Freedom of Information Act

Making FOIA meaningful again took years of effort, but it boiled down to helping people get access to government information, including a theoretical reporter from Vermont

The time is long overdue to update this basic information access law to address new issues raised by the now pervasive use of computers by federal agencies. The Electronic Freedom of Information Act, signed by President Clinton on Oct. 2, amends the law to make clear that FOIA should not be just the right to know what's on paper in government files, but that it applies equally to electronic records.

This legislation, which retiring Sen. Hank Brown, R-Colo., and I pushed for more than five years, should make the process of obtaining agency records, including electronic records, faster and easier for journalists and for others.

When all the requirements under the new law become effective, a reporter based anywhere - let's say he or she works in rural Vermont - will be able from his or her computer to access the on-line public reading room of any federal agency. The new law requires agencies to make available, online or electronically, recently created materials that they now put in their public reading rooms. These reforms will save the time and expense of traveling to agency offices - an option that often is not realistic - to review a wide range of records, without having to file any FOIA request and without having to wait weeks, months or even years for answers.

That same Vermont reporter also will be able to examine the agency's online index to records that have been released through prior FOIA requests to see if anyone else already has asked for records on a particular topic, and to check for records that may be readily available.

The new law directs agencies to make available copies of popular records that are the subject of repeated FOIA requests, plus an index to these records. Within three years, this index, as well as recently created popular records, should be available online.

To supplement this information found online, the Vermont reporter will be able to peruse the agency's guide book, which the new law requires agencies to issue with descriptions of the types of information they offer, including indices of major information systems. Online reports about agency backlogs and the average processing time for FOIA requests will also be available so that reporters and other FOIA users can know how long they may have to wait for their responses.

Reporters with "compelling need" for the records will be entitled under the new law to "expedited access." A person primarily engaged in disseminating information can establish compelling need by showing an urgency to inform the public about some actual or alleged federal government activity.

Generally, these are situations in which agency records must be obtained quickly to allow the public to make prompt and informed assessments of government conduct.

When responding to FOIA requests, the new law requires that agencies honor the format choice of the requester when the records are readily reproducible in that format. No longer does the agency get to decide the form in which records are released; the requester decides.

Finally, the new law launches several steps to reduce the endemic delays that applicants often experience when making FOIA requests. Faced with these delays, many reporters and others working under time deadlines have been frustrated in using FOIA to meet their research needs. Long delays in getting access can mean no access at all.

The Electronic FOIA amendments of 1996 will ensure that the electronic information of federal agencies is available to citizens on the same basis as information on paper.

EFOIA is an Information Age update of FOIA's 30-year-old enforcement of the public's right to know.

Leahy, D-Vt., is a FOIA Hall of Fame member. Naming him there, said one Vermont journalist, "is akin to proposing Michael Jordan for the Basketball Hall of Fame."

Please see sidebars: What EFOIA does for you and On theWeb