I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7163 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reduce the backlog of requests 
for information made to the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant 
to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 11, 2020 
Mr. CISNEROS (for himself and Mr. ROSE of New York) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reduce the 
backlog of requests for information made to the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code, 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 ‘‘VA FOIA Reform Act 
of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF BACKLOG OF CERTAIN REQUESTS 
FOR INFORMATION. 
(a) REDUCTION OF BACKLOGS.— 
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(1) FOIA.—By not later than three years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall reduce the backlog of 
FOIA requests by 75 percent. 
(2) OFFICE
OF
SPECIAL
COUNSEL.—By not 
later than three years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary shall reduce the 
backlog of Special Counsel requests by 75 percent. 
(b) PROACTIVE DISCLOSURES.—On an ongoing basis, 
the Secretary shall determine the documents, records, and 
information of the Department of Veterans Affairs that 
are the types of documents, records, and information of 
the Department that the Secretary determines are fre-
quently requested and provided pursuant to section 552 
of title 5, United States Code. The Secretary shall regu-
larly make such documents, records, and information pub-
licly available, including by publishing such documents, 
records, and information on the internet website of the 
Department. 
(c) COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall 
request the Director of the Office of Government Informa-
tion Services of the National Archives and Records Admin-
istration to conduct an assessment of the compliance by 
the Department of Veterans Affairs with section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code. 
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(d) REPORTS.— 
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen-
ate a report on implementing subsections (a) and 
(b). The report shall include the following: 
(A) A plan for such implementation. 
(B) An analysis of the root causes of the 
backlog of FOIA requests and the backlog of 
Special Counsel requests. 
(C) A plan to improve and acquire tech-
nology, including with respect to searching 
email and other electronic information, and the 
timelines for such improvement, to ensure that 
the information technology of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs is capable of carrying out 
such plan. 
(D) Identification of efficient procedures, 
policies, and systems of the Department that 
could be developed to allow employees of the 
Department responsible for replying to requests 
under section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code, to search and review documents rather 
than other employees of the Department. 
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(E) Identification of the documents and in-
formation that will be made publicly available 
under subsection (b) and identification of the 
10 most frequently requested types of docu-
ments, records, or information. 
(F) Recommendations with respect to any 
additional resources or legislative action the 
Secretary determines necessary for such imple-
mentation. 
(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—During the three-year 
period following the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate annual reports on implementing sub-
sections (a) and (b). 
(3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 
publicly available on the internet website of the De-
partment the reports under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
by not later than 30 days after the date on which 
the Secretary submits the reports to the Committees 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘backlog of FOIA requests’’ 
means the number of requests, as reported by the 
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Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the Attorney Gen-
eral in the Annual FOIA Report for Fiscal Year 
2019, made by individuals to the Secretary pursuant 
to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, for 
documents or information that the Secretary has not 
fulfilled or provided a response to the individual. 
(2) The term ‘‘backlog of Special Counsel re-
quests’’ means the number of requests, as deter-
mined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs by not 
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, made by the Special Counsel to the Sec-
retary pursuant to chapter 12 of part II of title 5, 
United States Code, for documents or information 
that the Secretary has not fulfilled or provided a re-
sponse to the Office of Special Counsel. 
Æ 
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