[NYTr] Bush Signs FOIA Amendment

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[Before cheering too loudly, we should be sure there aren't any secret
"signing statements" that undo all the "reforms." - NYTr]


National Security Archive Update - January 2, 2008
http://www.nsarchive.org


PRESIDENT SIGNS FOIA AMENDMENT 

First FOIA Reform Bill In More Than A Decade Becomes Law

Bill Provides "Common Sense" Solutions for Openness Problems:
Penalties for Delays, Tracking Systems for Requests, Ombuds-style
Office to Mediate Disputes, Better Agency Reporting

Reforms Recommended by Archive Audits and Testimony

Washington DC, January 2, 2008 - In one of his last decisions of
the year on Monday, December 31, 2007, President Bush signed into
law the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform bill (S. 2488).
The bill, the OPEN Government Act of 2007, was passed unanimously
by both the House and the Senate in December. The new law aims to
fix some of the most persistent problems in the FOIA system, including
excessive delay, lack of responsiveness, and litigation gamesmanship
by federal agencies.

The OPEN Government Act mandates tracking numbers for FOIA requests
that take longer than 10 days to process to ensure they will no
longer fall through the cracks and provides incentives to agencies
to avoid litigation and processing delays. For the first time, there
will be a penalty for agencies who do not comply with the FOIA's
time limits. The new law also requires agencies to report more
accurately to Congress and the public on their FOIA programs and
creates the Office of Government Information Services at the National
Archives to mediate conflicts between agencies and requesters and
review agency FOIA performance.

In addition, the law codifies the definition currently used by most
courts to determine which requesters are considered representatives
of the news media and therefore entitled to reduced processing fees.
However, this provision is unlikely to change the status of bloggers
and some other freelance journalists who do not qualify for news
media treatment under existing law. S. 2488 also includes a provision
requiring agencies to inform requesters about the amount of information
redacted from documents released under FOIA and the exemption
justifying each deletion.

"Our six government-wide audits of FOIA performance show that these
bipartisan changes to the Freedom of Information Act are common
sense solutions," remarked Meredith Fuchs, general counsel of the
National Security Archive. "This bill establishes tracking systems
for FOIA requests like FedEx uses for packages, actually penalizes
agencies for the first time for delays that our audits found could
reach 20 years, and sets up an office to mediate disputes as an
alternative to litigation."

"This is the bill that President Bush wrote an executive order to
try to prevent," said Tom Blanton, director of the Archive, referring
to E.O. 13392 (December 14, 2005), which called for a "citizen-centered
and results-oriented approach" to FOIA, established Chief FOIA
Officers at each of 92 major agencies, and required agencies to
evaluate their FOIA programs and draft improvement plans. President
Bush signed the bill without comment after unanimous approval in
Congress.

"Congress has acted to improve the FOIA for the first time in more
than a decade, since the electronic FOIA amendments of 1996, but
Congressional and public oversight will be essential for the law's
success," Blanton noted. "Our Knight Open Government Survey in 2007
found that only one in five federal agencies fully complied with
the 1996 law, even after 10 years of implementation."

Visit the Web site of the National Security Archive for more
information about today's posting.

http://www.nsarchive.org

________________________________________________________

THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental
research institute and library located at The George Washington
University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes
declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no
U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication
royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.