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The Freedom of Information Act turned 40 earlier this month, and a Government Accountability Office study released yesterday reinforced what has often been reporters’ primary gripe about the law – requests take too long. According to the study, (you can read it here) “federal agencies are taking longer to answer requests for records but provide fully responsive documents nearly nine out of 10 times,” the Associated Press wrote today.

For example, the report said that the number of FOIA requests that have been carried over annually has risen 43% since 2002. It was introduced during a House Government Reform subcommittee hearing, during which testimony pointed out both sides of the information tug of war. Reported the AP:

“‘Federal departments and agencies are operating in the post 9/11 information age and face 21st Century security, information management and resource challenges,’ said Rep. Todd Russell Platts, R-Pa.

Tonda Rush, representing the National Newspaper Association and The Sunshine in Government Initiative, said the open records law ‘has become less reliable, less effective and a less timely vehicle for informing the public of government activities and newsworthy stories.’”

We asked a few CBS News producers and correspondents what their experiences filing FOIA requests have been like – some find the process more useful than others.

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