II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 627 

To establish the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing 

Delays. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2011 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. TESTER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the Commission on Freedom of Information 

Act Processing Delays. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. COMMISSION ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 

4 ACT PROCESSING DELAYS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Faster FOIA Act of 2011’’. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com8 mission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays 

9 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’ for the pur10 pose of conducting a study relating to methods to help 


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1 reduce delays in processing requests submitted to Federal 

2 agencies under section 552 of title 5, United States Code 

3 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Freedom of Information 

4 Act’’). 

5 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

7 composed of 16 members of whom— 

8 (A) 3 shall be appointed by the chairman 

9 of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen10 ate; 

11 (B) 3 shall be appointed by the ranking 

12 member of the Committee on the Judiciary of 

13 the Senate; 

14 (C) 3 shall be appointed by the chairman 

15 of the Committee on Government Reform of the 

16 House of Representatives; 

17 (D) 3 shall be appointed by the ranking 

18 member of the Committee on Government Re19 form of the House of Representatives; 

20 (E) 1 shall be appointed by the Attorney 

21 General of the United States; 

22 (F) 1 shall be appointed by the Director of 

23 the Office of Management and Budget; 

24 (G) 1 shall be appointed by the Archivist 

25 of the United States; and 


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1 (H) 1 shall be appointed by the Comp2 troller General of the United States. 

3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS OF CONGRESSIONAL AP4 POINTEES.—Of the 3 appointees under each of sub5 paragraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1) 

6 at least 2 shall have experience in academic research 

7 in the fields of library science, information manage8 ment, or public access to Government information. 

9 (3) TIMELINESS OF APPOINTMENTS.—Appoint10 ments to the Commission shall be made as expedi11 tiously as possible, but not later than 60 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (d) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a study 

14 to— 

15 (1) identify methods that— 

16 (A) will help reduce delays in the proc17 essing of requests submitted to Federal agen18 cies under section 552 of title 5, United States 

19 Code; and 

20 (B) ensure the efficient and equitable ad21 ministration of that section throughout the 

22 Federal Government; 

23 (2) examine whether the system for charging 

24 fees and granting waivers of fees under section 552 


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1 of title 5, United States Code, needs to be reformed 

2 in order to reduce delays in processing requests; and 

3 (3) examine and determine— 

4 (A) why the Federal Government’s use of 

5 the exemptions under section 552(b) of title 5, 

6 United States Code, increased during fiscal 

7 year 2009; 

8 (B) the reasons for any increase, including 

9 whether the increase was warranted and wheth10 er the increase contributed to FOIA processing 

11 delays; 

12 (C) what efforts were made by Federal 

13 agencies to comply with President Obama’s 

14 January 21, 2009 Presidential Memorandum on 

15 Freedom of Information Act Requests and 

16 whether those efforts were successful; and 

17 (D) make recommendations on how the use 

18 of exemptions under section 552(b) of title 5, 

19 United States Code, may be limited. 

20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit a 

22 report to Congress and the President containing the re23 sults of the study under this section, which shall include— 

24 (1) a description of the methods identified by 

25 the study; 


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1 (2) the conclusions and recommendations of the 

2 Commission regarding— 

3 (A) each method identified; and 

4 (B) the charging of fees and granting of 

5 waivers of fees; and 

6 (3) recommendations for legislative or adminis7 trative actions to implement the conclusions of the 

8 Commission. 

9 (f) STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERV10 ICES.—The Archivist of the United States shall provide 

11 to the Commission such staff and administrative support 

12 services, including research assistance at the request of 

13 the Commission, as necessary for the Commission to per14 form its functions efficiently and in accordance with this 

15 section. 

16 (g) INFORMATION.—To the extent permitted by law, 

17 the heads of executive agencies, the Government Account18 ability Office, and the Congressional Research Service 

19 shall provide to the Commission such information as the 

20 Commission may require to carry out its functions. 

21 (h) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Members of the 

22 Commission shall serve without compensation for services 

23 performed for the Commission. 

24 (i) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com25 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 


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1 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ2 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

3 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 

4 regular places of business in the performance of services 

5 for the Commission. 

6 (j) TRANSPARENCY.—All meetings of the Commis7 sion shall be open to the public, except that a meeting, 

8 or any portion of it, may be closed to the public if it con9 cerns matters or information described in chapter 552b(c) 

10 of title 5, United States Code. Interested persons shall be 

11 permitted to appear at open meetings and present oral or 

12 written statements on the subject matter of the meeting. 

13 The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to 

14 any person appearing before the Commission. 

15 (k) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

16 30 days after the submission of the report under sub17 section (e). 

Æ 


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