Major Cuts to FOIA Teams at CDC and FDA Raise Transparency Concerns
Significant staffing reductions have hit the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) teams at both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This move, which was ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has left many concerned about how this will affect public access to vital government information.
Implications of Staffing Reductions
The FOIA offices at the CDC have been entirely dismantled, while the FDA has seen two-thirds of its records request personnel let go, reducing their team to just 50 members. According to an FDA source, “Most still here don’t do FOIA processing. They do litigation and other types of disclosure.” This shift raises questions about the organizations’ ability to handle existing FOIA requests efficiently.
Pending Requests in Limbo
As the staffing crisis unfolds, hundreds of pending FOIA requests are left in uncertainty. The FDA source confirmed, “For most types of FOIA requests, there is no staff,” indicating a significant backlog and potential delays in information access.
Other Affected Agencies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also experienced cuts to its FOIA staff, though it remains unclear why certain employees were retained while others were let go. This situation may conflict with federal policies that prioritize retention based on military and federal service.
Future of FOIA Processing at HHS
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plan to establish a centralized process for managing FOIA requests. While specific details about this new system are not finalized, there is an assurance that efforts will be made to continue the work initiated by the staff members who were cut.
Increased Control over Public Communications
This staffing overhaul aligns with HHS’s broader strategy to tighten control over communications within its health agencies. Under the leadership of Stefanie Spear, Kennedy’s former campaign press secretary, there have been heightened efforts to regulate the dissemination of information, including unprecedented moves to oversee scientific publishing at the CDC.
Call for Transparency in Public Health
During a Senate hearing in January, Kennedy expressed his belief in the necessity of transparency for public health agencies, stating, “Public health agencies should be transparent. And if we want Americans to restore trust in the public health agencies, we need transparency.” His administration’s previous critiques of FOIA response times underscore the tension between transparency efforts and the recent cuts that may hinder these goals.