[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H1887-H1891]
FOIA OVERSIGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 2014
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1211) to amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), to provide for
greater public access to information, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1211
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``FOIA Oversight and
Implementation Act of 2014'' or the ``FOIA Act''.
SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS.
(a) Electronic Accessibility.--Section 552 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``for public inspection and copying'' and
inserting ``in an electronic, publicly accessible format''
each place it appears;
(ii) by striking ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon;
(iii) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting the
following new subparagraphs:
``(E) copies of all releasable records, regardless of form
or format, that have been requested three or more times under
paragraph (3); and
``(F) a general index of the records referred to under
subparagraphs (D) and (E);''; and
(iv) in the matter following subparagraph (F) (as added by
clause (ii) of this subparagraph)--
(I) by striking ``subparagraph (D)'' and inserting
``subparagraphs (D) and (E)''; and
(II) by striking ``subparagraph (E)'' and inserting
``subparagraph (F)''; and
(B) in paragraph (7)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``that will take
longer than ten days to process''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``automated'' after
``provides'';
(2) in subsection (g), by striking ``make publicly
available upon request'' and inserting ``make available in an
electronic, publicly accessible format''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(m) FOIA Web Site Required.--Not later than one year
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Office of
Management and Budget shall ensure the existence and
operation of a single website, accessible by the public at no
cost to access, that allows the public to--
``(1) submit requests for records under subsection (a)(3);
``(2) receive automated information about the status of a
request under subsection (a)(7); and
``(3) file appeals.''.
(b) Presumption of Openness.--Section 552(b) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended in the matter following
paragraph (9), by inserting before ``Any reasonably
segregable portion'' the following: ``An agency may not
withhold information under this subsection unless such agency
reasonably foresees that disclosure would cause specific
identifiable harm to an interest protected by an exemption,
or if disclosure is prohibited by law.''.
(c) The Office of Government Information Services.--Section
552 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(i), by striking ``the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget'' and inserting ``the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Government
Information Services,''; and
(2) by amending subsection (h) to read as follows:
``(h) The Office of Government Information Services.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established the Office of
Government Information Services within the National Archives
and Records Administration. The head of the Office is the
Director of the Office of Government Information Services.
``(2) Review of foia policy, procedure, and compliance.--
The Office of Government Information Services shall--
``(A) review policies and procedures of agencies under this
section;
``(B) review compliance with this section by agencies;
``(C) identify methods that improve compliance under this
section that may include--
``(i) the timely processing of requests submitted to
agencies under this section;
``(ii) the system for assessing fees and fee waivers under
this section; and
``(iii) the use of any exemption under subsection (b); and
``(D) review and provide guidance to agencies on the use of
fees and fee waivers.
``(3) Mediation services.--The Office of Government
Information Services shall offer mediation services to
resolve disputes between persons making requests under this
section and agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to
litigation and, at the discretion of the Office, may issue
advisory opinions if mediation has not resolved the dispute.
``(4) Submission of report.--
``(A) In general.--The Office of Government Information
Services shall not less than annually submit to the
committees described in subparagraph (C) and the President a
report on the findings from the information reviewed and
identified under paragraph (2), a summary of the Office's
activities under paragraph (3) (including any advisory
opinions issued), and legislative and regulatory
recommendations to improve the administration of this
section.
``(B) Electronic availability of reports.--The Office shall
make available any report submitted under paragraph (A) in a
publicly accessible format.
``(C) Congressional submission of report.--The committees
described in this subparagraph are the following:
``(i) The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of
the House of Representatives.
``(ii) The Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate.
``(D) Direct submission of reports and testimony.--Any
report submitted under paragraph (A), any testimony, or any
other communication to Congress shall be submitted directly
to the committees and the President, without any requirement
that any officer or employee outside of the Office of
Government Information Services, including the Archivist of
the United States and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, review such report, testimony, or
other communication.
``(5) Submission of additional information.--The Director
of the Office of Government Information Services may submit
additional information to Congress and the President that the
Director determines to be appropriate.
``(6) Annual meeting required.--Not less than once a year,
the Office of Government Information Services shall hold a
meeting that is open to the public on the review and reports
by the Office and permit interested persons to appear and
present oral or written statements at such meeting.''.
(d) Public Resources.--Section 552(a)(6)(A) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ``of such determination and
the reasons therefor, and of the right of such person to
appeal to the head of the agency any adverse determination;
and'' and inserting the following: ``of--
``(I) such determination and the reasons therefor;
``(II) the right of such person to seek assistance from the
agency FOIA Public Liaison; and
``(III) the right of such person to appeal to the head of
the agency any adverse determination, within a period
determined by the agency that is not less than 90 days after
the receipt of such adverse determination; and''; and
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting
the following: ``and the right of such person to seek dispute
resolution services from the agency FOIA Public Liaison or
the Office of Government Information Services.''
(e) Additional Disclosure of Information Requirements.--
Section 552(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(8) Disclosure of information for increased public
understanding of the government.--Each agency shall--
``(A) review the records of such agency to determine
whether the release of the records would be in the public
interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to
public
[[Page H1888]]
understanding of the operations or activities of the
Government;
``(B) for records determined to be in the public interest
under subparagraph (A), reasonably segregate and redact any
information exempted from disclosure under subsection (b);
and
``(C) make available in an electronic, publicly accessible
format, any records identified in subparagraph (A), as
modified pursuant to subparagraph (B).
``(9) Increased disclosure of information.--Each agency
shall--
``(A) make information public to the greatest extent
possible through modern technology to--
``(i) inform the public of the operations and activities of
the Government; and
``(ii) ensure timely disclosure of information; and
``(B) establish procedures for identifying categories of
records that may be disclosed regularly and additional
records of interest to the public that are appropriate for
public disclosure, and for posting such records in an
electronic, publicly accessible format.''.
(f) Report on Categories of Information for Disclosure.--
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and every two years thereafter, the Director of the
Office of Information Policy of the Department of Justice,
after consultation with agencies selected by the Director,
shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committees on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary
of the Senate a report that identifies categories of records
that would be appropriate for proactive disclosure, and shall
make such report available in an electronic, publicly
accessible format.
(g) Agency FOIA Report.--Section 552(e) of title 5, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``and to the Director of the Office of
Government Information Services'' after ``the Attorney
General of the United States'';
(B) in subparagraph (N), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(C) in subparagraph (O), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
``(P) the number of times the agency invoked a law
enforcement exclusion under subsection (c);
``(Q) the number of times the agency engaged in dispute
resolution with the assistance of the Office of Government
Information Services or the FOIA Public Liaison;
``(R) the number of records that were made available in an
electronic, publicly accessible format under subsection
(a)(2); and
``(S) the number of times the agency assessed a search or
duplication fee under subsection (a)(4)(A) and did not comply
with a time limit under subsection (a)(6).'';
(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
``(3) Electronic accessibility of reports.--Each agency
shall make each such report available in an electronic,
publicly accessible format. In addition, each agency shall
make the raw statistical data used in its reports available
in a timely manner in an electronic, publicly accessible
format. Such data shall be--
``(A) made available without charge, license, or
registration requirement;
``(B) capable of being searched and aggregated; and
``(C) permitted to be downloaded and downloaded in bulk.'';
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by striking ``Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight'' and inserting ``Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform'';
(B) by striking ``Governmental Affairs'' and inserting
``Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs''; and
(C) by striking ``April 1'' and inserting ``March 1'';
(4) in paragraph (5)--
(A) by inserting ``and the Director of the Office of
Government Information Services'' after ``the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget''; and
(B) by striking ``by October 1, 1997''; and
(5) by amending paragraph (6) to read as follows:
``(6) Attorney general foia report.--
``(A) In general.--The Attorney General of the United
States shall submit to Congress and the President an annual
report on or before March 1 of each calendar year which shall
include for the prior calendar year--
``(i) a listing of the number of cases arising under this
section;
``(ii) each subsection under this section, each paragraph
of the subsection, and any exemption, if applicable, involved
in each case, the disposition of such case, and the cost,
fees, and penalties assessed under subparagraphs (E), (F),
and (G) of subsection (a)(4); and
``(iii) a description of the efforts undertaken by the
Department of Justice to encourage agency compliance with
this section.
``(B) Electronic availability.--The Attorney General of the
United States--
``(i) shall make each report described under subparagraph
(A) available in an electronic, publicly accessible format;
and
``(ii) shall make the raw statistical data used in each
report available in an electronic, publicly accessible
format, which shall be--
``(I) made available without charge, license, or
registration requirement;
``(II) capable of being searched and aggregated; and
``(III) permitted to be downloaded, including downloaded in
bulk.''.
(h) Search or Duplication Fees.--Section 552(a)(4)(A)(viii)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new sentence: ``Any agency that does assess
search or duplication fees after failing to comply with a
time limit under paragraph (6) shall provide written notice
to the requester of the circumstance that justifies the fees.
If an agency fails to provide such notice, the agency may not
assess search or duplication fees.''.
(i) Government Accountability Office.--Subsection (i) of
section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to
read as follows:
``(i) Government Accountability Office.--The Government
Accountability Office shall--
``(1) conduct audits of administrative agencies on
compliance with and implementation of the requirements of
this section and issue reports detailing the results of such
audits;
``(2) catalog the number of exemptions under subsection
(b)(3) and agency use of such exemptions; and
``(3) review and prepare a report on the processing of
requests by agencies for information pertaining to an entity
that has received assistance under title I of the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.)
during any period in which the Government owns or owned more
than 50 percent of the stock of such entity.''.
(j) Chief FOIA Officer Responsibilities; Council; Review.--
Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking subsections (j) and (k); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (i), the following new
subsections:
``(j) Chief FOIA Officer.--
``(1) Designation.--Each agency shall designate a Chief
FOIA Officer who shall be a senior official of such agency
(at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level).
``(2) Duties.--The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall,
subject to the authority of the head of the agency--
``(A) have agency-wide responsibility for efficient and
appropriate compliance with this section;
``(B) monitor implementation of this section throughout the
agency and keep the head of the agency, the chief legal
officer of the agency, and the Attorney General appropriately
informed of the agency's performance in implementing this
section;
``(C) recommend to the head of the agency such adjustments
to agency practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may
be necessary to improve its implementation of this section;
``(D) review and report to the Attorney General, through
the head of the agency, at such times and in such formats as
the Attorney General may direct, on the agency's performance
in implementing this section;
``(E) facilitate public understanding of the purposes of
the statutory exemptions of this section by including concise
descriptions of the exemptions in both the agency's handbook
issued under subsection (g), and the agency's annual report
on this section, and by providing an overview, where
appropriate, of certain general categories of agency records
to which those exemptions apply;
``(F) serve as the primary agency liaison with the Office
of Government Information Services and the Office of
Information Policy; and
``(G) designate one or more FOIA Public Liaisons.
``(3) Compliance review required.--The Chief FOIA Officer
of each agency shall--
``(A) review, not less than annually, all aspects of the
agency's administration of this section to ensure compliance
with the requirements of this section, including--
``(i) agency regulations;
``(ii) disclosure of records required under paragraphs (2),
(8), and (9) of subsection (a);
``(iii) assessment of fees and determination of eligibility
for fee waivers;
``(iv) the timely processing of requests for information
under this section;
``(v) the use of exemptions under subsection (b); and
``(vi) dispute resolution services with the assistance of
the Office of Government Information Services or the FOIA
Public Liaison; and
``(B) make recommendations as necessary to improve agency
practices and compliance with this section.
``(k) Chief FOIA Officers Council.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the executive
branch the Chief FOIA Officers Council (in this subsection,
referred to as the `Council').
``(2) Members.--The Council shall consist of the following
members:
``(A) The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of
Management and Budget.
``(B) The Director of the Office of Information Policy at
the Department of Justice.
``(C) The Director of the Office of Government Information
Services at the National Archives and Records Administration.
``(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency.
``(E) Any other officer or employee of the United States as
designated by the Co-Chairs.
``(3) Co-chairs.--The Director of the Office of Information
Policy at the Department of Justice and the Director of the
Office of Government Information Services at the National
Archives and Records Administration shall be the Co-Chairs of
the Council.
[[Page H1889]]
``(4) Support services.--The Administrator of General
Services shall provide administrative and other support for
the Council.
``(5) Consultation.--In performing its duties, the Council
shall consult regularly with members of the public who make
requests under this section.
``(6) Duties.--The duties of the Council include the
following:
``(A) Develop recommendations for increasing compliance and
efficiency under this section.
``(B) Disseminate information about agency experiences,
ideas, best practices, and innovative approaches related to
this section.
``(C) Identify, develop, and coordinate initiatives to
increase transparency and compliance with this section.
``(D) Promote the development and use of common performance
measures for agency compliance with this section.
``(7) Meetings.--
``(A) Regular meetings.--The Council shall meet regularly
and such meetings shall be open to the public unless the
Council determines to close the meeting for reasons of
national security or to discuss information exempt under
subsection (b).
``(B) Annual meetings.--Not less than once a year, the
Council shall hold a meeting that shall be open to the public
and permit interested persons to appear and present oral and
written statements to the Council.
``(C) Notice.--Not later than 10 business days before a
meeting of the Council, notice of such meeting shall be
published in the Federal Register.
``(D) Public availability of council records.--Except as
provided in subsection (b), the records, reports,
transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working papers, drafts,
studies, agenda, or other documents that were made available
to or prepared for or by the Council shall be made publicly
available.
``(E) Minutes.--Detailed minutes of each meeting of the
Council shall be kept and shall contain a record of the
persons present, a complete and accurate description of
matters discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all
reports received, issued, or approved by the Council.''.
(k) Regulations.--
(1) Revision of regulations.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each
agency shall review the regulations of such agency and shall
issue regulations on procedures for the disclosure of records
under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, in
accordance with the amendments made by this section. The
regulations of each agency shall include--
(A) procedures for engaging in dispute resolution; and
(B) procedures for engaging with the Office of Government
Information Services.
(2) Office of government information services report.--Not
later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Office of Government Information Services shall
submit to Congress a report on agency compliance with the
requirements of this subsection.
(3) Report on noncompliance.--The head of any agency that
does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) shall submit
to Congress a report on the reason for noncompliance not
later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(4) Inspector general review for noncompliance.--Any agency
that fails to comply with the requirements of this subsection
shall be reviewed by the Office of Inspector General of such
agency for compliance with section 552 of title 5, United
States Code.
(5) Agency defined.--In this section, the term ``agency''
has the meaning given such term in section 552(f) of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall establish a pilot program for 3
years to review the benefits of a centralized portal to
process requests and release information under section 552 of
title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of
Information Act).
(b) Plan Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall establish a plan to evaluate the
functionality and benefits of a centralized portal to receive
and track requests made under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code, by selecting no less than 3 agencies that have
not previously participated in a centralized portal,
including at least one of the following:
(1) An agency that receives more than 30,000 requests
annually for information under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code.
(2) An agency that receives between 15,000 and 30,000
requests annually for information under such section.
(3) An agency that receives 15,000 or fewer requests
annually for information under such section.
(c) Agency Use of Web Site.--Each agency selected under
subsection (b) shall use the centralized portal to--
(1) receive requests under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code;
(2) consult with and refer requests to participating
agencies;
(3) if practicable, process requests received under such
section;
(4) track the status of requests submitted under such
section; and
(5) make records released available publicly through the
centralized portal.
(d) Review Required.--The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall, in consultation with the
Attorney General, the Office of Government Information
Services, and the head of each agency participating in the
pilot program, review the benefits of a centralized portal,
including--
(1) any cost saving, resource saving, or efficiency gained;
(2) any change in the amount of requests received under
section 552 of title 5, United States Code;
(3) any increase in transparency and accessibility to
Government information; and
(4) any changes in the ability to access and compile
information needed for agency annual reports required under
section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
(e) Report Required.--Not later than 3 months after the
completion of the pilot program, the head of each agency
participating in the program--
(1) shall submit to Congress a report on the impact of the
pilot program on agency processes under section 552 of title
5, United States Code, whether the agency will continue to
participate in the centralized portal, and any
recommendations the head of the agency considers appropriate;
and
(2) shall make such report available in an electronic,
publicly accessible format.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given such
term in section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Centralized portal.--The term ``centralized portal''
means an electronic online portal that allows a requester to
submit a request under section 552 of title 5, United States
Code, to any participating agency, to track the status of a
request, and to obtain a response to a request made through
the portal.
SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW; ADVERSE ACTIONS.
(a) Inspector General Review.--
(1) In general.--The Inspector General of each agency
shall--
(A) periodically review compliance with the requirements of
section 552 of title 5, United States Code, including the
timely processing of requests, assessment of fees and fee
waivers, and the use of exemptions under subsection (b) of
such section; and
(B) make recommendations the Inspector General determines
to be necessary to the head of the agency, including
recommendations for disciplinary action.
(2) Agency defined.--In this subsection, the term
``agency'' has the meaning given that term under section
552(f) of title 5, United States Code.
(b) Adverse Actions.--The withholding of information in a
manner inconsistent with the requirements of section 552 of
title 5, United States Code (including any rules,
regulations, or other implementing guidelines), as determined
by the appropriate supervisor, shall be a basis for
disciplinary action in accordance with subchapter I, II, or V
of chapter 75 of such title, as the case may be.
SEC. 5. OPEN GOVERNMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Archivist of the United States
shall establish an Open Government Advisory Committee (in
this section, referred to as the ``Committee''), an
independent advisory committee to make recommendations for
improving Government transparency.
(b) Membership; Chair; Meetings; Qualifications of
Members.--The Committee shall be composed of at least nine
members appointed by the Archivist, one of whom shall be
designated the Chair by the members, and shall meet at such
times and places as may be designated by the Chair. Each
member of the Committee shall be qualified by education,
training, or experience to make recommendations on improving
Government transparency. The membership of the Committee
shall include--
(1) representatives of the Department of Justice and the
Office of Government Information Services;
(2) at least two members with experience requesting
information under section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(including one member of the news media); and
(3) at least one member with expertise in information
technology.
(c) Compensation.--While serving on the business of the
Committee, and while so serving away from home and the
member's regular place of business, a member may be allowed
travel expenses, as authorized by the Archivist.
(d) Conflict of Interest Disclosure.--The members of the
Committee shall be considered to be special Government
employees (as such term is defined in section 202 of title
18, United States Code).
(e) Staff.--The Archivist may appoint and fix the
compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to enable
the Committee to carry out its functions. Any personnel of
the Committee who are employees shall be employees under
section 2105 of title 5, United States Code. Any Federal
Government employee may be detailed to the Committee without
reimbursement from the Committee, and such detailee shall
retain the rights, status, and privileges of regular
employment of such employee without interruption.
(f) Applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.--
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall
apply to the Committee and any subcommittee or subgroup
thereof.
[[Page H1890]]
(g) Disclosure of Information.--The Archivist shall make
publicly available the following information:
(1) The charter of the Committee.
(2) A description of the process used to establish and
appoint the members of the Committee, including the
following:
(A) The process for identifying prospective members.
(B) The process of selecting members for balance of
viewpoints or expertise.
(C) The reason each member was appointed to the Committee.
(3) A list of all current members, including, for each
member, the name of any person or entity that nominated the
member.
(4) A summary of the process used by the Committee for
making decisions.
(5) A transcript or audio or visual recording of each
meeting of the Committee.
(6) Any written determination by the President or the
Archivist, pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), to close a meeting or any
portion of a meeting and the reasons for such determination.
(7) Notices of future meetings of the Committee.
(h) Manner of Disclosure.--
(1) Website publication.--Except as provided in paragraph
(2), the Archivist shall make the information required to be
disclosed under this section available electronically on the
official public website of the National Archives and Records
Administration at least 15 calendar days before each meeting
of the Committee. If the Archivist determines that such
timing is not practicable for any required information, the
Archivist shall make the information available as soon as
practicable but no later than 48 hours before the next
meeting of the Committee.
(2) Availability of committee meeting.--The Archivist shall
make available electronically, on the official public website
of the National Archives and Records Administration, a
transcript or audio or video recording of each Committee
meeting not later than 30 calendar days after such meeting.
SEC. 6. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
No additional funds are authorized to carry out the
requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts
otherwise authorized or appropriated.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 1211, the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act, or FOIA Act, is
a bipartisan bill approved unanimously by the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee last March. I cosponsored the legislation,
which Ranking Member Elijah Cummings authored.
The bill is a product of the joint effort by our staffs. The
legislation has been endorsed by 29 nonpartisan transparency groups,
including the Project On Government Oversight, known as POGO,
Government in the Sunshine, the Sunlight Foundation, and the American
Society of News Editors.
Mr. Speaker, it is critical at this time that the American people
believe and actually receive the information that lets them understand
what their government is doing.
A key provision of this bill is to codify requirements in a FOIA
memorandum issued by President Obama and Attorney General Holder. This
includes making the presumption of openness standard the law of the
land. That means that an agency can only withhold information if the
disclosure of such records would cause foreseeable harm. This shifts
the burden of proof from the public requester seeking information about
a government agency, with which he must now demonstrate that he has the
need to the government being open and transparent, unless it has a good
reason to withhold.
The FOIA Act of 2014 also requires an unprecedented level of
proactive disclosure. That means that more information will be made
available to the public without each individual interested in the
information needing to file separate FOIA requests to get it.
Mr. Speaker, in plain English, if one person and then another person
or one entity and another entity seem to want to have the same
information, rather than the agencies possibly posting it publicly,
they will be required to post it publicly, so that which a few agencies
want to know or a few private organizations want to know, the entire
public would have easy access. Another way of putting it is, if you are
going to tell one person that it is reasonable to have public access,
then all the public should have easy access to that information.
These proactive disclosure requirements are intended to make the
information-sharing a routine part of government. Like the DATA Act
passed earlier this year, which the House approved, the FOIA Act
requires all information be posted in an electronic, publicly
accessible format.
Raw data will be available as the original format so that it can be
machine-searched and give the widest ability for the public to have not
just access to the letters, but access to the meaning and the cross-
meaning of this information.
Under this bill, more agencies will be using technology to increase
transparency by processing FOIA requests through a centralized Web
portal. Users will submit requests in one location, where agencies can
automatically post their response. This kind of one-point access is
something the public has long waited for from the Federal Government.
The legislation before the House today modestly amends the committee-
reported bill by establishing an Open Government Advisory Committee,
housed within the National Archives' Office of Government Information
Services. The Open Government Advisory Committee will ensure that
reform efforts continue after this bill is enacted.
Mr. Speaker, this amendment to the FOIA law is one of the most
important additional accesses to the American people; and I might note
with thanks that this is an initiative begun by this administration, by
President Obama, that we believe should be there for all times.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Issa for sponsoring this bill
with me. This bill, if enacted, would be a landmark reform of our most
important open government law, the Freedom of Information Act.
This legislation would make significant improvements to the current
law, which has not been consistently implemented.
During the Clinton administration, Attorney General Janet Reno
adopted a policy under which the Department of Justice would defend an
agency's use of a FOIA exemption only when the agency could reasonably
foresee that disclosure would harm an interest protected by that
exemption.
In the Bush administration, Attorney General John Ashcroft reversed
this standard and directed the Justice Department to defend agency
decisions to withhold records, as long as they had a legal basis for
doing so.
President Obama, to his credit, on his first day in office, directed
agencies to implement FOIA with a presumption of openness. Attorney
General Holder overturned the Ashcroft standard and reinstated the
foreseeable harm standard.
The legislation before us today would codify, in law, this
presumption in favor of disclosure, no matter who is President.
Under this bill, an agency would not be allowed to withhold
information in response to a FOIA request, unless disclosure is
prohibited by law or would cause specific identifiable harm to an
interest protected by one of FOIA's exemptions.
This bill also would create an advisory committee to make
recommendations to improve government transparency. The President
recently endorsed this idea in the Open Government National Action Plan
issued by the administration in December of 2013.
This legislation also would create a pilot project to encourage
participation in a centralized FOIA portal. A centralized portal, such
as FOIAonline, that is run by EPA, allows requesters to use one Webcast
to file requests to multiple agencies.
The bill also would strengthen the Office of Government Information
[[Page H1891]]
Services by enhancing its role in providing guidance to agencies and
ensuring that agencies notify requesters of their right to use its
mediation services.
The bill would strengthen the independence of this office by allowing
it to send testimony and reports directly to Congress without approval
from the Office of Management and Budget.
I urge every Member of this body to support this open government
legislation by voting for it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
We don't often find in this body the kind of consensus behind
something that, as the ranking member said, has gone both ways under
different Presidents.
I am a proud Republican, but I believe that the order given by
President Obama was the right order. The order given by President Bush,
perhaps in light of 9/11, perhaps in light of other considerations,
might have seemed right at the time.
But let me make something clear today: on our committee, there is
unanimity. The American people must have access to all the information,
unless there is a specific reason to withhold it.
This requirement under FOIA today will drive the DATA Act and other
reforms that will cause information to be likely stored in formats that
are easier for agencies to determine that which they must withhold. We
think it is important.
Today, legions of people often spend countless hours redacting
nothing more than one name or one Social Security number that cannot be
found, except by a set of eyes scanning over it.
So, in addition to the American people getting what they are entitled
to under this act, we believe that it will drive the kind of innovation
automation that actually will save the American people money and cause
more information to be available.
Just as census data is critical to our economy, so is access to what
your government is doing, planning to do, or thought about, talked
about, or did in the process of making laws, regulations, and rules.
So I join with my colleague in believing that this is a time in which
we say this President acted properly in how he ordered something, we
believe codifying it, so that no follow-on President could modify it or
fail to deliver what this legislation envisions.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I am about to close.
Again, I want to thank Chairman Issa for his hard work on this. This
is so very, very important.
I often tell my constituents, Mr. Speaker, that this is our watch. We
are the guardians of the democracy today, and it is important to us to
pass on a stronger and a better democracy than the one we found when we
came upon this Earth.
{time} 1515
A significant part of any democracy is openness, where people can
know what the government is doing. When you have a representative
government, people come to the town hall meetings trying to find out
what is going on, and now they can go to computers and find out what is
going on. We must have as much openness as possible and as is
reasonable, and I think that this is a big step in the right direction
of preserving that part of the democracy that calls for transparency.
So I agree with the chairman. This is so much bigger than us. This is
not just about this moment. This is about generations yet unborn. This
is about people trying simply to be a part of their democracy, who are
trying to understand it, who are trying to use information so that they
can be participants in it. If they do not know what is going on, it is
kind of hard to participate. If they do not know what is going on, it
is kind of hard to go to their representatives to urge them to make
appropriate changes.
So, with that, I urge all of the Members of this body to vote in
favor of this legislation.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, as I close, I want to thank my partner in this
legislation, Mr. Cummings.
In order to get this kind of legislation, you do need to make sure
that you have dotted the i's, and I believe we have done so. The minor
modification that was made between the time it left the committee and
the floor is one that was done on a bipartisan basis. Were this to go
back to our committee, of course it would pass unanimously. Therefore,
I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1211--to support the bill,
to support freedom, to support the opportunity for the American people
to know.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1211, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________
[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H1921-H1922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FOIA OVERSIGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 2014
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The unfinished business is the vote on the
motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1211) to amend
section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the
Freedom of Information Act), to provide for greater public access to
information, and for other purposes, as amended, on which the yeas and
nays were ordered.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
[[Page H1922]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, as amended.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 410,
nays 0, not voting 20, as follows:
[Roll No. 63]
YEAS--410
Aderholt
Amash
Amodei
Bachmann
Bachus
Barber
Barletta
Barr
Barrow (GA)
Barton
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Benishek
Bentivolio
Bera (CA)
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Boustany
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Broun (GA)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Bustos
Butterfield
Byrne
Calvert
Camp
Cantor
Capito
Capuano
Cardenas
Carney
Carson (IN)
Carter
Cartwright
Cassidy
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chabot
Chaffetz
Chu
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Coble
Coffman
Cohen
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Connolly
Conyers
Cook
Cooper
Costa
Cotton
Courtney
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cuellar
Culberson
Cummings
Daines
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
Davis, Rodney
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Deutch
Diaz-Balart
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle
Duckworth
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Edwards
Ellison
Ellmers
Engel
Enyart
Eshoo
Esty
Farenthold
Farr
Fattah
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Foxx
Frankel (FL)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia
Gardner
Garrett
Gibbs
Gibson
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grijalva
Grimm
Guthrie
Hahn
Hall
Hanabusa
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Heck (WA)
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Higgins
Himes
Hinojosa
Holding
Holt
Honda
Horsford
Hoyer
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huffman
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Israel
Issa
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Jenkins
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan
Joyce
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kirkpatrick
Kline
Kuster
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Langevin
Lankford
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
Latta
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lofgren
Long
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lummis
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Marchant
Marino
Massie
Matheson
Matsui
McAllister
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McNerney
Meadows
Meehan
Meeks
Meng
Messer
Mica
Michaud
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Negrete McLeod
Neugebauer
Noem
Nolan
Nunes
Nunnelee
O'Rourke
Olson
Owens
Palazzo
Pallone
Pascrell
Paulsen
Payne
Pearce
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Perry
Peters (CA)
Peters (MI)
Peterson
Petri
Pingree (ME)
Pittenger
Pitts
Pocan
Poe (TX)
Polis
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruiz
Runyan
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanford
Sarbanes
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schock
Schrader
Schweikert
Scott (VA)
Scott, Austin
Scott, David
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Southerland
Speier
Stewart
Stivers
Stockman
Stutzman
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Terry
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tierney
Tipton
Titus
Tonko
Tsongas
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Van Hollen
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Waxman
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Welch
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Womack
Woodall
Yarmuth
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
NOT VOTING--20
Campbell
Capps
Fincher
Gerlach
Gingrey (GA)
Gosar
Graves (MO)
Gutierrez
Hanna
McCarthy (NY)
Miller, Gary
Nugent
Pastor (AZ)
Richmond
Ruppersberger
Rush
Schwartz
Tiberi
Wilson (FL)
Young (IN)
{time} 1900
Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER and Mr. ELLISON changed their vote from ``nay''
to ``yea.''
So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and
the bill, as amended, was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________
