IB 

Union Calendar No. 112 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1211 

[Report No. 113–155] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2013 

Mr. ISSA (for himself and Mr. CUMMINGS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

JULY 16, 2013 

Additional sponsor: Mr. QUIGLEY

JULY 16, 2013 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 


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A BILL 

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. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Implementation Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘FOIA Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY.—Section 552 of 

8 title 5, United States Code is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘for public inspection 

12 and copying’’ and inserting ‘‘in an elec13 tronic, publicly accessible format’’ each 

14 place it appears; 

15 (ii) by striking subparagraph (E) and 

16 inserting the following new subparagraphs: 

17 ‘‘(E) copies of all records, regardless of form or 

18 format, that have been released three or more times 

19 under paragraph (3); and 

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

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

22 (iii) in the matter proceeding following 

23 subparagraph (F) (as added by clause (ii) 

24 of this 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) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘the implemen18 tation’’ and inserting ‘‘compliance with and imple19 mentation of the requirements’’; and 

20 (4) (3) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subsection: 

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

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

24 the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure the 


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1 existence and operation of a single Web site, accessible by 

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

3 ‘‘(1) submit requests for records under sub4 section (a)(3); and 

5 ‘‘(2) receive automated information about the 

6 status of a request under subsection (a)(7).’’. 

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

8 title 5, United States Code, is amended in the matter pre9 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘that would cause fore10 seeable harm and’’ after ‘‘matters’’. 

11 (c) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

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

13 amended— 

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

15 Director of the Office of Management and Budget’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘the Director of the Office of Manage17 ment and Budget, in consultation with the Director 

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

19 and 

20 (2) subsection (h) is amended to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(h) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

23 SERVICES.— 

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

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1 in the National Archives and Records Administra2 tion. The head of the Office is the Director of the 

3 Office of Government Information Services. 

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

5 AND COMPLIANCE.—The Office of Government In6 formation Services shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) review policies and procedures of 

8 agencies under this section; 

9 ‘‘(B) review compliance with this section 

10 by agencies; and 

11 ‘‘(C) identify methods that improve compli12 ance under this section that may include— 

13 ‘‘(i) the timely processing of requests 

14 submitted to agencies under this section; 

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

16 fee waivers under this section; and 

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

18 subsection (b); and 

19 ‘‘(D) review and provide guidance to agen20 cies on the use of fees and fee waivers. 

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

22 Government Information Services shall offer medi23 ation services to resolve disputes between persons 

24 making requests under this section and agencies as 

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


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1 discretion of the Office, may issue advisory opinions 

2 if mediation has not resolved the dispute. 

3 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Govern5 ment Information Services shall not less than 

6 annually submit to the committees described in 

7 subparagraph (C) and the President a report on 

8 the findings from the information reviewed and 

9 identified under paragraph (2) and legislative 

10 and regulatory recommendations to improve the 

11 administration of this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF RE13 PORTS.—The Office shall make available any 

14 report submitted under paragraph (A) in a pub15 licly accessible format. 

16 ‘‘(C) CONGRESSIONAL SUBMISSION OF RE17 PORT.—The committees described in this sub18 paragraph are the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) The Committee on Oversight and 

20 Government Reform of the House of Rep21 resentatives. 

22 ‘‘(ii) The Committees on Homeland 

23 Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

24 Judiciary of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(D) DIRECT SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 

2 Any report submitted under paragraph (A) 

3 shall be submitted directly to the committees 

4 and the President, without any requirement 

5 that any officer or employee outside of the Of6 fice of Government Information Services, in7 cluding the Archivist of the United States and 

8 the Director of the Office of Management and 

9 Budget, review such report. 

10 ‘‘(5) SUBMISSION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA11 TION.—The Director of the Office of Government 

12 Information Services may submit additional informa13 tion to Congress and the President that the Director 

14 determines to be appropriate. 

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

16 than once a year, the Office of Government Informa17 tion Services shall hold a meeting that is open to the 

18 public on the review and reports by the Office and 

19 permit interested persons to appear and present oral 

20 or written statements at such meeting.’’. 

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

22 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘of such deter24 mination and the reasons therefor, and of the right 

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


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1 any adverse determination; and’’ and inserting the 

2 following new subclauses: : ‘‘of— 

3 ‘‘(I) such determination and the reasons 

4 therefor; 

5 ‘‘(II) the right of such person to seek as6 sistance from the agency FOIA Public Liaison; 

7 and 

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

9 the head of the agency any adverse determina10 tion, not later than 90 days after the receipt of 

11 such adverse determination; and’’; and 

12 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in13 serting the following: ‘‘and the right of such person 

14 to seek dispute resolution services from the agency 

15 FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government 

16 Information Services.’’ 

17 (e) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION RE18 QUIREMENTS.—Section 552(a) of title 5, United States 

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

20 paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(8) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR IN22 CREASED PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOVERN23 MENT.—Each agency shall— 

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

25 determine whether the release of the records 


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1 would be in the public interest because it is 

2 likely to contribute significantly to public un3 derstanding of the operations or activities of the 

4 Government; 

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

6 public interest under subparagraph (A), reason7 ably segregate and redact any information ex8 empted from disclosure under subsection (b); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(C) make available in an electronic, pub11 licly accessible format, any records identified in 

12 subparagraph (A), as modified pursuant to sub13 paragraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(9) INCREASED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA15 TION.—Each agency shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) make information public to the great17 est extent possible through modern technology 

18 to— 

19 ‘‘(i) inform the public of the oper20 ations and activities of the Government; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) ensure timely disclosure of infor23 mation; and 

24 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for identifying 

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1 ularly and additional records of interest to the 

2 public that are appropriate for public disclo3 sure, and for posting such records in an elec4 tronic, publicly accessible format.’’. 

5 (f) AGENCY FOIA REPORT.—Section 552(e) of title 

6 5, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

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

9 the Office of Government Information Services’’ 

10 after ‘‘the Attorney General of the United 

11 States’’; 

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

13 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

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

15 period and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

17 subparagraphs: 

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

19 law enforcement exclusion under subsection (c); 

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

21 in dispute resolution with the assistance of the Of22 fice of Government Information Services or the 

23 FOIA Public Liaison; and 


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

2 available in an electronic, publicly accessible format 

3 under subsection (a)(2).’’;; and 

4 ‘‘(S) the number of times the agency assessed a 

5 search or duplication fee under subsection (a)(4)(A) 

6 and did not comply with a time limit under sub7 section (a)(6).’’; 

8 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY OF RE11 PORTS.—Each agency shall make each such report 

12 available in an electronic, publicly accessible format. 

13 In addition, each agency shall make the raw statis14 tical data used in its reports available in a timely 

15 manner in an electronic, publicly accessible format. 

16 Such data shall be— 

17 ‘‘(A) made available without charge, li18 cense, or registration requirement; 

19 ‘‘(B) capable of being searched and aggre20 gated; and 

21 ‘‘(C) permitted to be downloaded and 

22 downloaded in bulk.’’; 

23 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘Committee on Govern25 ment Reform and Oversight’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘Committee on Oversight and Government Re2 form’’; 

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

4 and inserting ‘‘Homeland Security and Govern5 mental Affairs’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘March 1’’; 

8 (4) in paragraph (5)— 

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

10 Office of Government Information Services’’ 

11 after ‘‘the Director of the Office of Manage12 ment and Budget’’; and 

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

14 (5) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol15 lows: 

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

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

18 of the United States shall submit to Congress 

19 and the President an annual report on or before 

20 March 1 of each calendar year which shall in21 clude for the prior calendar year— 

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

23 arising under this section; 

24 ‘‘(ii) each subsection under this sec25 tion, each paragraph of the subsection, and 


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1 any exemption, if applicable, involved in 

2 each case, the disposition of such case, and 

3 the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under 

4 subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of sub5 section (a)(4); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) a description of the efforts un7 dertaken by the Department of Justice to 

8 encourage agency compliance with this sec9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.—The 

11 Attorney General of the United States— 

12 ‘‘(i) shall make each report described 

13 under subparagraph (A) available in an 

14 electronic, publicly accessible format; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall make the raw statistical 

16 data used in each report available in an 

17 electronic, publicly accessible format, which 

18 shall be— 

19 ‘‘(I) made available without 

20 charge, license, or registration re21 quirement; 

22 ‘‘(II) capable of being searched 

23 and aggregated; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) permitted to be 

2 downloaded, including downloaded in 

3 bulk.’’. 

4 (g) SEARCH OR DUPLICATION FEES.—Section 

5 552(a)(4)(A)(viii) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Any agen7 cy that does assess search or duplication fees after failing 

8 to comply with a time limit under paragraph (6) shall pro9 vide written notice to the requester of the circumstance that 

10 justifies the fees. If an agency fails to provide such notice, 

11 the agency may not assess search or duplication fees.’’. 

12 (g) (h) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.— 

13 Subsection (i) of section 552 of title 5, United States 

14 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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

16 Government Accountability Office shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) conduct audits of administrative agencies 

18 on the implementation compliance with and imple19 mentation of the requirements of this section and 

20 issue reports detailing the results of such audits; 

21 and; 

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

23 subsection (b)(3) and agency use of such exemp24 tions. 


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

2 subsection (b)(3) and agency use of such exemptions; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(3) review and prepare a report on the proc5 essing of requests by agencies for information per6 taining to an entity that has received assistance 

7 under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabiliza8 tion Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) during any 

9 period in which the Government owns or owned more 

10 than 50 percent of the stock of such entity.’’. 

11 (h) (i) CHIEF FOIA OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES; 

12 COUNCIL; REVIEW.—Section 552 of title 5, United States 

13 Code is amended— 

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

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (i), the fol16 lowing new subsections: 

17 ‘‘(j) CHIEF FOIA OFFICER.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—Each agency shall des19 ignate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior 

20 official of such agency (at the Assistant Secretary or 

21 equivalent level). 

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

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

24 the agency— 


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1 ‘‘(A) have agency-wide responsibility for ef2 ficient and appropriate compliance with this 

3 section; 

4 ‘‘(B) monitor implementation of this sec5 tion throughout the agency and keep the head 

6 of the agency, the chief legal officer of the 

7 agency, and the Attorney General appropriately 

8 informed of the agency’s performance in imple9 menting this section; 

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

11 such adjustments to agency practices, policies, 

12 personnel, and funding as may be necessary to 

13 improve its implementation of this section; 

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

15 General, through the head of the agency, at 

16 such times and in such formats as the Attorney 

17 General may direct, on the agency’s perform18 ance in implementing this section; 

19 ‘‘(E) facilitate public understanding of the 

20 purposes of the statutory exemptions of this 

21 section by including concise descriptions of the 

22 exemptions in both the agency’s handbook 

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

24 annual report on this section, and by providing 

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1 eral categories of agency records to which those 

2 exemptions apply; and 

3 ‘‘(F) designate one or more FOIA Public 

4 Liaisons. 

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

6 Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) review, not less than annually, all as8 pects of the agency’s administration of this sec9 tion to ensure compliance with the requirements 

10 of this section, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) agency regulations; 

12 ‘‘(ii) disclosure of records required 

13 under paragraphs (2), (8), and (9) of sub14 section (a); 

15 ‘‘(iii) assessment of fees and deter16 mination of eligibility for fee waivers; 

17 ‘‘(iv) the timely processing of requests 

18 for information under this section; 

19 ‘‘(v) the use of exemptions under sub20 section (b); and 

21 ‘‘(vi) dispute resolution services with 

22 the assistance of the Office of Government 

23 Information Services or the FOIA Public 

24 Liaison; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) make recommendations as necessary 

2 to improve agency practices and compliance 

3 with this section. 

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

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

6 the executive branch the Chief FOIA Officers Coun7 cil (in this subsection, referred to as the ‘Council’). 

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

9 the following members: 

10 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Director for Manage11 ment of the Office of Management and Budget. 

12 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Infor13 mation Policy at the Department of Justice. 

14 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Govern15 ment Information Services at the National Ar16 chives and Records Administration. 

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

18 agency. 

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

20 United States as designated by the Co-Chairs. 

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

22 Information Policy at the Department of Justice and 

23 the Director of the Office of Government Informa24 tion Services at the National Archives and Records 


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1 Administration shall be the Co-Chairs of the Coun2 cil. 

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

4 of General Services shall provide administrative and 

5 other support for the Council. 

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

7 the Council shall consult regularly with members of 

8 the public who make requests under this section. 

9 ‘‘(6) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council in10 clude the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) Develop recommendations for increas12 ing compliance and efficiency under this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(B) Disseminate information about agen15 cy experiences, ideas, best practices, and inno16 vative approaches related to this section. 

17 ‘‘(C) Identify, develop, and coordinate ini18 tiatives to increase transparency and compli19 ance with this section. 

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

21 common performance measures for agency com22 pliance with this section. 

23 ‘‘(7) MEETINGS.— 

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

25 shall meet regularly and such meetings shall be 


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1 open to the public unless the Council deter2 mines to close the meeting for reasons of na3 tional security or to discuss information exempt 

4 under subsection (b). 

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

6 once a year, the Council shall hold a meeting 

7 that shall be open to the public and permit in8 terested persons to appear and present oral and 

9 written statements to the Council. 

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

11 days before a meeting of the Council, notice of 

12 such meeting shall be published in the Federal 

13 Register. 

14 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF COUNCIL

15 RECORDS.—Except as provided in subsection 

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

17 appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, 

18 agenda, or other documents that were made 

19 available to or prepared for or by the Council 

20 shall be made publicly available. 

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

22 meeting of the Council shall be kept and shall 

23 contain a record of the persons present, a com24 plete and accurate description of matters dis25 cussed and conclusions reached, and copies of 


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1 all reports received, issued, or approved by the 

2 Council.’’. 

3 (i) (j) REGULATIONS.— 

4 (1) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later 

5 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

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

7 regulations of such agency and shall issue regula8 tions on procedures for the disclosure of records 

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

10 accordance with the amendments made by this sec11 tion. The regulations of each agency shall include— 

12 (A) procedures for engaging in dispute res13 olution; and 

14 (B) procedures for engaging with the Of15 fice of Government Information Services. 

16 (2) OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

17 SERVICES REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

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

19 Government Information Services shall submit to 

20 Congress a report on agency compliance with the re21 quirements of this subsection. 

22 (3) REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE.—The head 

23 of any agency that does not meet the requirements 

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


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1 on the reason for noncompliance not later than 270 

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

3 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW FOR NON4 COMPLIANCE.—Any agency that fails to comply with 

5 the requirements of this subsection shall be reviewed 

6 by the Office of Inspector General of such agency 

7 for compliance with section 552 of title 5, United 

8 States Code. 

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

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

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

12 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 

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

14 Management and Budget shall establish a pilot program 

15 for 3 years to review the benefits of FOIAonline to process 

16 requests and release information under section 552 of title 

17 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom 

18 of Information Act). 

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

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

21 Office of Management and Budget shall establish a plan 

22 to evaluate FOIAonline at no less than 3 agencies that 

23 have not previously participated in FOIAonline, including 

24 at least one of the following: 


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1 (1) An agency that receives more than 50,000 

2 requests annually for information under section 552 

3 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (2) An agency that receives between 25,000 and 

5 50,000 requests annually for information under such 

6 section. 

7 (3) An agency that receives 25,000 or fewer re8 quests annually for information under such section. 

9 (c) AGENCY USE OF WEB SITE.—Each agency se10 lected under subsection (b) shall use FOIAonline to— 

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

12 United States Code; 

13 (2) process requests received under such sec14 tion; 

15 (3) track the status of requests submitted 

16 under such section; and 

17 (4) make records released available publicly on 

18 FOIAonline. 

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

20 of Management and Budget shall, in consultation with the 

21 Attorney General, the Office of Government Information 

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

23 pilot program, review the benefits of FOIAonline, includ24 ing— 


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1 (1) any cost saving, resource saving, or effi2 ciency gained through the use of FOIAonline; 

3 (2) any change in the amount of requests re4 ceived under section 552 of title 5, United States 

5 Code; 

6 (3) any increase in transparency and accessi7 bility to Government information; and 

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

9 compile information needed for agency annual re10 ports required under section 552 of title 5, United 

11 States Code. 

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

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

14 agency participating in the program shall submit to Con15 gress a report on the impact of the pilot program on agen16 cy processes under section 552 of title 5, United States 

17 Code, whether the agency will continue to participate in 

18 FOIAonline, and any recommendations the head of the 

19 agency considers appropriate to continue the use of 

20 FOIAonline. 

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) FOIAONLINE.—The term ‘‘FOIAonline’’ 

2 means the electronic online portal 

3 FOIAonline.regulations.gov. 

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

5 (a) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of each 

7 agency shall— 

8 (A) periodically review compliance with the 

9 requirements of section 552 of title 5, United 

10 States Code, including the timely processing of 

11 requests, assessment of fees and fee waivers, and 

12 the use of exemptions under subsection (b) of 

13 such section; and 

14 (B) make recommendations the Inspector 

15 General determines to be necessary to the head of 

16 the agency, including recommendations for dis17 ciplinary action. 

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

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

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

21 (b) ADVERSE ACTIONS.—The withholding of informa22 tion in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of sec23 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code (including any rules, 

24 regulations, or other implementing guidelines), as deter25 mined by the appropriate supervisor, shall be a basis for 


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27 

•HR 1211 RH

1 disciplinary action in accordance with subchapter I, II, or 

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


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Union Calendar No. 112 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1211 

[Report No. 113–155] 

A BILL 

To amend section 552 of title 5, United States 

to information, and for other purposes. mation Act), to provide for greater public access Code (commonly known as the Freedom of InforJULY 16, 2013 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:45 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1211.RH H1211

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