The U.S. government has significantly reduced the backlog of Freedom of Information requests in the last year, but has been slow to act in other areas related to government secrecy, according to a new secrecy report card by OpenTheGovernment.org, a coalition of more than 70 watchdog groups.

“The country elected a president who has promised the most open, transparent and accountable federal Executive Branch in history,” the report said. “The record to date is mixed.”

U.S. government agencies spent nearly $9 billion last year "maintaining the secrets on the books," the report describes, while spending about $45 million on declassifying documents.

However, more positive trends include the Freedom of Information request backlog being reduced by 40 percent across government and a decline in the creation of new national security secrets.

For more, see the full report.