Freedom of Information Act - At least it's a start!?!

On Monday the Center for Effective Government released a report showing that of the 15 federal agencies that make up over 90% of the Freedom of Information Act requests, seven of these agencies received the grade of a “F”. Of the remaining agencies four received “D”s, two received “C”s and 2 received “B”s. No Federal Agency received an “A” score.

I hate to argue in the reverse that this is positive news, the reason I am saying this is because I have known about this issue for a long time and at least it is finally coming to the forefront. Anyone who has ever issued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request knows in most instances it takes several follow up calls, and generally speaking the agencies are completely unresponsive. This leads to the information requested being received weeks or even months after the congressionally mandated 20 working day timetable. Usually well after the need for the information has departed. This has made FOIA requests virtually useless as a tool to see past contracts of current contracts out for bid. In many cases businesses that are new to the government space attempt to use FOIA requests to gain knowledge on how to construct a proposal for bidding on government contracts in their industry and are left disappointed.

I hate to argue the reverse again but this is one of the reasons why GSA Schedule are effective for businesses attempting to enter the federal space. GSA Schedules cut through this type of bureaucracy that makes dealing with agencies difficult for small contractors, leveling the playing field for new contractors attempting to break into the federal marketplace.