THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL REFORM: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. (VOLUMES I AND II)

In response to the American political experience of the late 1960's and early 1970's, the Congress of the United States inaugurated a new era of political reform by enacting legislation which was primarily intended to reassert the power of the legislature by emphasizing and strengthening the mechanics of popular democracy. Among these statutes, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) dramatically exemplifies the American tradition of political reform, although its practical application has generated undesired and totally unanticipated consequences. The implementation of the FOIA has adversely affected the administration of government, begun to compromise the policy goals of various government agencies, and has seriously undermined some long-standing political relationships by fostering distrust and by generating misperception.; This dissertation analyzes the development of the open government principle in the United States and its relationship to the political forces that led to the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act in 1967 and its amendment in 1974. The analysis identified both functional and structural deficiencies in the legislative process that produced the FOIA and suggests that these deficiencies are largely responsible for the resulting unintended administrative and policy consequences. Furthermore, these legislative deficiencies required the Federal courts to assume the executive function of enforcement, thereby transforming a political right, balanced against competing interests, into a legal one, guaranteeing its absolute deliverance.; The dissertation also asserts an incomplete nexus between the FOIA as a public-interest law and the overall public interest inherent in effective legislation. Available aggregate data and survey research conducted during the study reveals that the FOIA is being used for essentially private concerns, and has not increased the confidence of American citizens in their government.; The propensity of the Congress to enact complex reform legislation which imposes strict procedural regulations upon the executive branch, is not matched by the ability of the Congress to guarantee that the legislation will be effective. Without the ability to control public policy, so as to insure the realization of policy goals and objectives, reform legislation will continue to sustain the law of unintended consequences.