So far, agency efforts to implement electronic freedom of information requirements enacted two years ago have generally failed, government watchdog groups told a House panel Tuesday.
Agency representatives did not admit complete failure at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology, but said a lack of resources had delayed full implementation of the provisions.
The electronic amendments to the Freedom of Information Act (known as E-FOIA) in 1996 ordered agencies to use technology to cut their information request backlogs. E-FOIA also pushed agencies to disseminate more information electronically, requiring them to release lists of their major information systems and record locator systems, along with handbooks for obtaining information. It also required agencies to create reading rooms where people can find indexes of records that have been released under FOIA and are likely to be requested again.
Jane Kirtley, executive director of the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, admitted that the act has "caused some positive change to promote government openness," but said "federal agencies have missed their deadlines for compliance with the act in the same way they have been missing FOIA deadlines for decades."
Patrice McDermott, an information policy analyst at OMB Watch, a Washington-based watchdog group that promotes public access to government information, said that of the 57 agency Web sites the group had examined, 13 had no E-FOIA presence and 44 had varying degrees of compliance with the requirements.
"There is a clear indication that OMB and the agencies in general do not put a priority on providing public access to public information," McDermott said.
Panel members noted that some agencies, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NASA, the Defense Department, the Federal Communications Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency, have a "good track record" with E-FOIA.
Richard Huff, co-director of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy, said Justice is committed to following E-FOIA guidelines, but has been impeded by a lack of resources and technological know-how.
"Our major problem is how we go about getting a document online if we have it in one format, but need it in a Web format," Huff said.
At the FBI, the backlog of FOIA requests, which peaked at 16,426, has now been reduced by 28 percent, according to John Collingwood, head of the FBI's Office of Public and Congressional Affairs. The agency has placed 37 of its most requested cases online, encompassing over 19,000 pages of text.
Collingwood, however, admits the FBI has a long way to go in terms of "eliminating backlog, getting absolute commitments to get the job done, and dealing with the ever-changing world of technology."
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