Freedom of information requests overwhelm agencies

Federal agencies are overwhelmed with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests despite their efforts to make more information accessible to the public online, according to a new General Accounting Office report.

The report, "Information Management: Update on the Implementation of the 1996 Freedom of Information Act Amendments" (GAO-02-493) updates data compiled two years ago from 25 agencies. The report shows that FOIA requests made to those agencies declined in 2001, but only the CIA has steadily reduced its FOIA-request backlog since 1998.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and California Republican Steve Horn, who chairs the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations, requested the report on implementation of 1996 FOIA modifications. Leahy and Horn spearheaded legislation that required federal agencies to make more information electronically available to the public and directed agencies to expedite FOIA requests.

While most agencies are making progress in implementing the 1996 law, GAO said that "not all required materials were available online" and that the information available was not always easy to find. "This situation appears to reflect a lack of adequate attention and continuing review by agency officials to ensure that these materials are readily available," the report said.

Preliminary GAO findings also suggest that the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on information disseminated by agencies and their processing of FOIA requests is minimal. Many federal officials told GAO that they did not make "major changes to their FOIA processes or decision criteria" in response to tighter national security.

Many civil liberties groups and others that often utilize FOIA have expressed concern that the fallout from the terrorist attacks would hinder the availability of public information and the process for fulfilling FOIA requests. In particular, GAO found that frequent users of FOIA are worried that post-terrorism Justice Department policies have shifted the processing of FOIA requests from a "right to know" to a "need to know" basis.

Still, GAO cautioned that the full impact of "the post-September 11 environment" will be difficult to assess for some time because many FOIA requests made since then will not be processed until 2003.

"FOIA makes government work better," Leahy said in a statement. "In times of heightened security, the tendency to close doors and conduct the government's business in secret is natural. Secrecy can become addictive, and that is a danger we have to guard against. The nation needs a robust FOIA in times of peace but also in times of war."

While praising Justice's efforts to post information online and enhance FOIA processing, GAO said the department should improve the "reliability of data in their annual FOIA reports" and continue to encourage agencies to make all required material electronically available.