Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed by Congress in 1966 and amended in 1974 in order to create an open government. The FOIA applies only to federal agencies and does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Each state has its own public access laws.FOIA can be used by individuals, universities, business, or any organization to obtain records on agency operations and actions, and other collected information relating to public health, environmental hazards, consumer product safety, government spending, labor relations, business decisions, taxes, history, foreign policy, national defense and the economy. The law does contain nine exemptions for national security, internal agency rules, information governed by other statutes, business information, internal government memos, private matters, law enforcement investigations, records on the regulation of financial institutions, and information concerning the location of oil wells.
A number of recent government policies and rules significantly alter how information is handled under FOIA. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memorandum on October 12, 2001 instructing agencies to withhold documents whenever legally possible under the Freedom of Information Act. The memo specifically states the exemptions that agencies should use to shield information. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report that shows a significant percentage of FOIA officers have reduced the amount of information available to the public because of the Ashcroft memo.
On December 14, 2005, President Bush issued Executive Order 13392 on FOIA. The Executive Order requires agencies to name a Chief FOIA Officer, and to establish FOIA Requester Service Centers to help people find out the status of their requests. This executive order will not fix many of the problems with the current FOIA system that are addressed by Sens. Cornyn and Leahy's Faster FOIA and OPEN Government Acts.
In the 110th Congress, the House and Senate have each passed bills (H.R. 1309 and S. 849) that hold promise for the improvement of the FOIA process. Important differences exist between the bills and will have to be addressed in the fall of 2007.
Federal Agency Information
Using FOIA
Resource Pages
Legislation and Policies
Previous Legislation
Analyses and Reports
For more information on how to use FOIA, see the OpenTheGovernment.org Getting and Using Information page.
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