I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4917
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known
as the Freedom of Information Act), to provide for public access to
information in an electronic format, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 8, 1994
Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. CONDIT, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. SHEPHERD, Mr.
FINGERHUT, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Government Operations
A BILL
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (com-
monly known as the Freedom of Information Act), to
provide for public access to information in an electronic
format, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Freedom
of Information Improvement Act of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the purpose of the Freedom of Information
Act is to require agencies of the Federal Govern-
ment to make certain agency information available
for public inspection and copying and to establish
and enable enforcement of the right of any person
to obtain access to the records of such agencies
(subject to statutory exemptions) for any public or
private purpose;
(2) since the enactment of the Freedom of In-
formation Act in 1966, and the amendments enacted
in 1974 and 1986, the Freedom of Information Act
has been a valuable means through which any per-
son can learn how the Federal Government operates;
(3) the Freedom of Information Act has led to
the disclosure of waste, fraud, abuse, and wrong-
doing in the Federal Government;
(4) the Freedom of Information Act has led to
the identification of unsafe consumer products,
harmful drugs, and serious health hazards;
(5) Government agencies increasingly use com-
puters to conduct agency business and to store pub-
licly valuable agency records and information; and
(6) Government agencies should use new tech-
nology to enhance public access to agency records
and information.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) foster democracy by ensuring public access
to agency records and information;
(2) improve public access to agency records and
information;
(3) ensure agency compliance with statutory
time limits; and
(4) maximize the usefulness of agency records
and information collected, maintained, used, re-
tained, and disseminated by the Federal Govern-
ment.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC INFORMATION AVAILABILITY.
Section 552(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘by com-
puter telecommunications, or if computer tele-
communications means are not available, by other
electronic means,’’ after ‘‘Federal Register’’;
(2) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (D);
(3) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub-
paragraph (F); and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) a complete list of all statutes that the
agency head or general counsel relies upon to au-
thorize the agency to withhold information under
subsection (b)(3) of this section, together with a spe-
cific description of the scope of the information cov-
ered; and’’.
SEC. 4. MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC
FORMAT.
Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘including,
within 1 year after the date of the enactment of the
Electronic Freedom of Information Improvement Act
of 1994, by computer telecommunications, or if com-
puter telecommunications means are not available,
by other electronic means,’’ after ‘‘copying’’;
(2) in subparagraph (B) by striking out ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(3) in subparagraph (C) by inserting ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(4) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing new subparagraphs:
‘‘(D) an index of all major information sys-
tems containing agency records regardless of