Report Is Critical of Obama's Transparency Efforts

A new report by a private research group says that most government agencies have made few changes in how much information they make available to the public, despite President Obama's promise to make his administration the most transparent in history, the New York Times reports.

The report from the National Security Archive found that, though the president has given directives to federal agencies, progress has been slow and erratic. There is little evidence that agencies have released more information than unusual or denied fewer requests for documents.

Norm Eisen, the president's counsel on government ethics and oversight, disputed the report's findings, saying that the administration has spent its first year "building the infrastructure to build a lasting change." Eisen said more government documents have been released through the Freedom of Information Act than ever, but that it would probably take another year for transparency efforts to be fully noticed.

In a report due Monday, agencies will inform the Department of Justice of their efforts to ease the process of obtaining information through FOIA requests, a process that is often marked by delays and denials. The administration will release its report on government openness next month.