“FOIA takes forever anyway! Just accept we'll never know!”

What You Say

FOIA backlogs are a policy failure, not a reason to stop asking. FOIA.gov publishes agency compliance data; litigation — like ACLU FOIA cases on ICE detention — often produces documents agencies would never release voluntarily. SAFE-004 mandates machine-readable spending data and 48-hour lobbying contact publication so routine accountability doesn't depend on multi-year FOIA fights.