TPMmuckraker December 18, 2006

* In March, the administration announced it would no longer produce
the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, which
identifies which programs best assist low-income families, while also
tracking health insurance coverage and child support.

* In 2005, after a government report showed an increase in terrorism around the world, the administration announced it would stop publishing its annual report on international terrorism.

* After the Bureau of Labor Statistics uncovered discouraging data

about factory closings in the U.S., the administration announced it
would stop publishing information about factory closings.

* When an annual report called “Budget Information for States”

showed the federal government shortchanging states in the midst of
fiscal crises, Bush’s Office of Management and Budget announced it was discontinuing the report, which some said was the only source for comprehensive data on state funding from the federal government.

* When Bush’s Department of Education found that charter schools were underperforming, the administration said it would sharply cut back on the information it collects about charter schools.

* The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has to date failed to produce
a congressionally-mandated report on climate change that was due in
2004. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has called the failure an “obfuscation.”

* The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced

plans to close several libraries which were used by researchers and
scientists. The agency called its decision a cost-cutting measure, but
a 2004 report showed that the facilities actually brought the EPA a
$7.5 million surplus annually.

* On November 1st, 2001, President Bush issued an executive order

limiting the public’s access to presidential records. The order
undermined the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which required the
release of those records after 12 years. Bush’s order prevented the release
of “68,000 pages of confidential communications between President
Ronald Reagan and his advisers,” some of whom had positions in the Bush
Administration. More here. (Thanks to Roger A. and nitpicker below.) Update: TPMm Reader JP writes in to point out that Bush did the same thing with his papers from the Texas governorship.

* A rule change at the U.S. Geological Survey restricts agency scientists

from publishing or discussing research without that information first
being screened by higher-ups at the agency. Special screening will be
given to “findings or data that may be especially newsworthy, have an
impact on government policy, or contradict previous public
understanding to ensure that proper officials are notified and that
communication strategies are developed.” The scientists at the USGS
cover such controversial topics as global warming. Before, studies were
released after an anonymous peer review of the research. (Thanks to Alison below.)

* A new policy

at the The U.S. Forest Service means the agency no longer will generate
environmental impact statements for “its long-term plans for America’s
national forests and grasslands.” It also “no longer will allow the
public to appeal on long-term plans for those forests, but instead will
invite participation in planning from the outset.” (Thanks to libra below.)

* In March 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services took down

a six-year-old Web site devoted to substance abuse and treatment
information for gays and lesbians, after members of the conservative
Family Research Council complained.

* In 2002, HHS removed information from its Web site pertaining to risky sexual behavior among adolescents, condom use and HIV.

* Also in 2002, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission removed
from its Web site a document showing that officials found large gaps in
a portion of an aging Montana dam. A FERC official said the deletion
was for “national security.”

* In 2004, the FBI attempted

to retroactively classify public information regarding the case of
bureau whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, including a series of letters
between the Justice Department and several senators.

* In October 2003, the Bush administration banned photographs depicting servicemembers’ coffins returning from overseas.

* In December 2002, the administration curtailed funding
to the Mass-Layoffs Statistics program, which released monthly data on
the number and size of layoffs by U.S. companies. His father attempted
to kill the same program in 1992, but Clinton revived it when he
assumed the presidency.

* In 2004, the Internal Revenue Service stopped providing data demonstrating the level of its job performance. In 2006, a judge forced the IRS to provide the information.

* Also in 2004, the Federal Communications Commission blocked access
to a once-public database of network outages affecting
telecommunications service providers. The FCC removed public copies and
exempted the information from Freedom of Information Act requests,
saying it would “jeopardize national security efforts.” Experts
ridiculed that notion.

* In 2002, Bush officials intervened to derail

the publication of an EPA report on mercury and children’s health,
which contradicted the administration’s position on lowering
regulations on certain power plants. The report was eventually leaked
by a “frustrated EPA official.”

* In 2003, the EPA bowed to White House pressure and deleted

the global warming section in its annual “Rep
ort on the Environment.”
The move drew condemnations from Democrats and Republicans alike.

* Also in 2003, the EPA withheld

for months key findings from an air pollution report that undercut the
White House’s “Clear Skies” initiative. Leaked copies were reported in
the Washington Post.