I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1211 
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 
A BILL 
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (com-
monly known as the Freedom of Information Act), to 
provide for greater public access to information, 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 ‘‘FOIA Oversight and 
Implementation Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘FOIA Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS. 
(a) ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY.—Section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘for public inspection 
and copying’’ and inserting ‘‘in an elec-
tronic, publicly accessible format’’; 
(ii) by striking subparagraph (E) and 
inserting the following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(E) copies of all records, regardless of form or 
format, that have been released three or more times 
under paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(F) a general index of the records referred to 
under subparagraphs (D) and (E);’’; and 
(iii) in the matter proceeding subpara-
graph (F) (as added by clause (ii) of this 
subparagraph)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 
(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 
(D) and (E)’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 
(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 
(F)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (7)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘that will take longer than ten days to 
process’’; and 
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(ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 
‘‘automated’’ after ‘‘provides’’; 
(2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘make publicly 
available upon request’’ and inserting ‘‘make avail-
able in an electronic, publicly accessible format’’; 
(3) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘the implemen-
tation’’ and inserting ‘‘compliance with and imple-
mentation of the requirements’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(m) FOIA WEB SITE REQUIRED.—Not later than 
one year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure the 
existence and operation of a single Web site, accessible by 
the public at no cost to access, that allows the public to— 
‘‘(1) submit requests for records under sub-
section (a)(3); and 
‘‘(2) receive automated information about the 
status of a request under subsection (a)(7).’’. 
(b) PRESUMPTION OF OPENNESS.—Section 552(b) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended in the matter pre-
ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘that would cause fore-
seeable harm and’’ after ‘‘matters’’. 
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(c) THE OFFICE
OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION 
SERVICES.—Section 552 of title 5, United States Code is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, in consultation with the Director 
of the Office of Government Information Services,’’; 
and 
(2) subsection (h) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(h) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION 
SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 
the Office of Government Information Services with-
in the National Archives and Records Administra-
tion. The head of the Office is the Director of the 
Office of Government Information Services. 
‘‘(2) REVIEW
OF
FOIA
POLICY, PROCEDURE, 
AND COMPLIANCE.—The Office of Government In-
formation Services shall— 
‘‘(A) review policies and procedures of 
agencies under this section; 
‘‘(B) review compliance with this section 
by agencies; and 
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‘‘(C) identify methods that improve compli-
ance under this section that may include— 
‘‘(i) the timely processing of requests 
submitted to agencies under this section; 
‘‘(ii) the system for assessing fees and 
fee waivers under this section; and 
‘‘(iii) the use of any exemption under 
subsection (b); and 
‘‘(D) review and provide guidance to agen-
cies on the use of fees and fee waivers. 
‘‘(3) MEDIATION
SERVICES.—The Office of 
Government Information Services shall offer medi-
ation services to resolve disputes between persons 
making requests under this section and agencies as 
a non-exclusive alternative to litigation and, at the 
discretion of the Office, may issue advisory opinions 
if mediation has not resolved the dispute. 
‘‘(4) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Govern-
ment Information Services shall not less than 
annually submit to the committees described in 
subparagraph (C) and the President a report on 
the findings from the information reviewed and 
identified under paragraph (2) and legislative 
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and regulatory recommendations to improve the 
administration of this section. 
‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC
AVAILABILITY
OF
RE-
PORTS.—The Office shall make available any 
report submitted under paragraph (A) in a pub-
licly accessible format. 
‘‘(C) CONGRESSIONAL SUBMISSION OF RE-
PORT.—The committees described in this sub-
paragraph are the following: 
‘‘(i) The Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
‘‘(ii) The Committees on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs and the 
Judiciary of the Senate. 
‘‘(D) DIRECT SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 
Any report submitted under paragraph (A) 
shall be submitted directly to the committees 
and the President, without any requirement 
that any officer or employee outside of the Of-
fice of Government Information Services, in-
cluding the Archivist of the United States and 
the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget, review such report. 
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‘‘(5) SUBMISSION
OF
ADDITIONAL
INFORMA-
TION.—The Director of the Office of Government 
Information Services may submit additional informa-
tion to Congress and the President that the Director 
determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(6) ANNUAL MEETING REQUIRED.—Not less 
than once a year, the Office of Government Informa-
tion Services shall hold a meeting that is open to the 
public on the review and reports by the Office and 
permit interested persons to appear and present oral 
or written statements at such meeting.’’. 
(d) PUBLIC RESOURCES.—Section 552(a)(6)(A) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘such determina-
tion and the reasons therefor, and of the right of 
such person to appeal to the head of the agency any 
adverse determination; and’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing new subclauses: 
‘‘(I) such determination and the reasons 
therefor; 
‘‘(II) the right of such person to seek as-
sistance from the agency FOIA Public Liaison; 
and 
‘‘(III) the right of such person to appeal to 
the head of the agency any adverse determina-
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tion, not later than 90 days after the receipt of 
such adverse determination; and’’; and 
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in-
serting the following: ‘‘and the right of such person 
to seek dispute resolution services from the agency 
FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government 
Information Services.’’ 
(e) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Section 552(a) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(8) DISCLOSURE
OF
INFORMATION
FOR
IN-
CREASED PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOVERN-
MENT.—Each agency shall— 
‘‘(A) review the records of such agency to 
determine whether the release of the records 
would be in the public interest because it is 
likely to contribute significantly to public un-
derstanding of the operations or activities of the 
Government; 
‘‘(B) for records determined to be in the 
public interest under subparagraph (A), reason-
ably segregate and redact any information ex-
empted from disclosure under subsection (b); 
and 
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‘‘(C) make available in an electronic, pub-
licly accessible format, any records identified in 
subparagraph (A), as modified pursuant to sub-
paragraph (B). 
‘‘(9) INCREASED
DISCLOSURE
OF
INFORMA-
TION.—Each agency shall— 
‘‘(A) make information public to the great-
est extent possible through modern technology 
to— 
‘‘(i) inform the public of the oper-
ations and activities of the Government; 
and 
‘‘(ii) ensure timely disclosure of infor-
mation; and 
‘‘(B) establish procedures for identifying 
categories of records that may be disclosed reg-
ularly and additional records of interest to the 
public that are appropriate for public disclo-
sure, and for posting such records in an elec-
tronic, publicly accessible format.’’. 
(f) AGENCY FOIA REPORT.—Section 552(e) of title 
5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘and to the Director of 
the Office of Government Information Services’’ 
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after ‘‘the Attorney General of the United 
States’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (N), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 
(C) in subparagraph (O), by striking the 
period and inserting a semicolon; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraphs: 
‘‘(P) the number of times the agency invoked a 
law enforcement exclusion under subsection (c); 
‘‘(Q) the number of times the agency engaged 
in dispute resolution with the assistance of the Of-
fice of Government Information Services or the 
FOIA Public Liaison; and 
‘‘(R) the number of records that were made 
available in an electronic, publicly accessible format 
under subsection (a)(2).’’; 
(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(3) 
ELECTRONIC
ACCESSIBILITY
OF
RE-
PORTS.—Each agency shall make each such report 
available in an electronic, publicly accessible format. 
In addition, each agency shall make the raw statis-
tical data used in its reports available in a timely 
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manner in an electronic, publicly accessible format. 
Such data shall be— 
‘‘(A) made available without charge, li-
cense, or registration requirement; 
‘‘(B) capable of being searched and aggre-
gated; and 
‘‘(C) permitted to be downloaded and 
downloaded in bulk.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (4)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Committee on Govern-
ment Reform and Oversight’’ and inserting 
‘‘Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
form’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘April 1’’ and inserting 
‘‘March 1’’; 
(4) in paragraph (5)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘and the Director of the 
Office of Government Information Services’’ 
after ‘‘the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘by October 1, 1997’’; and 
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(5) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(6) ATTORNEY GENERAL FOIA REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 
of the United States shall submit to Congress 
and the President an annual report on or before 
March 1 of each calendar year which shall in-
clude for the prior calendar year— 
‘‘(i) a listing of the number of cases 
arising under this section; 
‘‘(ii) each subsection under this sec-
tion, each paragraph of the subsection, and 
any exemption, if applicable, involved in 
each case, the disposition of such case, and 
the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under 
subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of sub-
section (a)(4); and 
‘‘(iii) a description of the efforts un-
dertaken by the Department of Justice to 
encourage agency compliance with this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(B) 
ELECTRONIC
AVAILABILITY.—The 
Attorney General of the United States— 
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‘‘(i) shall make each report described 
under subparagraph (A) available in an 
electronic, publicly accessible format; and 
‘‘(ii) shall make the raw statistical 
data used in each report available in an 
electronic, publicly accessible format, which 
shall be— 
‘‘(I) 
made 
available 
without 
charge, license, or registration re-
quirement; 
‘‘(II) capable of being searched 
and aggregated; and 
‘‘(III) 
permitted 
to 
be 
downloaded, including downloaded in 
bulk.’’. 
(g) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Sub-
section (i) of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(i) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—The 
Government Accountability Office shall— 
‘‘(1) conduct audits of administrative agencies 
on the implementation of this section and issue re-
ports detailing the results of such audits; and 
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‘‘(2) catalog the number of exemptions under 
subsection (b)(3) and agency use of such exemp-
tions.’’. 
(h) CHIEF
FOIA OFFICER
RESPONSIBILITIES; 
COUNCIL; REVIEW.—Section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (j) and (k); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (i), the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(j) CHIEF FOIA OFFICER.— 
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—Each agency shall des-
ignate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior 
official of such agency (at the Assistant Secretary or 
equivalent level). 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Chief FOIA Officer of each 
agency shall, subject to the authority of the head of 
the agency— 
‘‘(A) have agency-wide responsibility for ef-
ficient and appropriate compliance with this 
section; 
‘‘(B) monitor implementation of this sec-
tion throughout the agency and keep the head 
of the agency, the chief legal officer of the 
agency, and the Attorney General appropriately 
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informed of the agency’s performance in imple-
menting this section; 
‘‘(C) recommend to the head of the agency 
such adjustments to agency practices, policies, 
personnel, and funding as may be necessary to 
improve its implementation of this section; 
‘‘(D) review and report to the Attorney 
General, through the head of the agency, at 
such times and in such formats as the Attorney 
General may direct, on the agency’s perform-
ance in implementing this section; 
‘‘(E) facilitate public understanding of the 
purposes of the statutory exemptions of this 
section by including concise descriptions of the 
exemptions in both the agency’s handbook 
issued under subsection (g), and the agency’s 
annual report on this section, and by providing 
an overview, where appropriate, of certain gen-
eral categories of agency records to which those 
exemptions apply; and 
‘‘(F) designate one or more FOIA Public 
Liaisons. 
‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE
REVIEW
REQUIRED.—The 
Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall— 
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‘‘(A) review, not less than annually, all as-
pects of the agency’s administration of this sec-
tion to ensure compliance with the requirements 
of this section, including— 
‘‘(i) agency regulations; 
‘‘(ii) disclosure of records required 
under paragraphs (2), (8), and (9) of sub-
section (a); 
‘‘(iii) assessment of fees and deter-
mination of eligibility for fee waivers; 
‘‘(iv) the timely processing of requests 
for information under this section; 
‘‘(v) the use of exemptions under sub-
section (b); and 
‘‘(vi) dispute resolution services with 
the assistance of the Office of Government 
Information Services or the FOIA Public 
Liaison; and 
‘‘(B) make recommendations as necessary 
to improve agency practices and compliance 
with this section. 
‘‘(k) CHIEF FOIA OFFICERS COUNCIL.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 
the executive branch the Chief FOIA Officers Coun-
cil (in this subsection, referred to as the ‘Council’). 
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‘‘(2) MEMBERS.—The Council shall consist of 
the following members: 
‘‘(A) The Deputy Director for Manage-
ment of the Office of Management and Budget. 
‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Infor-
mation Policy at the Department of Justice. 
‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Govern-
ment Information Services at the National Ar-
chives and Records Administration. 
‘‘(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each 
agency. 
‘‘(E) Any other officer or employee of the 
United States as designated by the Co-Chairs. 
‘‘(3) CO-CHAIRS.—The Director of the Office of 
Information Policy at the Department of Justice and 
the Director of the Office of Government Informa-
tion Services at the National Archives and Records 
Administration shall be the Co-Chairs of the Coun-
cil. 
‘‘(4) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator 
of General Services shall provide administrative and 
other support for the Council. 
‘‘(5) CONSULTATION.—In performing its duties, 
the Council shall consult regularly with members of 
the public who make requests under this section. 
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‘‘(6) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council in-
clude the following: 
‘‘(A) Develop recommendations for increas-
ing compliance and efficiency under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(B) Disseminate information about agen-
cy experiences, ideas, best practices, and inno-
vative approaches related to this section. 
‘‘(C) Identify, develop, and coordinate ini-
tiatives to increase transparency and compli-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(D) Promote the development and use of 
common performance measures for agency com-
pliance with this section. 
‘‘(7) MEETINGS.— 
‘‘(A) REGULAR
MEETINGS.—The Council 
shall meet regularly and such meetings shall be 
open to the public unless the Council deter-
mines to close the meeting for reasons of na-
tional security or to discuss information exempt 
under subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) ANNUAL MEETINGS.—Not less than 
once a year, the Council shall hold a meeting 
that shall be open to the public and permit in-
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terested persons to appear and present oral and 
written statements to the Council. 
‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Not later than 10 business 
days before a meeting of the Council, notice of 
such meeting shall be published in the Federal 
Register. 
‘‘(D) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY
OF
COUNCIL 
RECORDS.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, 
appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, 
agenda, or other documents that were made 
available to or prepared for or by the Council 
shall be made publicly available. 
‘‘(E) MINUTES.—Detailed minutes of each 
meeting of the Council shall be kept and shall 
contain a record of the persons present, a com-
plete and accurate description of matters dis-
cussed and conclusions reached, and copies of 
all reports received, issued, or approved by the 
Council.’’. 
(i) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) REVISION
OF
REGULATIONS.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the head of each agency shall review the 
regulations of such agency and shall issue regula-
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tions on procedures for the disclosure of records 
under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, in 
accordance with the amendments made by this sec-
tion. The regulations of each agency shall include— 
(A) procedures for engaging in dispute res-
olution; and 
(B) procedures for engaging with the Of-
fice of Government Information Services. 
(2) OFFICE
OF
GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION 
SERVICES REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Office of 
Government Information Services shall submit to 
Congress a report on agency compliance with the re-
quirements of this subsection. 
(3) REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE.—The head 
of any agency that does not meet the requirements 
of paragraph (1) shall submit to Congress a report 
on the reason for noncompliance not later than 270 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(4) INSPECTOR
GENERAL
REVIEW
FOR
NON-
COMPLIANCE.—Any agency that fails to comply with 
the requirements of this subsection shall be reviewed 
by the Office of Inspector General of such agency 
for compliance with section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
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(5) AGENCY
DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall establish a pilot program 
for 3 years to review the benefits of FOIAonline to process 
requests and release information under section 552 of title 
5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom 
of Information Act). 
(b) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall establish a plan 
to evaluate FOIAonline at no less than 3 agencies that 
have not previously participated in FOIAonline, including 
at least one of the following: 
(1) An agency that receives more than 50,000 
requests annually for information under section 552 
of title 5, United States Code. 
(2) An agency that receives between 25,000 and 
50,000 requests annually for information under such 
section. 
(3) An agency that receives 25,000 or fewer re-
quests annually for information under such section. 
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(c) AGENCY USE OF WEB SITE.—Each agency se-
lected under subsection (b) shall use FOIAonline to— 
(1) receive requests under section 552 of title 5, 
United States Code; 
(2) process requests received under such sec-
tion; 
(3) track the status of requests submitted 
under such section; and 
(4) make records released available publicly on 
FOIAonline. 
(d) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget shall, in consultation with the 
Attorney General, the Office of Government Information 
Services, and the head of each agency participating in the 
pilot program, review the benefits of FOIAonline, includ-
ing— 
(1) any cost saving, resource saving, or effi-
ciency gained through the use of FOIAonline; 
(2) any change in the amount of requests re-
ceived under section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code; 
(3) any increase in transparency and accessi-
bility to Government information; and 
(4) any changes in the ability to access and 
compile information needed for agency annual re-
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ports required under section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(e) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 3 months 
after the completion of the pilot program, the head of each 
agency participating in the program shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the impact of the pilot program on agen-
cy processes under section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code, whether the agency will continue to participate in 
FOIAonline, and any recommendations the head of the 
agency considers appropriate to continue the use of 
FOIAonline. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 552(f) of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(2) FOIAONLINE.—The term ‘‘FOIAonline’’ 
means 
the 
electronic 
online 
portal 
FOIAonline.regulations.gov. 
Æ 
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pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS