HR 1309 RFS
(1959)), ‘‘The effective functioning of a free 
government like ours depends largely on the 
force of an informed public opinion. This calls 
for the widest possible understanding of the 
quality of government service rendered by all 
elective or appointed public officials or employ-
ees.’’; 
(2) the American people firmly believe that our 
system of government must itself be governed by a 
presumption of openness; 
(3) the Freedom of Information Act establishes 
a ‘‘strong presumption in favor of disclosure’’ as 
noted by the United States Supreme Court in 
United States Department of State v. Ray (502 U.S. 
164 (1991)), a presumption that applies to all agen-
cies governed by that Act; 
(4) ‘‘disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant ob-
jective of the Act,’’ as noted by the United States 
Supreme Court in Department of Air Force v. Rose 
(425 U.S. 352 (1976)); 
(5) in practice, the Freedom of Information Act 
has not always lived up to the ideals of that Act; and 
(6) Congress should regularly review section 
552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly re-
ferred to as the Freedom of Information Act), in 
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order to determine whether further changes and im-
provements are necessary to ensure that the Govern-
ment remains open and accessible to the American 
people and is always based not upon the ‘‘need to 
know’’ but upon the fundamental ‘‘right to know’’. 
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FEE STATUS FOR NEWS MEDIA. 
Section 552(a)(4)(A)(ii) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘In making a determination of a representative of the 
news media under subclause (II), an agency may not deny 
that status solely on the basis of the absence of institu-
tional associations of the requester, but shall consider the 
prior publication history of the requester. Prior publica-
tion history shall include books, magazine and newspaper 
articles, newsletters, television and radio broadcasts, and 
Internet publications. If the requestor has no prior publi-
cation history or current affiliation, the agency shall con-
sider the requestor’s stated intent at the time the request 
is made to distribute information to a reasonably broad 
audience.’’. 
SEC. 4. RECOVERY OF ATTORNEY FEES AND LITIGATION 
COSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 552(a)(4)(E) of title 5, 
United State Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘For purposes of this section only, a complain-
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ant has substantially prevailed if the complainant has ob-
tained relief through either— 
‘‘(i) a judicial order, administrative action, or 
an enforceable written agreement or consent decree; 
or 
‘‘(ii) a voluntary or unilateral change in posi-
tion by the opposing party, in a case in which the 
complainant’s claim or defense was not frivolous.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding section 1304 of 
title 31, United States Code, no amounts may be obligated 
or expended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the 
United States Treasury to pay the costs resulting from 
the amendments made by this section. Any such amounts 
shall be paid only from funds annually appropriated for 
the Federal agency against which a claim or judgment has 
been rendered. 
SEC. 5. DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS FOR ARBITRARY AND CA-
PRICIOUS REJECTIONS OF REQUESTS. 
Section 552(a)(4)(F) of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(F)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(ii) The Attorney General shall— 
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