WASHINGTON -- Government secrecy is growing at an unprecedented rate, harming the public's right to know about its government's activities and protect itself against terrorist threats, according to a new report by groups concerned about the trend.

The Bush administration has used its executive powers to curtail access to information, expand the power to classify information, and create a range of categories of "sensitive" information, according to OpenTheGovernment.org and People for the American Way.

"As Congress and the White House clash over this administration's unprecedented secrecy, Americans need to know the full scope of the problem," said Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org, a coalition of conservative and liberal groups concerned about government secrecy.

White House officials have long contended that the threat from Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups makes it necessary to keep sensitive information from disclosure.

"President Bush strongly believes that openness and transparency are essential hallmarks of American democracy," said White House spokeswoman Emily A. Lawrimore.

"He is committed to providing the American people with as much information as possible about his decisions on a wide range of issues, including national security," she said.

But increased secrecy results in less accountability, said Ralph G. Neas, founder of People For the American Way, an advocacy group.

"At a time when technology should make it easier than ever to promote openness in government, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have taken unprecedented steps to cloak themselves in secrecy."

The 45-page report offers a comprehensive look at how federal agencies are making more documents "secret" and even removing them from the public shelves to re classify them.

On an average day, federal agencies classify nearly 40,000 documents.

In 2005, agencies classified 14.2 million documents, up from 3.5 million documents in 1995.

For every dollar spent declassifying those documents, the government spends $134 marking them secret, according to the report.

"The biggest problem is the prevalence of mis classification," the report found.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.