H.R. 653 - FOIA 2015
Transcript of H.R. 653 - FOIA 2015
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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