President Obama stated in his first days in office that he wanted his administration to be the most transparent in history. His mistake wasn't in making that statement, his mistake was not having any follow through in that statement. The administration has failed to change the bureaucratic mind set at those agencies setting FOIA policy - the same people are in charge today were in the same positions in 2009 - so this administration is virtually the same as the last when it comes to everyday transparency matters, which is basically FOIA operations.
The FOIA Project recently tested agency responsiveness and found many FOIA operations failing to respond in a timely manner to a basic FOIA request. The LA Times has more on the FOIA Project's findings. If the administration wants to improve transparency, basic responsiveness at agencies charged with FOIA policy would be a great place to start.
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