Geesh.. First they want to open the doors to information and our privacy and now they want to close them.. I don't trust them making the call either way.. they don't exactly have a good record of judgement and I suspect they are protecting themselves as much as the anyone else..
News-Press files motion for FEMA response
By JEFF CULL
JCULL@NEWS-PRESS.COM
Published by news-press.com on May 6, 2005
Lawyers for The News-Press filed a motion in federal court Thursday seeking to force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to explain why it is withholding the names and addresses of people who received hurricane grants.
The News-Press, Pensacola News-Journal and Florida Today, all owned by Gannett Inc., sued FEMA and its parent organization, the Department of Homeland Security, in March for information about federal storm-related aid in Florida.
At issue is the release of the names and addresses of those individuals who got money after four hurricanes last year.
The newspapers are trying to determine if FEMA is spending taxpayer money — currently more than $3.2 billion — fairly and economically.
The motion is an attempt to push for a more detailed response to the paper's lawsuit, said Jim Lake of the Holland & Knight law firm in Tampa, the newspapers' attorney.
Federal lawyers answered the lawsuit in April by saying that personal information is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act. FEMA didn't specify which section of the law forbids releasing the personal data of aid recipients.
The newspaper's motion asks U.S. District Judge John Steele in Fort Myers to make FEMA explain what information is being withheld and what laws the agency claims makes it exempt from public records.
"FEMA has not offered a satisfactory explanation for refusing the public this information," said Kate Marymont, vice president/news for The News-Press. "We want the court to expedite our request because Floridians may soon face hurricanes again, and they need to understand FEMA's response to the storms of 2004."
FEMA has produced some records but not names of aid recipients, which would enable scrutiny of relief funds. Officials said the records are being withheld due to the Privacy Act and an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 60433/1053
Paul
motion for FEMA response
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