Watchdog Groups See Growing Federal Secrecy
The government is withholding more information than ever from the public, a coalition of watchdog groups reports.
Last year, federal agencies spent $148 creating and storing new secrets for each $1 spent declassifying old secrets, they say. In 2003, $120 was spent to keep secrets for every $1 spent revealing them. In the late 1990s, the ratio ranged from $15 to $17 per $1, according to a report by OpenTheGovernment.org.
The government spent $7.2 billion in 2004 stamping 15.6 million documents “top secret,” “secret” or “confidential.”
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