Pubdate: Tue, 14 Feb 2006
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2006 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

EXCESSIVE FEES FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION

The Bush administration has made a habit of keeping public 
information from the very public that owns it. A good example can be 
found at the U.S. Department of Education.

After dragging its feet for months, the agency has asked a tiny 
non-profit group to pay a ruinous sum for information on the impact 
of a law that bars students who have committed drug offenses from 
receiving federal grants and loans.

The law, which cuts off former offenders from receiving financial 
help even when the crimes they committed were minor and long ago, has 
become a subject of intense debate. Congress recently approved 
changes that should moderate some of the law's most destructive effects.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a small non-profit group, asked 
the Department of Education to provide a simple state-by-state 
breakdown of the people who have been denied aid under the law so far.

But the department demanded more than $4,000 for this information, an 
amount the group clearly could not afford. The government argued that 
the request was not in the public interest and implied that Students 
for Sensible Drug Policy had some commercial interest in seeking it. 
These claims are implausible.

The fee represents an increasingly common tactic that is used by the 
government to discourage public inquiries. The student group has 
acquired pro bono representation and filed suit in federal court. 
Members of Congress could end the battle by requesting the 
information on the group's behalf.

Beyond that, Congress should reinforce the Freedom of Information law 
- -- which was meant to prevent this kind of thing in the first place.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman