FOIA legislation
Project description
Please write a peer response in reference to my classmates post as if your responding to them. No
citation is needed. One paragraph is good. Please see below the assignment response from my
classmate:
If the private corporations are using the public funds, they should be subjected to FOIA so that their
activities can be observed. The funds are contributed by the citizen for the provision of specific
services and performance of given functions by the federal government. The argument against is that
the subjection may result to rigidity in the functioning of the institutions, and there might be situations
of covering up fraud acts by the management. The degree of submission should be up to the extent on
which the finances are provided and utilized (Rogers, 2005).
There should a difference in the way of privatizing the traditional governmental services and the private
corporation using public funding for non-traditional services because the two are very distinct in the
manner of disseminating their duties. The traditional government needs more strict rules in guiding
against the events of FWAC because their services affect the entire public and a small flaw in them could
lead to the collapse of the whole institution. On the other hand, the private corporations require
observance as well but to a smaller extend basing on the nature of the population they serve (Rogers,
2005).
The examples of FWAC in private corporations and nonprofit corporations that were not subjected to
FOIA, but may have been prevented by FOIA include misappropriation of funds by the management, tax
evasion, stealing the properties of the firms. Also, giving and taking of bribes, the incorrect use of
resources by wasting them and offering favors to friend and family members. All these FWAC have been
prevented by the available of checks by the FOIA board that has scared those in charge from practicing
such vices (Rogers, 2005).
The incapacity of the FOIA legislation to force the private corporation to provide information when
needed the contracting government agency can mitigate this by setting in the contract the terms that
the information regarding the use of public funds should be disclosed to the public. The condition will
enable the provision of data concerning the use of the public funds. The private corporations need the
support of the government and, therefore, they will be forced to comply and provide the information
otherwise they will not have such chances (Nestor, 2006).
The issue of concern based on the experience is the style of provision of the information needed by the
public by the FOIA. The fee charged should be reviewed from the set minimum of 15 dollars to as low as
7 dollars. The time taken to receive a respond from the FOIA of 20 days is a long time that needs to be
reduced to one week to enable fast access of information by the public. Also, the website should be
specified on the type of information available on it so that the public wastes no time looking for
information that has been restricted (Nestor, 2006).
The implication of such policies will go a long way in ensuring that the privatization of public services
does not turn the FOIA useless because, the contracts set will enable the FOIA to inspect the records of
the private corporations providing the services (Nestor, 2006).
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