Audit reveals Bush failing to address FOIA backlog

President Bush has hardly made any progress in minimizing the huge backlog of unanswered FOIA requests over the last two years, according to a recent audit released on the eve of Sunshine Week.

According to the audit, performed by the National Security Archive, the order implemented by the president two years ago provided no financial support for agencies to improve the systems they already had in place. In addition, there was no way of enforcing the changes; so many organizations remained the same.

The few organizations that did improve over the past two years, however, included: the CIA, the Health and Human Services Department and the Homeland Security Department. The FBI and Treasury Department failed to meet their reduction goals and were both singled out for criticism.