[Infowarrior] - Congress Passes First FOIA Reform Bill in More Than a Decade

[Richard Forno]

Update 5:18 p.m.

Congress Passes First FOIA Reform Bill in More Than a Decade

Bill Provides ³Common Sense² Solutions for Openness Problems:

Penalties for Delays, Tracking Systems for Requests, Ombuds-style Office to
Mediate Disputes, Better Agency Reporting

Reforms Recommended by Archive Audits and Testimony

For more information contact:

Thomas Blanton/Meredith Fuchs /Kristin Adair: 202/994-7000

Washington DC, December 18, 2007  - The House of Representatives at 5:18 pm
today unanimously passed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform bill
(S. 2488) that passed the Senate by unanimous consent on December 14.  The
bill aims to fix some of the most persistent problems in the FOIA system,
including excessive delay, lack of responsiveness, and litigation
gamesmanship by federal agencies.  Following today¹s approval by the House,
the OPEN Government Act will be sent to the President's desk for approval.

³Our six government-wide audits of FOIA performance show that these
bipartisan changes to the Freedom of Information Act are common sense
solutions,² remarked Meredith Fuchs, general counsel of the National
Security Archive.  ³This bill establishes tracking systems for FOIA requests
like FedEx uses for packages, actually penalizes agencies for the first time
for delays that our audits found could reach 20 years, and sets up an office
to mediate disputes as an alternative to litigation.²

http://www.nsarchive.org

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THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research
institute and library located at The George Washington University in
Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents
acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public
charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is
supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and
individuals.