Sikorsky's Reverse FOIA

A major defense contractor has sued the Defense Department (DOD) to prevent documents responsive to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from going public.  According to the reporter who made the request, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) "tells me this is the first time a major defense contractor has sued DOD to prevent the results of a FOIA from going public." (late update--ed.'s note: After speaking with a knowledgeable lawyer on the topic of Reverse FOIA suits and looking through a number of cases of such suits, POGO has found that there are actually a number of cases where contractors have sued DOD and other agencies.  Nonetheless POGO feels this is an important topic, in fact it is even moreso with the discovery that Reverse FOIA suits occur often.)

New Haven, Connecticut WTNH News Channel 8 reporter Alan Cohn made a FOIA request on March 4, 2004 to the DCMA for Corrective Action Requests (CARs).  CARs are requests to contractors by the DCMA to fix the causes of recurring problems that put the contractor out of compliance with its contract with the military. 

After a series of appeals, first between Cohn and DCMA and later between Sikorsky and DCMA, it was decided by the DCMA in a letter dated December 1, 2005 to grant Cohn's FOIA request in part and to deny it in part.  DCMA notified Sikorsky the next day that it would release the redacted CARs on December 13, 2005 unless Sikorky filed a "reverse" FOIA suit in a US District Court before then. 

It did.  Sikorsky filed suit against the DCMA and DOD in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on December 12, 2005 on four counts: 1) Confidential Business Information--Exemption 4 of FOIA; 2) Trade Secrets Act; 3) Arbitrary and Capricious Agency Action; and 4) the Declaratory Judgment Act.  Sikorsky has argued that if CARs sent to Sikorsky are turned over to the public, then it may cooperate less with the DCMA in correcting problems, dispute the DCMA's opinion more often and share less information with DCMA.

Click here to view Sikorsky's "Reverse-FOIA" Complaint (pdf).

Though there clearly is an interest in protecting true proprietary secrets, Sikorsky's attempt to stifle information that may reflect poorly on their aircraft is something else.  It is a move characteristic of a company seeking to avoid public accountability and to hide deficiencies in the aircraft we entrust will transport our men and women in uniform safely, securely and effectively.

Comments

[Rocco J Frank Jr]

Recently after seeing Walker of the General Accountability Office, a branch of our Federal Government, give a lecture posted on Youtube, I became concerned. Walker has fallen short of calling the U.S. Government "Insolvent" and also cited in his 2007 GAO report (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07607t.pdf) that the primary cause of this "insolvency" stemmed from the DOD's poor accounting for the last decade, and entitlements due the baby boomers set to retire in 2008. The cost of those entitlements, primarily healthcare cost the greatest concern.

After reading the entire report, I e-mailed a note to every key politician I know including Rell, Shays, Lieberman, Dodd, and DeLauro. Naturally if we are to avert the bankrupcy of America of which may arrive as early as next decade, our Representatives should have a plan.

It occurred to me after watching Walker speak that any politician looking to help Ameriaca's poor fiscal condition must adapt a platform to include. Cutting your Social Security, Cutting your Medicaid and Medicare, Cutting your V.A. Benefits, Cutting state funding, reducing if not eliminating foreign aid, withdraw from engaging in expensive wars, and simultaneously increase every tax to yield maximum revenue back to the government to pay debts.

To put the seriousness of this problem into perspective, America has indebted every American family almost $600,000 dollars (by todays estimated calculations.) The government currently owes 57 Trillion Dollars. With this looming disaster, and the head of the GAO screaming this message, still virtually no one sees, or cares, about the impending economic collapse. There is no talk of it anywhere!

At some future point it may be entirely necessary for CT to abandon the Dollar and print its own currency, you may need to be friendly with your neighbors and learn to barter again until the nation recovers from its failures. I say this because I believe that not one single future politician will be electable if they take the saving of America seriously. I do not wish to be harsh but too many American's do not care about government, we are largely uninformed, and naively believe mass media to be news. A media which is governed not by News, but advertising and ratings.

America's culture prefers to tune out negativity, American's would rather watch celebrity gossip, and a barage of stories focused on our own people committing crimes against each other while our powerful leaders enjoy media exile and benefit from your uninformed oasis.

Every great nation on earth has fallen, The Aztec's, The Egyptian's, The Romans, and perhaps in the not so distant future America. Watch the warning from Walker the GAO Sr. officer. He is begging our Representatives for action, and now he is begging you to listen! Our Government has become apathetic and is hopelessly addicted to spending.

[BUDDY LEE]

THEY DON'T CALL IT THE UH-60 "CRASH-HAWK" FOR NOTHIN'!!!

CW3 BuddyLee
107th Air Cav

[Bill]

Given the two choices you always have to go with Stoned.

[Bob]

Someone can't afford a Spell Checker...or is stoned:

"A CAR usually only has three options -accept as is, repir or scrap. Mybe the quality level at Skikorsky is not what it seems but then it probably isn't any better at Pratt & Whitney or GE aircraft enigines."

[Freebird]

A CAR usually only has three options -accept as is, repir or scrap. Mybe the quality level at Skikorsky is not what it seems but then it probably isn't any better at Pratt & Whitney or GE aircraft enigines. Is DCMA really necessary even?