Commentary
AFP-SC is pushing smart criminal justice reforms at the State House this session COLUMBIA, SC — Americans for Prosperity – South Carolina (AFP-SC) sponsored Serve & Connect’s annual Illuminight Gala. The South Carolina organization brings together community and business leaders with law enforcement officers to reduce crime and improve safety. AFP-SC State Director Candace Carroll released […]
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. What should committee members – and the American people they serve – be looking for in a Supreme Court Justice? What makes a good judge? A few characteristics come to mind. Some focus […]
At the outset of this week’s Sunshine Week symposium, James Valvo and I argued that judicial review was the most important check on agency secrecy and abuse of FOIA. Implicit in our argument was the claim that reform originating within the executive branch was unlikely to be effective. A development this week provides a helpful […]
Sentencing transparency and equal treatment under the law for Tennesseans advances. NASHVILLE, TN — Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) today applauded the House for passing two criminal justice reform bills. HB 2657 would bring transparency to the sentencing process by requiring the court to record the estimated time a defendant will serve before becoming eligible […]
This article was authored by Kate Oh of the American Civil Liberties Union for Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Sunshine Week 2022 essay series on reforming FOIA. The Freedom of Information Act is premised on a simple but powerful idea: The people have the right to know what their government is doing in their name, and why. […]
This article was authored by Melissa Wasser of Project On Government Oversight for Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Sunshine Week 2022 essay series on reforming FOIA. Sunshine Week serves as an annual reminder that more transparency promotes greater accountability from our government. One underappreciated medium of transparency and accountability is congressional oversight. Congress established the Freedom of […]
This article was authored by Susan E. Harley of Public Citizen for Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Sunshine Week 2022 essay series on reforming FOIA. My organization, Public Citizen, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Our founder, Ralph Nader, early in his career notably referred to the Freedom of Information Act as the “Freedom from Information” […]
This article was authored by Kel McClanahan of National Security Counselors for Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Sunshine Week 2022 essay series on reforming FOIA. Scene: A courtroom. There are four people seated, two each at two tables. Then a voice rings out: “All rise!” They all stand. Five men and three women file into the room and […]
This article was authored by Allan Blutstein, director of FOIA operations at America Rising Corp., for Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Sunshine Week 2022 essay series on reforming FOIA. When the Freedom of Information Act was amended in 1986 to create a three-tiered fee system, its purpose was undisputed: to recoup more FOIA processing costs from commercial […]
