines. OMB identifies three process issues that it believes require greater cross agency conformity, and provides specific language it wants incorporated into each agency's final guidelines. The 3 process issues and OMB’s recommendations are: