II 

Calendar No. 605 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2520 

To improve the Freedom of Information Act. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2014 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. JOHANNS, Ms. AYOTTE, and Mr. COONS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

NOVEMBER 20, 2014 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve the Freedom of Information Act. 

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 Improvement 

5 Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FOIA. 

2 Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by striking ‘‘for public inspec8 tion and copying’’ and inserting ‘‘for public 

9 inspection in an electronic format’’; 

10 (ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) copies of all records, regardless of form or 

13 format— 

14 ‘‘(i) that have been released to any person 

15 under paragraph (3); and 

16 ‘‘(ii)(I) that because of the nature of their 

17 subject matter, the agency determines have be18 come or are likely to become the subject of sub19 sequent requests for substantially the same 

20 records; or 

21 ‘‘(II) that have been requested not less 

22 than 3 times; and’’; and 

23 (iii) in the undesignated matter fol24 lowing subparagraph (E), by striking 

25 ‘‘public inspection and copying current’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘public inspection in an elec2 tronic format, and current’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking clause 

4 (viii) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(viii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (II), 

6 an agency shall not assess any search fees (or in the 

7 case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) of 

8 this subparagraph, duplication fees) under this sub9 paragraph if the agency has failed to comply with 

10 any time limit under paragraph (6). 

11 ‘‘(II)(aa) If an agency determines that unusual 

12 circumstances apply (as the term is defined in para13 graph (6)(B)) and the agency provides a timely writ14 ten notice to the requester in accordance with para15 graph (6)(B), a failure described in subclause (I) is 

16 excused for an additional 10 days. If the agency fails 

17 to comply with the extended time limit, the agency 

18 may not assess any search fees (or in the case of a 

19 requester described under clause (ii)(II) of this sub20 paragraph, duplication fees). 

21 ‘‘(bb) If a court determines that exceptional cir22 cumstances exist (as that term is defined in para23 graph (6)(C)), a failure described in subclause (I) 

24 shall be excused for the length of time provided by 

25 the court order.’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

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

3 ‘‘making such request’’ and all that follows 

4 through ‘‘determination; and’’ and insert5 ing the following: ‘‘making such request 

6 of—’’ 

7 ‘‘(I) such determination and the rea8 sons therefore; 

9 ‘‘(II) the right of such person to seek 

10 assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison 

11 of the agency; and 

12 ‘‘(III) in the case of an adverse deter13 mination— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the right of such person to 

15 appeal to the head of the agency, 

16 within a period determined by the 

17 head of the agency that is not less 

18 than 90 days after the receipt of such 

19 adverse determination; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) the right of such person to 

21 seek dispute resolution services from 

22 the FOIA Public Liaison of the agen23 cy or the Office of Government Infor24 mation Services; and’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik2 ing ‘‘the agency.’’ and inserting ‘‘the agen3 cy, and notify the requester of the right of 

4 the requester to seek dispute resolution 

5 services from the Office of Government In6 formation Services.’’; and 

7 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) An agency— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) withhold information under this sec11 tion only if— 

12 ‘‘(I) the agency reasonably foresees 

13 that disclosure would harm an interest pro14 tected by an exemption described in sub15 section (b) or other provision of law; or 

16 ‘‘(II) disclosure is prohibited by law; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) consider whether partial disclosure 

19 of information is possible whenever the agency 

20 determines that a full disclosure of a requested 

21 record is not possible; and 

22 ‘‘(II) take reasonable steps necessary to 

23 segregate and release nonexempt information; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(B) may not— 


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1 ‘‘(i) withhold information requested under 

2 this section merely because the agency can dem3 onstrate, as a technical matter, that the records 

4 fall within the scope of an exemption described 

5 in subsection (b); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) withhold information requested under 

7 this section because the information may be em8 barrassing to the agency or because of specula9 tive or abstract concerns.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 

11 (5) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memoran13 dums or letters that would not be available by law 

14 to a party other than an agency in litigation with 

15 the agency, if— 

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of deliberative process 

17 privilege or attorney work-product privilege, the 

18 agency interest in protecting the records or in19 formation is not outweighed by a public interest 

20 in disclosure; 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of attorney-client privi22 lege, the agency interest in protecting the 

23 records or information is not outweighed by a 

24 compelling public interest in disclosure; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the requested record or information 

2 was created less than 25 years before the date 

3 on which the request was made;’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (e) 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘and to the Direc8 tor of the Office of Government Informa9 tion Services’’ after ‘‘United States’’; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (iii) in subparagraph (O), by striking 

13 the period at the end and inserting a semi14 colon; and 

15 (iv) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(P) the number of times the agency denied a 

18 request for records under subsection (c); and 

19 ‘‘(Q) the number of records that were made 

20 available for public inspection in an electronic for21 mat under subsection (a)(2).’’; 

22 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(3) Each agency shall make each such report avail25 able for public inspection in an electronic format. In addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Nov 21, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2520.RS S2520

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1 tion, each agency shall make the raw statistical data used 

2 in each report available in a timely manner for public in3 spection in an electronic format, which shall be made 

4 available— 

5 ‘‘(A) without charge, license, or registration re6 quirement; 

7 ‘‘(B) in an aggregated, searchable format; and 

8 ‘‘(C) in a format that may be downloaded in 

9 bulk.’’; 

10 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘Government Reform 

12 and Oversight’’ and inserting ‘‘Oversight 

13 and Government Reform’’; 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘Homeland Security 

15 and’’ before ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘April’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘March’’; and 

18 (D) by striking paragraph (6) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(6)(A) The Attorney General of the United States 

21 shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern22 ment Reform of the House of Representatives, the Com23 mittee on Judiciary of the Senate, and the President a 

24 report on or before March 1 of each calendar year, which 

25 shall include for the prior calendar year— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a listing of the number of cases arising 

2 under this section; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a listing of— 

4 ‘‘(I) each subsection, and any exemption, if 

5 applicable, involved in each case arising under 

6 this section; 

7 ‘‘(II) the disposition of each case arising 

8 under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(III) the cost, fees, and penalties assessed 

10 under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of sub11 section (a)(4); and 

12 ‘‘(iii) a description of the efforts undertaken by 

13 the Department of Justice to encourage agency com14 pliance with this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Attorney General of the United States shall 

16 make— 

17 ‘‘(i) each report submitted under subparagraph 

18 (A) available for public inspection in an electronic 

19 format; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the raw statistical data used in each report 

21 submitted under subparagraph (A) available for pub22 lic inspection in an electronic format, which shall be 

23 made available— 

24 ‘‘(I) without charge, license, or registration 

25 requirement; 


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1 ‘‘(II) in an aggregated, searchable format; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) in a format that may be downloaded 

4 in bulk.’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (g), in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘publicly available upon 

7 request’’ and inserting ‘‘available for public inspec8 tion in an electronic format’’; 

9 (5) in subsection (h)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

11 the following: ‘‘The head of the Office shall be 

12 the Director of the Office of Government Infor13 mation Services.’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara15 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) identify procedures and methods for im17 proving compliance under this section.’’; 

18 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) The Office of Government Information Services 

21 shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between 

22 persons making requests under this section and adminis23 trative agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation 

24 and may issue advisory opinions at the discretion of the 

25 Office or upon request of any party to a dispute.’’; and 


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1 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(4)(A) Not less frequently than annually, the Direc3 tor of the Office of Government Information Services shall 

4 submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

5 Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee 

6 on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President— 

7 ‘‘(i) a report on the findings of the information 

8 reviewed and identified under paragraph (2); 

9 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the activities of the Office 

10 of Government Information Services under para11 graph (3), including— 

12 ‘‘(I) any advisory opinions issued; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the number of times each agency en14 gaged in dispute resolution with the assistance 

15 of the Office of Government Information Serv16 ices or the FOIA Public Liaison; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) legislative and regulatory recommenda18 tions, if any, to improve the administration of this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Government Infor21 mation Services shall make each report submitted under 

22 subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an 

23 electronic format. 

24 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Government Infor25 mation Services shall not be required to obtain the prior 


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1 approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of 

2 the United States, including the Department of Justice, 

3 the Archivist of the United States, or the Office of Man4 agement and Budget before submitting to the Congress, 

5 or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, 

6 recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such sub7 missions include a statement indicating that the views ex8 pressed therein are those of the Director and do not nec9 essarily represent the views of the President. 

10 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Office of Government Infor11 mation Services may submit additional information to 

12 Congress and the President as the Director determines to 

13 be appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(6) Not less frequently than annually, the Office of 

15 Government Information Services shall conduct a meeting 

16 that is open to the public on the review and reports by 

17 the Office and shall allow interested persons to appear and 

18 present oral or written statements at the meeting.’’; and 

19 (6) by striking subsections (i), (j), and (k), and 

20 inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) The Government Accountability Office shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) conduct audits of administrative agencies 

23 on compliance with and implementation of the re24 quirements of this section and issue reports detailing 

25 the results of such audits; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) catalog the number of exemptions de2 scribed in subsection (b)(3) and the use of such ex3 emptions by each agency. 

4 ‘‘(j)(1) Each agency shall designate a Chief FOIA Of5 ficer who shall be a senior official of such agency (at the 

6 Assistant Secretary or equivalent level). 

7 ‘‘(2) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall, 

8 subject to the authority of the head of the agency— 

9 ‘‘(A) have agency-wide responsibility for effi10 cient and appropriate compliance with this section; 

11 ‘‘(B) monitor implementation of this section 

12 throughout the agency and keep the head of the 

13 agency, the chief legal officer of the agency, and the 

14 Attorney General appropriately informed of the 

15 agency’s performance in implementing this section; 

16 ‘‘(C) recommend to the head of the agency such 

17 adjustments to agency practices, policies, personnel, 

18 and funding as may be necessary to improve its im19 plementation of this section; 

20 ‘‘(D) review and report to the Attorney General, 

21 through the head of the agency, at such times and 

22 in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, 

23 on the agency’s performance in implementing this 

24 section; 


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1 ‘‘(E) facilitate public understanding of the pur2 poses of the statutory exemptions of this section by 

3 including concise descriptions of the exemptions in 

4 both the agency’s handbook issued under subsection 

5 (g), and the agency’s annual report on this section, 

6 and by providing an overview, where appropriate, of 

7 certain general categories of agency records to which 

8 those exemptions apply; 

9 ‘‘(F) offer training to agency staff regarding 

10 their responsibilities under this section; 

11 ‘‘(G) serve as the primary agency liaison with 

12 the Office of Government Information Services and 

13 the Office of Information Policy; and 

14 ‘‘(H) designate 1 or more FOIA Public Liai15 sons. 

16 ‘‘(3) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall re17 view, not less frequently than annually, all aspects of the 

18 administration of this section by the agency to ensure 

19 compliance with the requirements of this section, includ20 ing— 

21 ‘‘(A) agency regulations; 

22 ‘‘(B) disclosure of records required under para23 graphs (2) and (8) of subsection (a); 

24 ‘‘(C) assessment of fees and determination of 

25 eligibility for fee waivers; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the timely processing of requests for infor2 mation under this section; 

3 ‘‘(E) the use of exemptions under subsection 

4 (b); and 

5 ‘‘(F) dispute resolution services with the assist6 ance of the Office of Government Information Serv7 ices or the FOIA Public Liaison. 

8 ‘‘(k)(1) There is established in the executive branch 

9 the Chief FOIA Officers Council (referred to in this sub10 section as the ‘Council’). 

11 ‘‘(2) The Council shall be comprised of the following 

12 members: 

13 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Director for Management of 

14 the Office of Management and Budget. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Information 

16 Policy at the Department of Justice. 

17 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Government 

18 Information Services. 

19 ‘‘(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency. 

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

21 United States as designated by the Co-Chairs. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Information Policy 

23 at the Department of Justice and the Director of the Of24 fice of Government Information Services shall be the Co25 Chairs of the Council. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The Administrator of General Services shall pro2 vide administrative and other support for the Council. 

3 ‘‘(5)(A) The duties of the Council shall include the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(i) Develop recommendations for increasing 

6 compliance and efficiency under this section. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Disseminate information about agency ex8 periences, ideas, best practices, and innovative ap9 proaches related to this section. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Identify, develop, and coordinate initia11 tives to increase transparency and compliance with 

12 this section. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Promote the development and use of com14 mon performance measures for agency compliance 

15 with this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) In performing the duties described in subpara17 graph (A), the Council shall consult on a regular basis 

18 with members of the public who make requests under this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(6)(A) The Council shall meet regularly and such 

21 meetings shall be open to the public unless the Council 

22 determines to close the meeting for reasons of national 

23 security or to discuss information exempt under subsection 

24 (b). 


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1 ‘‘(B) Not less frequently than annually, the Council 

2 shall hold a meeting that shall be open to the public and 

3 permit interested persons to appear and present oral and 

4 written statements to the Council. 

5 ‘‘(C) Not later than 10 business days before a meet6 ing of the Council, notice of such meeting shall be pub7 lished in the Federal Register. 

8 ‘‘(D) Except as provided in subsection (b), the 

9 records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working 

10 papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents that 

11 were made available to or prepared for or by the Council 

12 shall be made publicly available. 

13 ‘‘(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of the Council 

14 shall be kept and shall contain a record of the persons 

15 present, a complete and accurate description of matters 

16 discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all re17 ports received, issued, or approved by the Council. The 

18 minutes shall be redacted as necessary and made publicly 

19 available.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. REVIEW AND ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 

23 (as defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) 

24 shall review the regulations of such agency and shall issue 

25 regulations on procedures for the disclosure of records 


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1 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, in ac2 cordance with the amendments made by section 2. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations of each agency 

4 shall include procedures for engaging in dispute resolution 

5 through the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Gov6 ernment Information Services. 

7 SEC. 4. PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE THROUGH RECORDS MAN8 AGEMENT. 

9 Section 3102 of title 44, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

12 paragraphs (3) and (4); and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(2) procedures for identifying records of gen16 eral interest or use to the public that are appro17 priate for public disclosure, and for posting such 

18 records in a publicly accessible electronic format;’’. 

19 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

20 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

21 requirements of this Act or the amendments made by this 

22 Act. The requirements of this Act and the amendments 

23 made by this Act shall be carried out using amounts other24 wise authorized or appropriated. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FOIA Improvement Act 

3 of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FOIA. 

5 Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in the matter preceding subpara10 graph (A), by striking ‘‘for public inspec11 tion and copying’’ and inserting ‘‘for public 

12 inspection in an electronic format’’; 

13 (ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

14 inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) copies of all records, regardless of form or 

16 format— 

17 ‘‘(i) that have been released to any person 

18 under paragraph (3); and 

19 ‘‘(ii)(I) that because of the nature of their 

20 subject matter, the agency determines have be21 come or are likely to become the subject of subse22 quent requests for substantially the same records; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(II) that have been requested not less than 

25 3 times; and’’; and 


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1 (iii) in the undesignated matter fol2 lowing subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘pub3 lic inspection and copying current’’ and in4 serting ‘‘public inspection in an electronic 

5 format current’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking clause 

7 (viii) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(viii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (II), 

9 an agency shall not assess any search fees (or in the 

10 case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) of 

11 this subparagraph, duplication fees) under this sub12 paragraph if the agency has failed to comply with 

13 any time limit under paragraph (6). 

14 ‘‘(II)(aa) If an agency has determined that un15 usual circumstances apply (as the term is defined in 

16 paragraph (6)(B)) and the agency provided a timely 

17 written notice to the requester in accordance with 

18 paragraph (6)(B), a failure described in subclause (I) 

19 is excused for an additional 10 days. If the agency 

20 fails to comply with the extended time limit, the 

21 agency may not assess any search fees (or in the case 

22 of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) of this 

23 subparagraph, duplication fees). 

24 ‘‘(bb) If an agency has determined that unusual 

25 circumstances apply and more than 50,000 pages are 


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1 necessary to respond to the request, an agency may 

2 charge search fees (or in the case of a requester de3 scribed under clause (ii)(II) of this subparagraph, du4 plication fees) if the agency has provided a timely 

5 written notice to the requester in accordance with 

6 paragraph (6)(B) and the agency has discussed with 

7 the requester via written mail, electronic mail, or tele8 phone (or made not less than 3 good-faith attempts to 

9 do so) how the requester could effectively limit the 

10 scope of the request in accordance with paragraph 

11 (6)(B)(ii). 

12 ‘‘(cc) If a court has determined that exceptional 

13 circumstances exist (as that term is defined in para14 graph (6)(C)), a failure described in subclause (I) 

15 shall be excused for the length of time provided by the 

16 court order.’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

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

19 ‘‘making such request’’ and all that follows 

20 through ‘‘determination; and’’ and inserting 

21 the following: ‘‘making such request of—’’ 

22 ‘‘(I) such determination and the rea23 sons therefor; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the right of such person to seek 

2 assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison of 

3 the agency; and 

4 ‘‘(III) in the case of an adverse deter5 mination— 

6 ‘‘(aa) the right of such person to 

7 appeal to the head of the agency, with8 in a period determined by the head of 

9 the agency that is not less than 90 

10 days after the date of such adverse de11 termination; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) the right of such person to 

13 seek dispute resolution services from 

14 the FOIA Public Liaison of the agency 

15 or the Office of Government Informa16 tion Services; and’’; and 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik18 ing ‘‘the agency.’’ and inserting ‘‘the agen19 cy, and notify the requester of the right of 

20 the requester to seek dispute resolution serv21 ices from the Office of Government Informa22 tion Services.’’; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(8)(A) An agency— 

25 ‘‘(i) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) withhold information under this sec2 tion only if— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the agency reasonably foresees 

4 that disclosure would harm an interest pro5 tected by an exemption described in sub6 section (b) or other provision of law; or 

7 ‘‘(bb) disclosure is prohibited by law; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II)(aa) consider whether partial disclo10 sure of information is possible whenever the 

11 agency determines that a full disclosure of a re12 quested record is not possible; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) take reasonable steps necessary to seg14 regate and release nonexempt information; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) may not— 

16 ‘‘(I) withhold information requested under 

17 this section merely because the agency can dem18 onstrate, as a technical matter, that the records 

19 fall within the scope of an exemption described 

20 in subsection (b); or 

21 ‘‘(II) withhold information requested under 

22 this section merely because disclosure of the in23 formation may be embarrassing to the agency or 

24 because of speculative or abstract concerns. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph requires disclosure of 

2 information that is otherwise prohibited from disclosure by 

3 law, or otherwise exempted from disclosure under subsection 

4 (b)(3).’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 

6 (5) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums 

8 or letters that would not be available by law to a 

9 party other than an agency in litigation with the 

10 agency, if the requested record or information was 

11 created less than 25 years before the date on which the 

12 request was made;’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (e) 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) in the matter preceding subpara16 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘and to the Director 

17 of the Office of Government Information 

18 Services’’ after ‘‘United States’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

20 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 (iii) in subparagraph (O), by striking 

22 the period at the end and inserting a semi23 colon; and 

24 (iv) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(P) the number of times the agency denied a re2 quest for records under subsection (c); and 

3 ‘‘(Q) the number of records that were made 

4 available for public inspection in an electronic format 

5 under subsection (a)(2).’’; 

6 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) Each agency shall make each such report avail9 able for public inspection in an electronic format. In addi10 tion, each agency shall make the raw statistical data used 

11 in each report available in a timely manner for public in12 spection in an electronic format, which shall be made avail13 able— 

14 ‘‘(A) without charge, license, or registration re15 quirement; 

16 ‘‘(B) in an aggregated, searchable format; and 

17 ‘‘(C) in a format that may be downloaded in 

18 bulk.’’; 

19 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘Government Reform 

21 and Oversight’’ and inserting ‘‘Oversight 

22 and Government Reform’’; 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘Homeland Security 

24 and’’ before ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘March’’; and 

3 (D) by striking paragraph (6) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(6)(A) The Attorney General of the United States 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern7 ment Reform of the House of Representatives, the Com8 mittee on Judiciary of the Senate, and the President a re9 port on or before March 1 of each calendar year, which shall 

10 include for the prior calendar year— 

11 ‘‘(i) a listing of the number of cases arising 

12 under this section; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a listing of— 

14 ‘‘(I) each subsection, and any exemption, if 

15 applicable, involved in each case arising under 

16 this section; 

17 ‘‘(II) the disposition of each case arising 

18 under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(III) the cost, fees, and penalties assessed 

20 under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of sub21 section (a)(4); and 

22 ‘‘(iii) a description of the efforts undertaken by 

23 the Department of Justice to encourage agency com24 pliance with this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Attorney General of the United States shall 

2 make— 

3 ‘‘(i) each report submitted under subparagraph 

4 (A) available for public inspection in an electronic 

5 format; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the raw statistical data used in each report 

7 submitted under subparagraph (A) available for pub8 lic inspection in an electronic format, which shall be 

9 made available— 

10 ‘‘(I) without charge, license, or registration 

11 requirement; 

12 ‘‘(II) in an aggregated, searchable format; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(III) in a format that may be downloaded 

15 in bulk.’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (g), in the matter preceding 

17 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘publicly available upon 

18 request’’ and inserting ‘‘available for public inspec19 tion in an electronic format’’; 

20 (5) in subsection (h)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

22 the following: ‘‘The head of the Office shall be the 

23 Director of the Office of Government Information 

24 Services.’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara2 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) identify procedures and methods for im4 proving compliance under this section.’’; 

5 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) The Office of Government Information Services 

8 shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between 

9 persons making requests under this section and administra10 tive agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation and 

11 may issue advisory opinions at the discretion of the Office 

12 or upon request of any party to a dispute.’’; and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4)(A) Not less frequently than annually, the Director 

15 of the Office of Government Information Services shall sub16 mit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

17 of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judi18 ciary of the Senate, and the President— 

19 ‘‘(i) a report on the findings of the information 

20 reviewed and identified under paragraph (2); 

21 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the activities of the Office of 

22 Government Information Services under paragraph 

23 (3), including— 

24 ‘‘(I) any advisory opinions issued; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the number of times each agency en2 gaged in dispute resolution with the assistance of 

3 the Office of Government Information Services or 

4 the FOIA Public Liaison; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) legislative and regulatory recommenda6 tions, if any, to improve the administration of this 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Government Infor9 mation Services shall make each report submitted under 

10 subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an elec11 tronic format. 

12 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Government Infor13 mation Services shall not be required to obtain the prior 

14 approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of 

15 the United States, including the Department of Justice, the 

16 Archivist of the United States, or the Office of Management 

17 and Budget before submitting to Congress, or any com18 mittee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, recommenda19 tions, testimony, or comments, if such submissions include 

20 a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are 

21 those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the 

22 views of the President. 

23 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Office of Government Informa24 tion Services may directly submit additional information 


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1 to Congress and the President as the Director determines 

2 to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(6) Not less frequently than annually, the Office of 

4 Government Information Services shall conduct a meeting 

5 that is open to the public on the review and reports by the 

6 Office and shall allow interested persons to appear and 

7 present oral or written statements at the meeting.’’; 

8 (6) by striking subsections (i), (j), and (k), and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The Government Accountability Office shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enact12 ment of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 and 

13 every 2 years thereafter, conduct audits of 3 or more 

14 administrative agencies on compliance with and im15 plementation of the requirements of this section and 

16 issue reports detailing the results of such audits; 

17 ‘‘(2) not later than 1 year after the date of enact18 ment of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 and 

19 every 2 years thereafter, issue a report cataloging the 

20 number of exemptions described in paragraphs (3) 

21 and (5) of subsection (b) and the use of such exemp22 tions by each agency; 

23 ‘‘(3) not later than 1 year after the date of enact24 ment of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, conduct 

25 a study on the methods Federal agencies use to reduce 


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1 the backlog of requests under this section and issue a 

2 report on the effectiveness of those methods; and 

3 ‘‘(4) submit copies of all reports and audits de4 scribed in this subsection to the Committee on Over5 sight and Government Reform of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

7 the Senate. 

8 ‘‘(j)(1) Each agency shall designate a Chief FOIA Offi9 cer who shall be a senior official of such agency (at the As10 sistant Secretary or equivalent level). 

11 ‘‘(2) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall, sub12 ject to the authority of the head of the agency— 

13 ‘‘(A) have agency-wide responsibility for efficient 

14 and appropriate compliance with this section; 

15 ‘‘(B) monitor implementation of this section 

16 throughout the agency and keep the head of the agen17 cy, the chief legal officer of the agency, and the Attor18 ney General appropriately informed of the agency’s 

19 performance in implementing this section; 

20 ‘‘(C) recommend to the head of the agency such 

21 adjustments to agency practices, policies, personnel, 

22 and funding as may be necessary to improve its im23 plementation of this section; 

24 ‘‘(D) review and report to the Attorney General, 

25 through the head of the agency, at such times and in 


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1 such formats as the Attorney General may direct, on 

2 the agency’s performance in implementing this sec3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(E) facilitate public understanding of the pur5 poses of the statutory exemptions of this section by in6 cluding concise descriptions of the exemptions in both 

7 the agency’s handbook issued under subsection (g), 

8 and the agency’s annual report on this section, and 

9 by providing an overview, where appropriate, of cer10 tain general categories of agency records to which 

11 those exemptions apply; 

12 ‘‘(F) offer training to agency staff regarding 

13 their responsibilities under this section; 

14 ‘‘(G) serve as the primary agency liaison with 

15 the Office of Government Information Services and 

16 the Office of Information Policy; and 

17 ‘‘(H) designate 1 or more FOIA Public Liaisons. 

18 ‘‘(3) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall re19 view, not less frequently than annually, all aspects of the 

20 administration of this section by the agency to ensure com21 pliance with the requirements of this section, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) agency regulations; 

23 ‘‘(B) disclosure of records required under para24 graphs (2) and (8) of subsection (a); 


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1 ‘‘(C) assessment of fees and determination of eli2 gibility for fee waivers; 

3 ‘‘(D) the timely processing of requests for infor4 mation under this section; 

5 ‘‘(E) the use of exemptions under subsection (b); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(F) dispute resolution services with the assist8 ance of the Office of Government Information Services 

9 or the FOIA Public Liaison. 

10 ‘‘(k)(1) There is established in the executive branch the 

11 Chief FOIA Officers Council (referred to in this subsection 

12 as the ‘Council’). 

13 ‘‘(2) The Council shall be comprised of the following 

14 members: 

15 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Director for Management of the 

16 Office of Management and Budget. 

17 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Information 

18 Policy at the Department of Justice. 

19 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Government 

20 Information Services. 

21 ‘‘(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency. 

22 ‘‘(E) Any other officer or employee of the United 

23 States as designated by the Co-Chairs. 

24 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Information Policy 

25 at the Department of Justice and the Director of the Office 


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1 of Government Information Services shall be the Co-Chairs 

2 of the Council. 

3 ‘‘(4) The Administrator of General Services shall pro4 vide administrative and other support for the Council. 

5 ‘‘(5)(A) The duties of the Council shall include the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(i) Develop recommendations for increasing 

8 compliance and efficiency under this section. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Disseminate information about agency ex10 periences, ideas, best practices, and innovative ap11 proaches related to this section. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Identify, develop, and coordinate initia13 tives to increase transparency and compliance with 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Promote the development and use of com16 mon performance measures for agency compliance 

17 with this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) In performing the duties described in subpara19 graph (A), the Council shall consult on a regular basis with 

20 members of the public who make requests under this section. 

21 ‘‘(6)(A) The Council shall meet regularly and such 

22 meetings shall be open to the public unless the Council de23 termines to close the meeting for reasons of national secu24 rity or to discuss information exempt under subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(B) Not less frequently than annually, the Council 

2 shall hold a meeting that shall be open to the public and 

3 permit interested persons to appear and present oral and 

4 written statements to the Council. 

5 ‘‘(C) Not later than 10 business days before a meeting 

6 of the Council, notice of such meeting shall be published in 

7 the Federal Register. 

8 ‘‘(D) Except as provided in subsection (b), the records, 

9 reports, transcripts, minutes, appendices, working papers, 

10 drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents that were made 

11 available to or prepared for or by the Council shall be made 

12 publicly available. 

13 ‘‘(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of the Council 

14 shall be kept and shall contain a record of the persons 

15 present, a complete and accurate description of matters dis16 cussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all reports 

17 received, issued, or approved by the Council. The minutes 

18 shall be redacted as necessary and made publicly avail19 able.’’; and 

20 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(m)(1) The Director of the Office of Management and 

22 Budget, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall en23 sure the operation of a consolidated online request portal 

24 that allows a member of the public to submit a request for 

25 records under subsection (a) to any agency from a single 


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1 website. The portal may include any additional tools the 

2 Director of the Office of Management and Budget finds will 

3 improve the implementation of this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) This subsection shall not be construed to alter the 

5 power of any other agency to create or maintain an inde6 pendent online portal for the submission of a request for 

7 records under this section. The Director of the Office of 

8 Management and Budget shall establish standards for inter9 operability between the portal required under paragraph 

10 (1) and other request processing software used by agencies 

11 subject to this section.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. REVIEW AND ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency (as 

15 defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) shall 

16 review the regulations of such agency and shall issue regula17 tions on procedures for the disclosure of records under sec18 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code, in accordance with 

19 the amendments made by section 2. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations of each agency 

21 shall include procedures for engaging in dispute resolution 

22 through the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Govern23 ment Information Services. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE THROUGH RECORDS MAN2 AGEMENT. 

3 Section 3102 of title 44, United States Code, is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

6 paragraphs (3) and (4); and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(2) procedures for identifying records of general 

10 interest or use to the public that are appropriate for 

11 public disclosure, and for posting such records in a 

12 publicly accessible electronic format;’’. 

13 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

14 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

15 requirements of this Act or the amendments made by this 

16 Act. The requirements of this Act and the amendments 

17 made by this Act shall be carried out using amounts other18 wise authorized or appropriated. 


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Calendar No. 605 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2520 

A BILL 

To improve the Freedom of Information Act. 

NOVEMBER 20, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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