OPENING GOVERNMENT TO PUBLIC SCRUTINY: A DECADE OF FEDERAL EFFORTS.

The recent measures pertaining to government information policies and practices in the United States stem from two fundamental principles of American government: popular sovereignty and the constitutional doctrine of checks and balances. In addition to providing a procedure for realizing the right of the public to petition for information, citizens are offend various options to become informed about the activities of the Executive Branch--on their own initiative, through the press, or with the assistance of public officials or organized interests. These new policies have also sought to promote greater Executive accountability to the U.S. Congress regarding the faithful execution of the laws. The information relationship among the Executive, the U.S. Congress, and the public is fraught, however, with a variety of cross-purposes and mixed motives. Cherishing personal privacy, the citizen is not anxious to have the government gather and disseminate material pertaining to his or her individual characteristics, activities, and associations. The article presents a synopsis of some of the achievements of the past decade in making government information more accessible.