Storm-relief privacy fight shifts

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Aquawind
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Storm-relief privacy fight shifts

#1 Postby Aquawind » Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:00 am

FEMA, newspapers head to 11th Circuit over federal aid records

By JEFF CULL
jcull@news-press.com
Originally posted on November 05, 2006


A battle between open government and individual privacy resumes Tuesday in federal appeals court as The News-Press and other Florida newspapers seek access to hurricane relief records.

Three Gannett Inc. newspapers and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel want the government to disclose who got federal aid and how much after four hurricanes battered Florida in 2004. A federal judge denied the request in November. The case now will be heard in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

"This is a real test of whether everything in government is a privacy issue," said Charles Davis, executive director of the Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

The News-Press, Pensacola News Journal and Florida Today, all owned by Gannett Inc., contend access to the records is needed to examine the Federal Emergency Management Agency's performance in handing out billions of dollars in aid to hurricane victims. The News-Press and other media uncovered government waste and fraud in the wake of the 2004 storms.

The government argues identifying people who received FEMA help is a violation of their privacy rights.

Tena Friery, of the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, agrees. If the list of names and addresses were published, people could be targets of scammers or con artists, she said.

"I don't know what public interest would outweigh the privacy issue," Friery said.

U.S. District Court Judge John Steele in Fort Myers sided with the government in November 2005. Disclosing the information, he wrote, would be a "clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

FEMA, which has spent more than $40 billion in taxpayer money since 2004 to aid storm victims, came under fire for botched relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
An analysis by The News-Press after the 2004 hurricanes showed the government approved money for more than 17,000 new TV sets, among other items such as air conditioners, freezers, sewing machines, microwaves, toys and computers.
Such findings underscore the need for newspapers to hold the government accountable, said Kate Marymont, executive editor of The News-Press.

"How can we know whether billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately without specific information on where the money went?" Marymont said. "This isn't a question of journalists' access to information but residents' access. People want to know if they were treated the same from house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood, storm to storm."Access to public records is critical for government watchdogs, said Adria Harper, director of the First Amendment Foundation.

"If we can't find out what our government is doing, how do we know that it's doing its job?" she said.

Newspapers and the public have found it difficult if not impossible to obtain government hurricane records. Information requests take months or years to process and the government frequently denies access based on privacy exemptions, Davis said.

"It's a microcosm of what's wrong with the Freedom of Information Act," he said.

The federal Freedom of Information Act requires the government to disclose records requested in writing, but the law includes a dozen exemptions and exclusions.

The challenge for the newspapers' attorneys is convincing three appeals judges the public's need to know how FEMA is performing outweighs privacy concerns.

"Floridians do not have enough information right now to judge the competency of the federal government to send relief where it is needed," Gannett lawyer Charles Tobin said. "Every hurricane season reminds us all how important it is to know whether we have put our trust in capable hands."

In a separate suit filed by the Sun-Sentinel, a federal judge this year ordered FEMA to disclose the addresses, but not identities, of hurricane victims who received aid.

The Sun-Sentinel is defending an appeal by FEMA seeking to block release of the addresses and is asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to order the government to reveal the names.

The Gannett and Sun-Sentinel cases have been combined into one.

— Staff writer Melanie Payne contributed to this report.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 50397/1075

I think there is a right to know. FEMA has had incredible mismanagement even after the 2004 season. Organized crime and favortism can not be accepted and does need to be audited. It has cost many americans dearly and will continue to do so if they are not scrutinized. Their blunders are wasteing money and results in higher taxes, insurance, and less for other programs throughout this nation.
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#2 Postby DanKellFla » Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:39 pm

Maybe in the future, but this is changing the rules after the game has been played. I was informed that my information was confidential. I want it to remain that way.
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#3 Postby Aquawind » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:00 am

I see no need to make it fully public..only to certified licensed auditors would do fine for me.
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