U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) said that legislation approved by the Senate on Tuesday to make records more accessible through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) would rein in government overreach.
The FOIA Improvement Act, S. 337, offered by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), requires federal agencies to make records available in electronic format, and it would require federal agencies to make all records requested more than three times available electronically for public inspection.
“To rein in government, we must make it easy for everyone to see its overreach,” Issa said. “Right now, most FOIA requests are handled with the mindset that government should withhold as much information as possible and deny any request determined to be too sensitive or too embarrassing to disclose. The bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate (on Tuesday) will help level the playing field to ensure the American people have access to the information they are entitled to.”
Under the bill, agencies would be prohibited from charging a fee for records when deadlines are missed and agencies would be prohibited from withholding information unless disclosure would harm a government interest outlined in FOIA.
“Because the House has already passed similar legislation which I introduced last February, I am looking forward to hammering out the details between the two bills to send a final solution to the president’s desk for his approval as soon as possible,” Issa said.
Issa offered a similar piece of legislation, the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act, H.R. 653, that passed the House in January by voice vote.
The Government Accountability Office would also be required to conduct audits to ensure agency compliance with FOIA requirements, while a Chief FOIA Officers Council would be established to make recommendations to improve compliance.