About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-20-406R 1 (2020-03-11)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaeaub0001 and id is 1 raw text is: cIAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 March 11, 2020 Congressional Requesters Freedom of Information Act: Federal Agencies' Recent Implementation Efforts The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted into law more than 50 years ago, requires federal agencies to provide the public with access to government records and information based on the principles of openness and accountability in government.1 As required by law, 118 agencies reported their FOIA activities to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for fiscal year (FY) 2018. DOJ's Office of Information Policy (OIP), National Archives and Records Administration's Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), and the Chief FOIA Officers Council each have roles supporting agency implementation of FOIA. Specifically, OIP is responsible for encouraging agencies' compliance with FOIA and overseeing their implementation of the Act. OGIS's responsibilities include reviewing agencies' policies, procedures, and compliance with the FOIA, and identifying methods to improve compliance. The Chief FOIA Officers Council, which is co-chaired by the Director of OIP and the Director of OGIS, was established to assist in FOIA compliance and efficiency. You asked us to review federal agencies' efforts to implement the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.2 This report provides information on 1. government-wide FOIA activity from fiscal year (FY) 2012 through 2018, 2. steps OIP and OGIS have taken to assist agencies in implementing the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 since 2018, and 3. progress selected agencies have made on updating FOIA regulations since 2018. Earlier this month, we briefed your staff on the results of our review. This letter formally transmits the briefing slides (see enclosure I). To describe government-wide FOIA activity, we reviewed FY 2012 through 2018 data from the agencies required to report key FOIA statistics to DOJ for posting on FOIA.gov. These data included government-wide statistics on the number of FOIA requests and backlogged requests, processing timeliness, denials of requests, and agency-reported FOIA resources (staff and spending). We assessed the reliability of the data by reviewing related documentation, interviewing knowledgeable agency officials, and conducting data testing for missing data, 15 U.S.C. § 552. 2FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-185, 130 Stat. 538 (2016) (provisions codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552). GAO-20-406R Freedom of Information Act Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most