OpentheGovernment.org’s third annual Secrecy Report card has some interesting information and figures. Go here to download the report and see the charts.

By The Numbers

The Courts
2,072 Orders of the Secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
While the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court does not reveal much about its activities, the
Department of Justice reported that the FISC approved 2,072 orders - rejecting none - in 2005
but does not identify the activities being investigated or provide basic information about how the
orders are used.
National Security Letters
9,254 National Security Letters Issued
A Justice Department report on secret wiretap warrants indicated that the government issued 9,254
National Security Letters during 2005. These letters can be used to obtain information about individuals
without the government applying for a court-reviewed warrant.
Private Enterprise
106 New Patents Kept Secret, 4,915 “Secrecy Orders” in Effect
In 2005, the federal government closed the lid on 106 patents. Overall, that brings the total number
of inventions kept under “secrecy orders” to 4,915.
Classified Documents
$134 Spent Creating New Secrets for Every $1 Spent Releasing Old Secrets
For every $1 the federal government spent in 2005 releasing old secrets, it spent $134 creating new
secrets. The good news is that is a $14 drop from 2004. To put this slight drop in context-from
1997 to 2001, the government spent less than $20 per year keeping secrets for every dollar spent
declassifying them.
17% of DOD FY 2006 Budget Is Classified or “Black”
“Black” programs accounted for 17 percent of the (FY) 2006 Department of Defense (DoD)
budget of $315.5 billion, requested in 2005. Classified acquisition funding has nearly doubled
in real terms since FY 1995, when funding for these programs reached its post-Cold War low.
Freedom of Information Act
FOIA Requests Continue to Rise; Agencies Can-t Keep Up
Adjusted for an abnormal increase in Social Security Administration numbers, the number of FOIA
requests has increased by 65,543 requests since 2004. Agencies overall have been unable to keep up
with the number of requests, with 43 percent more pending requests this year than in 2002.
Used Rarely in Cold War, “State Secrets” Privilege Used At Least 22 Times Since 2001
Reported Invocations Continue to Rise
The “state secrets” privilege allows the sitting U.S. president to nearly unilaterally withhold documents
from the courts, Congress and the public. At the height of the Cold War, the administration
used the privilege only 6 times between 1953 and 1976. Since 2001, it has been invoked a reported 22
times-an average in 5.5 years (4) that is close to twice as high as the previous 24 years (2.46).
Presidential Signing Statements
132 Signing Statements Challenging Over 810 Federal Laws in George W. Bush’s Presidency
In the 211 years of our Republic to 2000, Presidents had issued fewer than 600 signing statements
that took issue with the bills they signed. Among recent Presidents, President Reagan issued 71
statements challenging provisions of the laws before him, and President George Herbert Walker
Bush issued 146. President Clinton issued 105. George W. Bush has issued at least 132 to date.