State Dept.: 75-year wait for Clinton aide emails

[pnwmom]

65. I said there was no budget for ENDLESS requests. That would be impossible

because any budget is FINITE.

And the number of these FOIA's has greatly increased in recent years, while the State Dept administrative budget has not.

http://www.americanpress.com/Congress-Benghazi-Punish

A spokeswoman for the Appropriations panel said the budget plan withholds funds until State develops and implements a plan to reduce a backlog of FOIA and congressional requests.

State Department spokesman Alec Gerlach called the proposal "counterproductive" and said it would further constrain resources needed to meet sharp increases in requests for documents in recent years.

The State Department achieved nearly a 14 percent reduction in its appeals backlog last year, Gerlach said, but the agency's FOIA caseload has more than tripled since 2008 — jumping from 6,000 requests to nearly 20,000 last year.

The number of congressional oversight requests has also dramatically increased, Gerlach said.