Annals of Government Accountability

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: kelley <kelley () rakfoundry com>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:35:19 -0500
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: Annals of Government Accountability

Dave,


Want to know how the current administration is spending your tax dollars?
It'll cost you $203,436.75!

http://maxspeak.org/mt/archives/CostFOIA.pdf

So much for the 'free' in FOIA!

See also:

http://www.prospect.org/web/printfriendly-view.ww?id=9260

Lockhart and Barrel
A top Social Security administrator is moonlighting as a
partial-privatization lobbyist.

By Rob Garver
Web Exclusive: 02.25.05


If there's an enterprising congressional Democrat out there looking to make
a splash in the fight against partial privatization of Social Security, he
or she ought to call up James B. Lockhart III, deputy commissioner of the
Social Security Administration (SSA), and ask him to come speak at an
anti-private accounts rally.

Lockhart, a political appointee and major donor who has given about $20,000
to GOP causes over the past two election cycles, has been appearing at
town-hall meetings across the country for the past week with Republican
members of Congress, all of whom are pushing President Bush's privatization
agenda.

An interested citizen attending one of these events might have taken away
the idea that, by appearing at an event with a lawmaker aggressively
pushing privatization, Lockhart was signaling his -- or even the SSA's --
support of privatization. But Lockhart insists that in all his appearances
with pro-privatization Republicans, his role is strictly educational. And,
according to the SSA, Lockhart is offering his services to any Democrats
who ask for them.

"He is open to any invitations for him to appear at any event a member of
Congress has on Social Security," SSA spokesman Mark Hinkle said Thursday.

Democrats, though, might be hesitant to call on Lockhart, as he's a member
of the Bush administration and a committed Republican. But the former
software executive proved this week that he doesn't hold grudges.

Just last month, his own agency's inspector general had to contact the
office of Senator Rick Santorum to get the Pennsylvania Republican to stop
using a misleading PowerPoint presentation bearing the seal of the SSA. But
this week, there was Lockhart, standing shoulder to shoulder with Santorum
as the senator kicked off a series of pro-privatization town-hall meetings
across Pennsylvania.

Lockhart joined Santorum at Philadelphia's Drexel University, where the
senator was welcomed by members of the Drexel College Republicans chanting,
"Hey, hey, ho, ho, Social Security's got to go." (No kidding. The video's
posted here.)

On Wednesday, Lockhart was in Ohio, appearing with Representative Rob
Portman, and on Thursday, he was in Texas, appearing with House Majority
Leader Tom DeLay. The previous Saturday, he appeared in Arizona with
Representative Jim Kolbe. "He was invited by the members of Congress, and
his role at these forums is to educate the public about the system and the
problems it faces today," said Hinkle.

Asked if there was ever an effort made to specifically inform attendees
that Lockhart's presence on the podium with advocates of partial
privatization did not indicate an endorsement by the SSA, Hinkle did not
answer directly, saying only, "It is clear we are there to educate and not
proselytize."

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear all that clear to some congressional
Democrats. In a statement released Thursday, New Jersey Senator Frank
Lautenberg said, "The administration is running one of the most
sophisticated grass-roots lobbying strategies in history, and they are
using federal employees and taxpayer dollars to do it. Social Security
employees should be spending their time serving the needs of Social
Security recipients, not advancing a political agenda."

Lautenberg has taken up the cause of the National Council of SSA Field
Operations Locals representing Social Security employees representing
Social Security employees, many of whom have questioned the use of SSA
personnel to promote the Bush administration's plans to create private
accounts out of the Social Security Trust Fund's revenues.

As part of an effort to understand the extent of top SSA officials'
lobbying on the part of the Bush administration, the employees' union filed
a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the travel
schedules and meeting notes of Social Security Commissioner Jo Anne
Barnhart, Lockhart, and Martin Gerry, the deputy commissioner of disability
and income security programs.

The Freedom of Information office of the Social Security Administration
replied that to defer the cost of gathering that information, the
employees' union would have to pay $813,000 -- not including photocopying.
(Granted, the union's request, according to a copy of the response made
available by Senator Lautenberg's office, appears to have been remarkably
broad, asking for documentation of virtually everything any of the three
subjects had done since he or she had been in office that could be
connected to trips taken on behalf of the SSA.)

"The administration is doing everything they can to conceal the lobbying
activities of their top officials, which only raises suspicion," Lautenberg
said. "It is preposterous that pulling together the travel schedule and
meeting notes of three Social Security officials would cost over $800,000.
SSA is clearly trying to hide information from the public."

Rob Garver is a journalist who lives in Springfield, Virginia. He is also
studying at Georgetown Public Policy Institute.



Best regards,


Kelley

--
Got SOX? We specialize in security and privacy training.

http://www.inkworkswell.com
Voice: +1 (727) 942-9255
Fax: +1 (727) 942-9659
Email: kelley () inkworkswell com

When you need to communicate, Ink Works!


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