House panel votes to ease access to federal records

A House Government Reform subcommittee on Wednesday approved a bill that would give the public better access to government records and require federal agencies to provide more timely responses to information requests.

The bill, H.R. 867, would amend the Freedom of Information Act and was the result of many months' work by members of the Government Management, Finance and Accountability Subcommittee. The panel held two FOIA hearings this year -- the first FOIA examinations in the House in nearly five years.

The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved a companion bill, S. 394, by voice vote. Both versions would impose stricter enforcement of the existing 20-day deadline for FOIA responses and would create a system to allow the public to track the status of FOIA requests online and via a telephone hotline.

Both bills also call for a FOIA ombudsman to mediate disputes between the government and the public on information requests. Pennsylvania Republican Todd Platts, who chairs the House subcommittee, said the proposed Office of Government Information Services, is central to the legislation.

The office would be housed at the Administration Conference of the United States, which currently exists "only on paper," Platts said. The federally funded think tank was established in the 1960s to examine government management issues and functioned until 1995. It was reauthorized in 2004 but has yet to receive any funding.

"It is absolutely critical that there be a viable alternative to litigation," Platts said. Currently, if an agency denies a FOIA request, the petitioner "often has no option other than costly litigation in federal court," he said. The Administration Conference should be funded to fulfill that role, or lawmakers must find another entity to do the job, Platts said.

But an amendment to the bill could make it more controversial. That proposal would overturn a 2001 declaration by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft that restricts the release of information under FOIA. The amendment also would topple the "Card memo" from former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card that was aimed at safeguarding information deemed "sensitive but unclassified."

Although the Senate bill does not include a similar provision, its co-sponsor, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, would be amenable to adding one, his spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said.

A less contentious provision of the House amendment would increase transparency in agency reporting on FOIA implementation. It would require federal offices to provide more details about the time spent responding to FOIA requests, responsiveness to expedited review requests, and time spent on administrative appeals in annual reports.

FOIA reform is "unlikely to pass" before Congress adjourns, but the recent action on the pending bills will give "extra momentum" to the effort heading into next year, said Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative.

Attention given to FOIA in both chambers reflects the urgency felt by members "about removing unnecessary obstacles the public faces getting government records and reforming the FOIA process," he said.