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    Union Calendar No. 294114TH CONGRESS

    2D SESSION H. R. 653[Report No. 114391]

    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

    FEBRUARY 2, 2015

    Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. QUIGLEY) introduced the fol-

    lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-

    ernment Reform

    JANUARY 7, 2016

    Additional sponsors: Ms. NORTON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. GUINTA, Mr.

    FARENTHOLD, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. FRANKSof Arizona, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. BYRNE, Mr.

    TIPTON, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. HURT of Virginia,

    Mr. GOSAR, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. ROSS, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. RANGEL,

    Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. WELCH, Mr. ASHFORD, Mr. HONDA,

    Mr. FOSTER, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr.

    HENSARLING, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. EMMER of Minnesota, Ms. BROWNLEY

    of California, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms.

    GABBARD, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. POSEY, Mr.

    DESAULNIER, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Geor-

    gia, Mr. AMODEI, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. POLIS, Mr. OLSON, Mr.

    MESSER, Mr. YOHO, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ABRAHAM, and

    Mr. CICILLINE

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    JANUARY 7, 2016

    Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

    House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

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

    [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 2, 2015]

    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.

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    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1

    tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,2

    SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.3

    This Act may be cited as the FOIA Oversight and4

    Implementation Act of 2015 or the FOIA Act.5

    SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS.6

    (a) ELECTRONICACCESSIBILITY.Section 552 of title7

    5, United States Code, is amended8

    (1) in subsection (a)9

    (A) in paragraph (2)10

    (i) by striking for public inspection11

    and copying each place it appears and in-12

    serting in an electronic, publicly accessible13

    format;14

    (ii) by striking ; and and inserting15

    a semicolon;16

    (iii) by striking subparagraph (E) and17

    inserting the following new subparagraphs:18

    (E) copies of all releasable records, regardless of19

    form or format, that have been requested three or20

    more times under paragraph (3); and21

    (F) a general index of the records referred to22

    under subparagraphs (D) and (E);; and23

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    (iv) in the matter following subpara-1

    graph (F) (as added by clause (iii) of this2

    subparagraph)3

    (I) by striking subparagraph4

    (D) and inserting subparagraphs5

    (D) and (E); and6

    (II) by striking subparagraph7

    (E) and inserting subparagraph8

    (F); and9

    (B) in paragraph (7)10

    (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking11

    that will take longer than ten days to12

    process; and13

    (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting14

    automated after provides;15

    (2) in subsection (g), by striking make publicly16

    available upon request and inserting make avail-17

    able in an electronic, publicly accessible format; and18

    (3) by adding at the end the following new sub-19

    section:20

    (m) ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OFREQUESTS.21

    (1) CONSOLIDATED ONLINE REQUEST POR-22

    TAL.The Director of the Office of Management and23

    Budget, in consultation with the Attorney General,24

    shall ensure the operation of a consolidated online re-25

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    quest portal that allows a member of the public to1

    submit a request for records under subsection (a) to2

    any agency from a single website. The portal may in-3

    clude any additional tools the Director of the Office4

    of Management and Budget finds will improve the5

    implementation of this section.6

    (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.This subsection7

    shall not be construed to alter the power of any other8

    agency to create or maintain an independent online9

    portal for the submission of a request for records10

    under this section. The Director of the Office of Man-11

    agement and Budget shall establish standards for12

    interoperability between the portal required under13

    paragraph (1) and other request processing software14

    used by agencies subject to this section.15

    (3) EMAIL REQUEST REQUIRED.Each agency16

    shall accept requests for records under subsection (a)17

    through an email address and shall publish such18

    email address on the website of the agency..19

    (b) PRESUMPTION OF OPENNESS.Section 552(b) of20

    title 5, United States Code, is amended21

    (1) in paragraph (5), by inserting after with22

    the agency the following: , excluding23

    (A) opinions that are controlling interpre-24

    tations of law;25

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    (B) final reports or memoranda created by1

    an entity other than the agency, including other2

    Governmental entities, at the request of the agen-3

    cy and used to make a final policy decision;4

    (C) guidance documents used by the agen-5

    cy to respond to the public; and6

    (D) records or information created 257

    years or more before the date on which a request8

    is made under subsection (a)(3); and9

    (2) in the matter following paragraph (9), by in-10

    serting before Any reasonably segregable portion the11

    following: An agency may not withhold information12

    under this subsection unless such agency reasonably13

    foresees that disclosure would cause specific identifi-14

    able harm to an interest protected by an exemption,15

    or if disclosure is prohibited by law..16

    (c) ASSESSMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND OTHER17

    LITIGATION COSTS.Section 552(a)(4)(E)(i) of title 5,18

    United States Code, is amended by striking The court19

    may and inserting The court shall.20

    (d) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION21

    SERVICES.Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is22

    amended23

    (1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(i), by striking the24

    Director of the Office of Management and Budget25

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    and inserting the Director of the Office of Manage-1

    ment and Budget, in consultation with the Director2

    of the Office of Government Information Services,;3

    and4

    (2) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol-5

    lows:6

    (h) THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION7

    SERVICES.8

    (1) ESTABLISHMENT.There is established the9

    Office of Government Information Services within the10

    National Archives and Records Administration. The11

    head of the Office is the Director of the Office of Gov-12

    ernment Information Services.13

    (2) REVIEW OF FOIA POLICY, PROCEDURE, AND14

    COMPLIANCE.The Office of Government Information15

    Services shall16

    (A) review policies and procedures of agen-17

    cies under this section;18

    (B) review compliance with this section by19

    agencies;20

    (C) identify methods that improve compli-21

    ance under this section that may include22

    (i) the timely processing of requests23

    submitted to agencies under this section;24

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    (ii) the system for assessing fees and1

    fee waivers under this section; and2

    (iii) the use of any exemption under3

    subsection (b); and4

    (D) review and provide guidance to agen-5

    cies on the use of fees and fee waivers.6

    (3) MEDIATION SERVICES.The Office of Gov-7

    ernment Information Services shall offer mediation8

    services to resolve disputes between persons making9

    requests under this section and agencies as a non-ex-10

    clusive alternative to litigation and may issue advi-11

    sory opinions at the discretion of the Office or upon12

    request of any party to such mediation services.13

    (4) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.14

    (A) IN GENERAL.The Office of Govern-15

    ment Information Services shall not less than16

    annually submit to the committees described in17

    subparagraph (C) and the President a report on18

    the findings from the information reviewed and19

    identified under paragraph (2), a summary of20

    the Offices activities under paragraph (3) (in-21

    cluding any advisory opinions issued), and legis-22

    lative and regulatory recommendations to im-23

    prove the administration of this section.24

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    (B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF RE-1

    PORTS.The Office shall make available any re-2

    port submitted under paragraph (A) in a pub-3

    licly accessible format.4

    (C) CONGRESSIONAL SUBMISSION OF RE-5

    PORT.The committees described in this sub-6

    paragraph are the following:7

    (i) The Committee on Oversight and8

    Government Reform of the House of Rep-9

    resentatives.10

    (ii) The Committees on Homeland Se-11

    curity and Governmental Affairs and the12

    Judiciary of the Senate.13

    (D) DIRECT SUBMISSION OF REPORTS AND14

    TESTIMONY.Any report submitted under para-15

    graph (A), any testimony, or any other commu-16

    nication to Congress shall be submitted directly17

    to the committees and the President, without any18

    requirement that any officer or employee outside19

    of the Office of Government Information Serv-20

    ices, including the Archivist of the United States21

    and the Director of the Office of Management22

    and Budget, review such report, testimony, or23

    other communication.24

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    (5) SUBMISSION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA-1

    TION.The Director of the Office of Government In-2

    formation Services may submit additional informa-3

    tion to Congress and the President that the Director4

    determines to be appropriate.5

    (6) ANNUAL MEETING REQUIRED.Not less6

    than once a year, the Office of Government Informa-7

    tion Services shall hold a meeting that is open to the8

    public on the review and reports by the Office and9

    permit interested persons to appear and present oral10

    or written statements at such meeting..11

    (e) PUBLICRESOURCES.Section 552(a)(6)(A) of title12

    5, United States Code, is amended13

    (1) in clause (i), by striking of such determina-14

    tion and the reasons therefor, and of the right of such15

    person to appeal to the head of the agency any ad-16

    verse determination; and and inserting the following:17

    of18

    (I) such determination and the reasons19

    therefor;20

    (II) the right of such person to seek assist-21

    ance from the agency FOIA Public Liaison; and22

    (III) the right of such person to appeal to23

    the head of the agency any adverse determina-24

    tion, within a period determined by the agency25

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    that is not less than 90 days after the receipt of1

    such adverse determination; and; and2

    (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the3

    end and inserting the following: and the right of4

    such person to seek dispute resolution services from5

    the agency FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Gov-6

    ernment Information Services.7

    (f) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION RE-8

    QUIREMENTS.Section 552(a) of title 5, United States9

    Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new10

    paragraphs:11

    (8) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR IN-12

    CREASED PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOVERN-13

    MENT.Each agency shall14

    (A) review the records of such agency to15

    determine whether the release of the records16

    would be in the public interest because it is like-17

    ly to contribute significantly to public under-18

    standing of the operations or activities of the19

    Government;20

    (B) for records determined to be in the21

    public interest under subparagraph (A), reason-22

    ably segregate and redact any information ex-23

    empted from disclosure under subsection (b); and24

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    (C) make available in an electronic, pub-1

    licly accessible format, any records identified in2

    subparagraph (A), as modified pursuant to sub-3

    paragraph (B).4

    (9) INCREASED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA-5

    TION.Each agency shall6

    (A) make information public to the great-7

    est extent possible through modern technology8

    to9

    (i) inform the public of the operations10

    and activities of the Government; and11

    (ii) ensure timely disclosure of infor-12

    mation; and13

    (B) establish procedures for identifying14

    categories of records that may be disclosed regu-15

    larly and additional records of interest to the16

    public that are appropriate for public disclosure,17

    and for posting such records in an electronic,18

    publicly accessible format..19

    (g) REPORT ON CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION FOR20

    DISCLOSURE.Not later than one year after the date of the21

    enactment of this Act, and every two years thereafter, the22

    Director of the Office of Information Policy of the Depart-23

    ment of Justice, after consultation with agencies selected by24

    the Director, shall submit to the Committee on Oversight25

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    and Government Reform of the House of Representatives1

    and the Committees on Homeland Security and Govern-2

    mental Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate a report3

    that identifies categories of records that would be appro-4

    priate for proactive disclosure, and shall make such report5

    available in an electronic, publicly accessible format.6

    (h) AGENCYFOIA REPORT.Section 552(e) of title 5,7

    United States Code, is amended8

    (1) in paragraph (1)9

    (A) by inserting and to the Director of the10

    Office of Government Information Services after11

    the Attorney General of the United States;12

    (B) in subparagraph (N), by striking ;13

    and and inserting a semicolon;14

    (C) in subparagraph (O), by striking the15

    period and inserting a semicolon; and16

    (D) by adding at the end the following new17

    subparagraphs:18

    (P) the number of times the agency invoked a19

    law enforcement exclusion under subsection (c);20

    (Q) the number of times the agency engaged in21

    dispute resolution with the assistance of the Office of22

    Government Information Services or the FOIA Public23

    Liaison;24

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    (R) the number of records that were made1

    available in an electronic, publicly accessible format2

    under subsection (a)(2); and3

    (S) the number of times the agency assessed a4

    search or duplication fee under subsection (a)(4)(A)5

    and did not comply with a time limit under sub-6

    section (a)(6).;7

    (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol-8

    lows:9

    (3) ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY OF REPORTS.10

    Each agency shall make each such report available in11

    an electronic, publicly accessible format. In addition,12

    each agency shall make the raw statistical data used13

    in its reports available in a timely manner in an14

    electronic, publicly accessible format. Such data shall15

    be16

    (A) made available without charge, license,17

    or registration requirement;18

    (B) capable of being searched and aggre-19

    gated; and20

    (C) permitted to be downloaded and21

    downloaded in bulk.;22

    (3) in paragraph (4)23

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    (A) by striking Committee on Government1

    Reform and Oversight and inserting Com-2

    mittee on Oversight and Government Reform;3

    (B) by striking Governmental Affairs and4

    inserting Homeland Security and Govern-5

    mental Affairs; and6

    (C) by striking April 1 and inserting7

    March 1;8

    (4) in paragraph (5)9

    (A) by inserting and the Director of the10

    Office of Government Information Services after11

    the Director of the Office of Management and12

    Budget; and13

    (B) by striking by October 1, 1997; and14

    (5) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol-15

    lows:16

    (6) ATTORNEY GENERAL FOIA REPORT.17

    (A) IN GENERAL.The Attorney General18

    of the United States shall submit to Congress19

    and the President an annual report on or before20

    March 1 of each calendar year which shall in-21

    clude for the prior calendar year22

    (i) a listing of the number of cases23

    arising under this section;24

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    (ii) each subsection under this section,1

    each paragraph of the subsection, and any2

    exemption, if applicable, involved in each3

    case, the disposition of such case, and the4

    cost, fees, and penalties assessed under sub-5

    paragraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection6

    (a)(4); and7

    (iii) a description of the efforts under-8

    taken by the Department of Justice to en-9

    courage agency compliance with this sec-10

    tion.11

    (B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.The At-12

    torney General of the United States13

    (i) shall make each report described14

    under subparagraph (A) available in an15

    electronic, publicly accessible format; and16

    (ii) shall make the raw statistical17

    data used in each report available in an18

    electronic, publicly accessible format, which19

    shall be20

    (I) made available without21

    charge, license, or registration require-22

    ment;23

    (II) capable of being searched24

    and aggregated; and25

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    (III) permitted to be1

    downloaded, including downloaded in2

    bulk..3

    (i) SEARCH OR DUPLICATION FEES.Section4

    552(a)(4)(A)(viii) of title 5, United States Code, is amended5

    by adding at the end the following new sentence: Any agen-6

    cy that does assess search or duplication fees after failing7

    to comply with a time limit under paragraph (6) shall pro-8

    vide written notice to the requester of the circumstance that9

    justifies the fees. If an agency fails to provide such notice,10

    the agency may not assess search or duplication fees..11

    (j) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.Sub-12

    section (i) of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is13

    amended to read as follows:14

    (i) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.The15

    Government Accountability Office shall16

    (1) conduct audits of administrative agencies17

    on compliance with and implementation of the re-18

    quirements of this section and issue reports detailing19

    the results of such audits;20

    (2) catalog the number of exemptions under21

    subsection (b)(3) and agency use of such exemptions;22

    and23

    (3) review and prepare a report on the proc-24

    essing of requests by agencies for information per-25

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    taining to an entity that has received assistance1

    under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabiliza-2

    tion Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) during any3

    period in which the Government owns or owned more4

    than 50 percent of the stock of such entity..5

    (k) CHIEFFOIA OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES; COUN-6

    CIL; REVIEW.Section 552 of title 5, United States Code,7

    is amended8

    (1) by striking subsections (j) and (k); and9

    (2) by inserting after subsection (i), the following10

    new subsections:11

    (j) CHIEFFOIA OFFICER.12

    (1) DESIGNATION.Each agency shall des-13

    ignate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior of-14

    ficial of such agency (at the Assistant Secretary or15

    equivalent level).16

    (2) DUTIES.The Chief FOIA Officer of each17

    agency shall, subject to the authority of the head of18

    the agency19

    (A) have agency-wide responsibility for ef-20

    ficient and appropriate compliance with this sec-21

    tion;22

    (B) monitor implementation of this section23

    throughout the agency and keep the head of the24

    agency, the chief legal officer of the agency, and25

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    the Attorney General appropriately informed of1

    the agencys performance in implementing this2

    section;3

    (C) recommend to the head of the agency4

    such adjustments to agency practices, policies,5

    personnel, and funding as may be necessary to6

    improve its implementation of this section;7

    (D) review and report to the Attorney8

    General, through the head of the agency, at such9

    times and in such formats as the Attorney Gen-10

    eral may direct, on the agencys performance in11

    implementing this section;12

    (E) facilitate public understanding of the13

    purposes of the statutory exemptions of this sec-14

    tion by including concise descriptions of the ex-15

    emptions in both the agencys handbook issued16

    under subsection (g), and the agencys annual re-17

    port on this section, and by providing an over-18

    view, where appropriate, of certain general cat-19

    egories of agency records to which those exemp-20

    tions apply;21

    (F) serve as the primary agency liaison22

    with the Office of Government Information Serv-23

    ices and the Office of Information Policy; and24

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    (G) designate one or more FOIA Public1

    Liaisons.2

    (3) COMPLIANCE REVIEW REQUIRED.The3

    Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall4

    (A) review, not less than annually, all as-5

    pects of the agencys administration of this sec-6

    tion to ensure compliance with the requirements7

    of this section, including8

    (i) agency regulations;9

    (ii) disclosure of records required10

    under paragraphs (2), (8), and (9) of sub-11

    section (a);12

    (iii) assessment of fees and deter-13

    mination of eligibility for fee waivers;14

    (iv) the timely processing of requests15

    for information under this section;16

    (v) the use of exemptions under sub-17

    section (b); and18

    (vi) dispute resolution services with19

    the assistance of the Office of Government20

    Information Services or the FOIA Public21

    Liaison; and22

    (B) make recommendations as necessary to23

    improve agency practices and compliance with24

    this section.25

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    (k) CHIEFFOIA OFFICERS COUNCIL.1

    (1) ESTABLISHMENT.There is established in2

    the executive branch the Chief FOIA Officers Council3

    (in this subsection, referred to as the Council).4

    (2) MEMBERS.The Council shall consist of the5

    following members:6

    (A) The Deputy Director for Management7

    of the Office of Management and Budget.8

    (B) The Director of the Office of Informa-9

    tion Policy at the Department of Justice.10

    (C) The Director of the Office of Govern-11

    ment Information Services at the National Ar-12

    chives and Records Administration.13

    (D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agen-14

    cy.15

    (E) Any other officer or employee of the16

    United States as designated by the Co-Chairs.17

    (3) CO-CHAIRS.The Director of the Office of18

    Information Policy at the Department of Justice and19

    the Director of the Office of Government Information20

    Services at the National Archives and Records Ad-21

    ministration shall be the Co-Chairs of the Council.22

    (4) SUPPORT SERVICES.The Administrator of23

    General Services shall provide administrative and24

    other support for the Council.25

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    (5) CONSULTATION.In performing its duties,1

    the Council shall consult regularly with members of2

    the public who make requests under this section.3

    (6) DUTIES.The duties of the Council include4

    the following:5

    (A) Develop recommendations for increas-6

    ing compliance and efficiency under this section.7

    (B) Disseminate information about agency8

    experiences, ideas, best practices, and innovative9

    approaches related to this section.10

    (C) Identify, develop, and coordinate ini-11

    tiatives to increase transparency and compliance12

    with this section.13

    (D) Promote the development and use of14

    common performance measures for agency com-15

    pliance with this section.16

    (7) MEETINGS.17

    (A) REGULAR MEETINGS.The Council18

    shall meet regularly and such meetings shall be19

    open to the public unless the Council determines20

    to close the meeting for reasons of national secu-21

    rity or to discuss information exempt under sub-22

    section (b).23

    (B) ANNUAL MEETINGS.Not less than24

    once a year, the Council shall hold a meeting25

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    that shall be open to the public and permit inter-1

    ested persons to appear and present oral and2

    written statements to the Council.3

    (C) NOTICE.Not later than 10 business4

    days before a meeting of the Council, notice of5

    such meeting shall be published in the Federal6

    Register.7

    (D) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF COUNCIL8

    RECORDS.Except as provided in subsection (b),9

    the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appen-10

    dixes, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or11

    other documents that were made available to or12

    prepared for or by the Council shall be made13

    publicly available.14

    (E) MINUTES.Detailed minutes of each15

    meeting of the Council shall be kept and shall16

    contain a record of the persons present, a com-17

    plete and accurate description of matters dis-18

    cussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all19

    reports received, issued, or approved by the20

    Council..21

    (l) REGULATIONS.22

    (1) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.Not later than23

    180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,24

    the head of each agency shall review the regulations25

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    of such agency and shall issue regulations on proce-1

    dures for the disclosure of records under section 5522

    of title 5, United States Code, in accordance with the3

    amendments made by this section. The regulations of4

    each agency shall include5

    (A) procedures for engaging in dispute reso-6

    lution; and7

    (B) procedures for engaging with the Office8

    of Government Information Services.9

    (2) OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION10

    SERVICES REPORT.Not later than 270 days after the11

    date of the enactment of this Act, the Office of Govern-12

    ment Information Services shall submit to Congress a13

    report on agency compliance with the requirements of14

    this subsection.15

    (3) REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE.The head of16

    any agency that does not meet the requirements of17

    paragraph (1) shall submit to Congress a report on18

    the reason for noncompliance not later than 270 days19

    after the date of the enactment of this Act.20

    (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW FOR NON-21

    COMPLIANCE.Any agency that fails to comply with22

    the requirements of this subsection shall be reviewed23

    by the Office of Inspector General of such agency for24

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    compliance with section 552 of title 5, United States1

    Code.2

    (5) AGENCY DEFINED.In this section, the term3

    agency has the meaning given such term in section4

    552(f) of title 5, United States Code.5

    SEC. 3. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW; ADVERSE ACTIONS.6

    (a) INSPECTOR GENERALREVIEW.7

    (1) IN GENERAL.The Inspector General of each8

    agency shall9

    (A) periodically review compliance with the10

    requirements of section 552 of title 5, United11

    States Code, including the timely processing of12

    requests, assessment of fees and fee waivers, and13

    the use of exemptions under subsection (b) of14

    such section; and15

    (B) make recommendations the Inspector16

    General determines to be necessary to the head of17

    the agency, including recommendations for dis-18

    ciplinary action.19

    (2) AGENCY DEFINED.In this subsection, the20

    term agency has the meaning given that term21

    under section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code.22

    (b) ADVERSE ACTIONS.The withholding of informa-23

    tion in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of sec-24

    tion 552 of title 5, United States Code (including any rules,25

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    regulations, or other implementing guidelines), as deter-1

    mined by the appropriate supervisor, shall be a basis for2

    disciplinary action in accordance with subchapter I, II, or3

    V of chapter 75 of such title, as the case may be.4

    SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.5

    No additional funds are authorized to carry out the6

    requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this7

    Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts8

    otherwise authorized or appropriated.9

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    Union

    Calendar

    No.294

    114TH

    CONGRESS

    2DSESSION

    H.R.65

    3

    [ReportNo.114391]

    ABILL

    To

    amendsection552oftitle5,UnitedStates

    Code(commonlyknownastheFreedo

    mofInfor-

    m

    ationAct),toprovideforgreaterpublicaccess

    to

    information,andforotherpurposes.

    JANUARY

    7,2016

    Repo

    rtedwithanamendment,committedt

    otheCom-

    mitteeoftheWholeHouseontheStateoftheUnion,

    an

    dorderedtobeprinted