IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1211 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), to 

provide for greater public access to information, and 

for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FOIA Oversight and 

3 Implementation Act of 2014’’ or the ‘‘FOIA Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY.—Section 552 of 

6 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘for public inspection 

10 and copying’’ and inserting ‘‘in an elec11 tronic, publicly accessible format’’ each 

12 place it appears; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

14 a semicolon; 

15 (iii) by striking subparagraph (E) and 

16 inserting the following new subparagraphs: 

17 ‘‘(E) copies of all releasable records, regardless 

18 of form or format, that have been requested three or 

19 more times under paragraph (3); and 

20 ‘‘(F) a general index of the records referred to 

21 under subparagraphs (D) and (E);’’; and 

22 (iv) in the matter following subpara23 graph (F) (as added by clause (ii) of this 

24 subparagraph)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 

2 (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 

3 (D) and (E)’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 

5 (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

6 (F)’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (7)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

9 ‘‘that will take longer than ten days to 

10 process’’; and 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

12 ‘‘automated’’ after ‘‘provides’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘make publicly 

14 available upon request’’ and inserting ‘‘make avail15 able in an electronic, publicly accessible format’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(m) FOIA WEB SITE REQUIRED.—Not later than 

20 one year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

21 the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure the 

22 existence and operation of a single website, accessible by 

23 the public at no cost to access, that allows the public to— 

24 ‘‘(1) submit requests for records under sub25 section (a)(3); 


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1 ‘‘(2) receive automated information about the 

2 status of a request under subsection (a)(7); and 

3 ‘‘(3) file appeals.’’. 

4 (b) PRESUMPTION OF OPENNESS.—Section 552(b) of 

5 title 5, United States Code, is amended in the matter fol6 lowing paragraph (9), by inserting before ‘‘Any reasonably 

7 segregable portion’’ the following: ‘‘An agency may not 

8 withhold information under this subsection unless such 

9 agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would cause 

10 specific identifiable harm to an interest protected by an 

11 exemption, or if disclosure is prohibited by law.’’. 

12 (c) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

13 SERVICES.—Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘the 

16 Director of the Office of Management and Budget’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘the Director of the Office of Manage18 ment and Budget, in consultation with the Director 

19 of the Office of Government Information Services,’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(h) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

24 SERVICES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

2 the Office of Government Information Services with3 in the National Archives and Records Administra4 tion. The head of the Office is the Director of the 

5 Office of Government Information Services. 

6 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF FOIA POLICY, PROCEDURE, 

7 AND COMPLIANCE.—The Office of Government In8 formation Services shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) review policies and procedures of 

10 agencies under this section; 

11 ‘‘(B) review compliance with this section 

12 by agencies; 

13 ‘‘(C) identify methods that improve compli14 ance under this section that may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) the timely processing of requests 

16 submitted to agencies under this section; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the system for assessing fees and 

18 fee waivers under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the use of any exemption under 

20 subsection (b); and 

21 ‘‘(D) review and provide guidance to agen22 cies on the use of fees and fee waivers. 

23 ‘‘(3) MEDIATION SERVICES.—The Office of 

24 Government Information Services shall offer medi25 ation services to resolve disputes between persons 


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1 making requests under this section and agencies as 

2 a non-exclusive alternative to litigation and, at the 

3 discretion of the Office, may issue advisory opinions 

4 if mediation has not resolved the dispute. 

5 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Govern7 ment Information Services shall not less than 

8 annually submit to the committees described in 

9 subparagraph (C) and the President a report on 

10 the findings from the information reviewed and 

11 identified under paragraph (2), a summary of 

12 the Office’s activities under paragraph (3) (in13 cluding any advisory opinions issued), and legis14 lative and regulatory recommendations to im15 prove the administration of this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF RE17 PORTS.—The Office shall make available any 

18 report submitted under paragraph (A) in a pub19 licly accessible format. 

20 ‘‘(C) CONGRESSIONAL SUBMISSION OF RE21 PORT.—The committees described in this sub22 paragraph are the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) The Committee on Oversight and 

24 Government Reform of the House of Rep25 resentatives. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The Committees on Homeland 

2 Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

3 Judiciary of the Senate. 

4 ‘‘(D) DIRECT SUBMISSION OF REPORTS

5 AND TESTIMONY.—Any report submitted under 

6 paragraph (A), any testimony, or any other 

7 communication to Congress shall be submitted 

8 directly to the committees and the President, 

9 without any requirement that any officer or em10 ployee outside of the Office of Government In11 formation Services, including the Archivist of 

12 the United States and the Director of the Of13 fice of Management and Budget, review such 

14 report, testimony, or other communication. 

15 ‘‘(5) SUBMISSION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA16 TION.—The Director of the Office of Government 

17 Information Services may submit additional informa18 tion to Congress and the President that the Director 

19 determines to be appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL MEETING REQUIRED.—Not less 

21 than once a year, the Office of Government Informa22 tion Services shall hold a meeting that is open to the 

23 public on the review and reports by the Office and 

24 permit interested persons to appear and present oral 

25 or written statements at such meeting.’’. 


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1 (d) PUBLIC RESOURCES.—Section 552(a)(6)(A) of 

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘of such deter4 mination and the reasons therefor, and of the right 

5 of such person to appeal to the head of the agency 

6 any adverse determination; and’’ and inserting the 

7 following: ‘‘of— 

8 ‘‘(I) such determination and the reasons 

9 therefor; 

10 ‘‘(II) the right of such person to seek as11 sistance from the agency FOIA Public Liaison; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(III) the right of such person to appeal to 

14 the head of the agency any adverse determina15 tion, within a period determined by the agency 

16 that is not less than 90 days after the receipt 

17 of such adverse determination; and’’; and 

18 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in19 serting the following: ‘‘and the right of such person 

20 to seek dispute resolution services from the agency 

21 FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government 

22 Information Services.’’ 

23 (e) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION RE24 QUIREMENTS.—Section 552(a) of title 5, United States 


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1 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(8) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR IN4 CREASED PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOVERN5 MENT.—Each agency shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) review the records of such agency to 

7 determine whether the release of the records 

8 would be in the public interest because it is 

9 likely to contribute significantly to public un10 derstanding of the operations or activities of the 

11 Government; 

12 ‘‘(B) for records determined to be in the 

13 public interest under subparagraph (A), reason14 ably segregate and redact any information ex15 empted from disclosure under subsection (b); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) make available in an electronic, pub18 licly accessible format, any records identified in 

19 subparagraph (A), as modified pursuant to sub20 paragraph (B). 

21 ‘‘(9) INCREASED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA22 TION.—Each agency shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) make information public to the great24 est extent possible through modern technology 

25 to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) inform the public of the oper2 ations and activities of the Government; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) ensure timely disclosure of infor5 mation; and 

6 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for identifying 

7 categories of records that may be disclosed reg8 ularly and additional records of interest to the 

9 public that are appropriate for public disclo10 sure, and for posting such records in an elec11 tronic, publicly accessible format.’’. 

12 (f) REPORT ON CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION FOR

13 DISCLOSURE.—Not later than one year after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act, and every two years thereafter, 

15 the Director of the Office of Information Policy of the De16 partment of Justice, after consultation with agencies se17 lected by the Director, shall submit to the Committee on 

18 Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committees on Homeland Security 

20 and Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate 

21 a report that identifies categories of records that would 

22 be appropriate for proactive disclosure, and shall make 

23 such report available in an electronic, publicly accessible 

24 format. 


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1 (g) AGENCY FOIA REPORT.—Section 552(e) of title 

2 5, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘and to the Director of 

5 the Office of Government Information Services’’ 

6 after ‘‘the Attorney General of the United 

7 States’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (N), by striking ‘‘; 

9 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (C) in subparagraph (O), by striking the 

11 period and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

13 subparagraphs: 

14 ‘‘(P) the number of times the agency invoked a 

15 law enforcement exclusion under subsection (c); 

16 ‘‘(Q) the number of times the agency engaged 

17 in dispute resolution with the assistance of the Of18 fice of Government Information Services or the 

19 FOIA Public Liaison; 

20 ‘‘(R) the number of records that were made 

21 available in an electronic, publicly accessible format 

22 under subsection (a)(2); and 

23 ‘‘(S) the number of times the agency assessed 

24 a search or duplication fee under subsection 


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1 (a)(4)(A) and did not comply with a time limit 

2 under subsection (a)(6).’’; 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY OF RE6 PORTS.—Each agency shall make each such report 

7 available in an electronic, publicly accessible format. 

8 In addition, each agency shall make the raw statis9 tical data used in its reports available in a timely 

10 manner in an electronic, publicly accessible format. 

11 Such data shall be— 

12 ‘‘(A) made available without charge, li13 cense, or registration requirement; 

14 ‘‘(B) capable of being searched and aggre15 gated; and 

16 ‘‘(C) permitted to be downloaded and 

17 downloaded in bulk.’’; 

18 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Committee on Govern20 ment Reform and Oversight’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘Committee on Oversight and Government Re22 form’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Homeland Security and Govern25 mental Affairs’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘April 1’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘March 1’’; 

3 (4) in paragraph (5)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘and the Director of the 

5 Office of Government Information Services’’ 

6 after ‘‘the Director of the Office of Manage7 ment and Budget’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘by October 1, 1997’’; and 

9 (5) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(6) ATTORNEY GENERAL FOIA REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

13 of the United States shall submit to Congress 

14 and the President an annual report on or before 

15 March 1 of each calendar year which shall in16 clude for the prior calendar year— 

17 ‘‘(i) a listing of the number of cases 

18 arising under this section; 

19 ‘‘(ii) each subsection under this sec20 tion, each paragraph of the subsection, and 

21 any exemption, if applicable, involved in 

22 each case, the disposition of such case, and 

23 the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under 

24 subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of sub25 section (a)(4); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a description of the efforts un2 dertaken by the Department of Justice to 

3 encourage agency compliance with this sec4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.—The 

6 Attorney General of the United States— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall make each report described 

8 under subparagraph (A) available in an 

9 electronic, publicly accessible format; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) shall make the raw statistical 

11 data used in each report available in an 

12 electronic, publicly accessible format, which 

13 shall be— 

14 ‘‘(I) made available without 

15 charge, license, or registration re16 quirement; 

17 ‘‘(II) capable of being searched 

18 and aggregated; and 

19 ‘‘(III) permitted to be 

20 downloaded, including downloaded in 

21 bulk.’’. 

22 (h) SEARCH OR DUPLICATION FEES.—Section 

23 552(a)(4)(A)(viii) of title 5, United States Code, is amend24 ed by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Any 

25 agency that does assess search or duplication fees after 


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1 failing to comply with a time limit under paragraph (6) 

2 shall provide written notice to the requester of the cir3 cumstance that justifies the fees. If an agency fails to pro4 vide such notice, the agency may not assess search or du5 plication fees.’’. 

6 (i) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Sub7 section (i) of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

8 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(i) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—The 

10 Government Accountability Office shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) conduct audits of administrative agencies 

12 on compliance with and implementation of the re13 quirements of this section and issue reports detailing 

14 the results of such audits; 

15 ‘‘(2) catalog the number of exemptions under 

16 subsection (b)(3) and agency use of such exemp17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(3) review and prepare a report on the proc19 essing of requests by agencies for information per20 taining to an entity that has received assistance 

21 under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabiliza22 tion Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) during 

23 any period in which the Government owns or owned 

24 more than 50 percent of the stock of such entity.’’. 


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1 (j) CHIEF FOIA OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES; COUN2 CIL; REVIEW.—Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsections (j) and (k); and 

5 (2) by inserting after subsection (i), the fol6 lowing new subsections: 

7 ‘‘(j) CHIEF FOIA OFFICER.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—Each agency shall des9 ignate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior 

10 official of such agency (at the Assistant Secretary or 

11 equivalent level). 

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Chief FOIA Officer of each 

13 agency shall, subject to the authority of the head of 

14 the agency— 

15 ‘‘(A) have agency-wide responsibility for ef16 ficient and appropriate compliance with this 

17 section; 

18 ‘‘(B) monitor implementation of this sec19 tion throughout the agency and keep the head 

20 of the agency, the chief legal officer of the 

21 agency, and the Attorney General appropriately 

22 informed of the agency’s performance in imple23 menting this section; 

24 ‘‘(C) recommend to the head of the agency 

25 such adjustments to agency practices, policies, 


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1 personnel, and funding as may be necessary to 

2 improve its implementation of this section; 

3 ‘‘(D) review and report to the Attorney 

4 General, through the head of the agency, at 

5 such times and in such formats as the Attorney 

6 General may direct, on the agency’s perform7 ance in implementing this section; 

8 ‘‘(E) facilitate public understanding of the 

9 purposes of the statutory exemptions of this 

10 section by including concise descriptions of the 

11 exemptions in both the agency’s handbook 

12 issued under subsection (g), and the agency’s 

13 annual report on this section, and by providing 

14 an overview, where appropriate, of certain gen15 eral categories of agency records to which those 

16 exemptions apply; 

17 ‘‘(F) serve as the primary agency liaison 

18 with the Office of Government Information 

19 Services and the Office of Information Policy; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(G) designate one or more FOIA Public 

22 Liaisons. 

23 ‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE REVIEW REQUIRED.—The 

24 Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) review, not less than annually, all as2 pects of the agency’s administration of this sec3 tion to ensure compliance with the requirements 

4 of this section, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) agency regulations; 

6 ‘‘(ii) disclosure of records required 

7 under paragraphs (2), (8), and (9) of sub8 section (a); 

9 ‘‘(iii) assessment of fees and deter10 mination of eligibility for fee waivers; 

11 ‘‘(iv) the timely processing of requests 

12 for information under this section; 

13 ‘‘(v) the use of exemptions under sub14 section (b); and 

15 ‘‘(vi) dispute resolution services with 

16 the assistance of the Office of Government 

17 Information Services or the FOIA Public 

18 Liaison; and 

19 ‘‘(B) make recommendations as necessary 

20 to improve agency practices and compliance 

21 with this section. 

22 ‘‘(k) CHIEF FOIA OFFICERS COUNCIL.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

24 the executive branch the Chief FOIA Officers Coun25 cil (in this subsection, referred to as the ‘Council’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERS.—The Council shall consist of 

2 the following members: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Director for Manage4 ment of the Office of Management and Budget. 

5 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Infor6 mation Policy at the Department of Justice. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Govern8 ment Information Services at the National Ar9 chives and Records Administration. 

10 ‘‘(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each 

11 agency. 

12 ‘‘(E) Any other officer or employee of the 

13 United States as designated by the Co-Chairs. 

14 ‘‘(3) CO-CHAIRS.—The Director of the Office of 

15 Information Policy at the Department of Justice and 

16 the Director of the Office of Government Informa17 tion Services at the National Archives and Records 

18 Administration shall be the Co-Chairs of the Coun19 cil. 

20 ‘‘(4) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator 

21 of General Services shall provide administrative and 

22 other support for the Council. 

23 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATION.—In performing its duties, 

24 the Council shall consult regularly with members of 

25 the public who make requests under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(6) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council in2 clude the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Develop recommendations for increas4 ing compliance and efficiency under this sec5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(B) Disseminate information about agen7 cy experiences, ideas, best practices, and inno8 vative approaches related to this section. 

9 ‘‘(C) Identify, develop, and coordinate ini10 tiatives to increase transparency and compli11 ance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(D) Promote the development and use of 

13 common performance measures for agency com14 pliance with this section. 

15 ‘‘(7) MEETINGS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) REGULAR MEETINGS.—The Council 

17 shall meet regularly and such meetings shall be 

18 open to the public unless the Council deter19 mines to close the meeting for reasons of na20 tional security or to discuss information exempt 

21 under subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL MEETINGS.—Not less than 

23 once a year, the Council shall hold a meeting 

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1 terested persons to appear and present oral and 

2 written statements to the Council. 

3 ‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Not later than 10 business 

4 days before a meeting of the Council, notice of 

5 such meeting shall be published in the Federal 

6 Register. 

7 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF COUNCIL

8 RECORDS.—Except as provided in subsection 

9 (b), the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, 

10 appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, 

11 agenda, or other documents that were made 

12 available to or prepared for or by the Council 

13 shall be made publicly available. 

14 ‘‘(E) MINUTES.—Detailed minutes of each 

15 meeting of the Council shall be kept and shall 

16 contain a record of the persons present, a com17 plete and accurate description of matters dis18 cussed and conclusions reached, and copies of 

19 all reports received, issued, or approved by the 

20 Council.’’. 

21 (k) REGULATIONS.— 

22 (1) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later 

23 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

24 this Act, the head of each agency shall review the 

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1 tions on procedures for the disclosure of records 

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

3 accordance with the amendments made by this sec4 tion. The regulations of each agency shall include— 

5 (A) procedures for engaging in dispute res6 olution; and 

7 (B) procedures for engaging with the Of8 fice of Government Information Services. 

9 (2) OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

10 SERVICES REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Office of 

12 Government Information Services shall submit to 

13 Congress a report on agency compliance with the re14 quirements of this subsection. 

15 (3) REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE.—The head 

16 of any agency that does not meet the requirements 

17 of paragraph (1) shall submit to Congress a report 

18 on the reason for noncompliance not later than 270 

19 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW FOR NON21 COMPLIANCE.—Any agency that fails to comply with 

22 the requirements of this subsection shall be reviewed 

23 by the Office of Inspector General of such agency 

24 for compliance with section 552 of title 5, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 (5) AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given such term in 

3 section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

6 Management and Budget shall establish a pilot program 

7 for 3 years to review the benefits of a centralized portal 

8 to process requests and release information under section 

9 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 

10 the Freedom of Information Act). 

11 (b) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

13 Office of Management and Budget shall establish a plan 

14 to evaluate the functionality and benefits of a centralized 

15 portal to receive and track requests made under section 

16 552 of title 5, United States Code, by selecting no less 

17 than 3 agencies that have not previously participated in 

18 a centralized portal, including at least one of the following: 

19 (1) An agency that receives more than 30,000 

20 requests annually for information under section 552 

21 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 (2) An agency that receives between 15,000 and 

23 30,000 requests annually for information under such 

24 section. 


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1 (3) An agency that receives 15,000 or fewer re2 quests annually for information under such section. 

3 (c) AGENCY USE OF WEB SITE.—Each agency se4 lected under subsection (b) shall use the centralized portal 

5 to— 

6 (1) receive requests under section 552 of title 5, 

7 United States Code; 

8 (2) consult with and refer requests to partici9 pating agencies; 

10 (3) if practicable, process requests received 

11 under such section; 

12 (4) track the status of requests submitted 

13 under such section; and 

14 (5) make records released available publicly 

15 through the centralized portal. 

16 (d) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Director of the Office 

17 of Management and Budget shall, in consultation with the 

18 Attorney General, the Office of Government Information 

19 Services, and the head of each agency participating in the 

20 pilot program, review the benefits of a centralized portal, 

21 including— 

22 (1) any cost saving, resource saving, or effi23 ciency gained; 


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1 (2) any change in the amount of requests re2 ceived under section 552 of title 5, United States 

3 Code; 

4 (3) any increase in transparency and accessi5 bility to Government information; and 

6 (4) any changes in the ability to access and 

7 compile information needed for agency annual re8 ports required under section 552 of title 5, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 3 months 

11 after the completion of the pilot program, the head of each 

12 agency participating in the program— 

13 (1) shall submit to Congress a report on the 

14 impact of the pilot program on agency processes 

15 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

16 whether the agency will continue to participate in 

17 the centralized portal, and any recommendations the 

18 head of the agency considers appropriate; and 

19 (2) shall make such report available in an elec20 tronic, publicly accessible format. 

21 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 552(f) of title 5, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 (2) CENTRALIZED PORTAL.—The term ‘‘cen2 tralized portal’’ means an electronic online portal 

3 that allows a requester to submit a request under 

4 section 552 of title 5, United States Code, to any 

5 participating agency, to track the status of a re6 quest, and to obtain a response to a request made 

7 through the portal. 

8 SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW; ADVERSE ACTIONS. 

9 (a) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of 

11 each agency shall— 

12 (A) periodically review compliance with the 

13 requirements of section 552 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, including the timely processing of 

15 requests, assessment of fees and fee waivers, 

16 and the use of exemptions under subsection (b) 

17 of such section; and 

18 (B) make recommendations the Inspector 

19 General determines to be necessary to the head 

20 of the agency, including recommendations for 

21 disciplinary action. 

22 (2) AGENCY DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

23 term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given that term 

24 under section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (b) ADVERSE ACTIONS.—The withholding of infor2 mation in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of 

3 section 552 of title 5, United States Code (including any 

4 rules, regulations, or other implementing guidelines), as 

5 determined by the appropriate supervisor, shall be a basis 

6 for disciplinary action in accordance with subchapter I, II, 

7 or V of chapter 75 of such title, as the case may be. 

8 SEC. 5. OPEN GOVERNMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Archivist of the United 

10 States shall establish an Open Government Advisory Com11 mittee (in this section, referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’), 

12 an independent advisory committee to make recommenda13 tions for improving Government transparency. 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP; CHAIR; MEETINGS; QUALIFICA15 TIONS OF MEMBERS.—The Committee shall be composed 

16 of at least nine members appointed by the Archivist, one 

17 of whom shall be designated the Chair by the members, 

18 and shall meet at such times and places as may be des19 ignated by the Chair. Each member of the Committee 

20 shall be qualified by education, training, or experience to 

21 make recommendations on improving Government trans22 parency. The membership of the Committee shall in23 clude— 


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1 (1) representatives of the Department of Jus2 tice and the Office of Government Information Serv3 ices; 

4 (2) at least two members with experience re5 questing information under section 552 of title 5, 

6 United States Code (including one member of the 

7 news media); and 

8 (3) at least one member with expertise in infor9 mation technology. 

10 (c) COMPENSATION.—While serving on the business 

11 of the Committee, and while so serving away from home 

12 and the member’s regular place of business, a member 

13 may be allowed travel expenses, as authorized by the Ar14 chivist. 

15 (d) CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE.—The 

16 members of the Committee shall be considered to be spe17 cial Government employees (as such term is defined in sec18 tion 202 of title 18, United States Code). 

19 (e) STAFF.—The Archivist may appoint and fix the 

20 compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to 

21 enable the Committee to carry out its functions. Any per22 sonnel of the Committee who are employees shall be em23 ployees under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 Any Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 

25 Committee without reimbursement from the Committee, 


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1 and such detailee shall retain the rights, status, and privi2 leges of regular employment of such employee without 

3 interruption. 

4 (f) APPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

5 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

6 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee and any sub7 committee or subgroup thereof. 

8 (g) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The Archivist 

9 shall make publicly available the following information: 

10 (1) The charter of the Committee. 

11 (2) A description of the process used to estab12 lish and appoint the members of the Committee, in13 cluding the following: 

14 (A) The process for identifying prospective 

15 members. 

16 (B) The process of selecting members for 

17 balance of viewpoints or expertise. 

18 (C) The reason each member was ap19 pointed to the Committee. 

20 (3) A list of all current members, including, for 

21 each member, the name of any person or entity that 

22 nominated the member. 

23 (4) A summary of the process used by the Com24 mittee for making decisions. 


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1 (5) A transcript or audio or visual recording of 

2 each meeting of the Committee. 

3 (6) Any written determination by the President 

4 or the Archivist, pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

5 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), to 

6 close a meeting or any portion of a meeting and the 

7 reasons for such determination. 

8 (7) Notices of future meetings of the Com9 mittee. 

10 (h) MANNER OF DISCLOSURE.— 

11 (1) WEBSITE PUBLICATION.—Except as pro12 vided in paragraph (2), the Archivist shall make the 

13 information required to be disclosed under this sec14 tion available electronically on the official public 

15 website of the National Archives and Records Ad16 ministration at least 15 calendar days before each 

17 meeting of the Committee. If the Archivist deter18 mines that such timing is not practicable for any re19 quired information, the Archivist shall make the in20 formation available as soon as practicable but no 

21 later than 48 hours before the next meeting of the 

22 Committee. 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY OF COMMITTEE MEETING.— 

24 The Archivist shall make available electronically, on 

25 the official public website of the National Archives 


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1 and Records Administration, a transcript or audio or 

2 video recording of each Committee meeting not later 

3 than 30 calendar days after such meeting. 

4 SEC. 6. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

5 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

6 requirements of this Act and the amendments made by 

7 this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using 

8 amounts otherwise authorized or appropriated. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 25, 

2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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