Grassley Defends FOIA as ‘One of Transparency’s Greatest Allies’ During Sunshine Week

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is urging federal agencies to improve compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in light of recent findings that their responsiveness to FOIA requests has increasingly lagged. A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released at the request of Grassley and bipartisan, bicameral colleagues, revealed these concerning performance metrics. GAO found the FOIA request backlog rose significantly over the last decade and, in response, offered various recommendations to help agencies improve their functions.

“The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is one of transparency’s greatest allies. In order to keep our government accountable, the FOIA process must function properly and efficiently. I’m grateful GAO responded to our bipartisan request to shine some light on the state of FOIA requests; now, it’s time to clear out the cobwebs and clean up the mess. FOIA is a service to the American people, and the alarming rise in the FOIA request backlog is unacceptable. Government agencies must respond to FOIA requests in a faster, timelier manner,” Grassley said.

Background

FOIA allows a person to file a request for information from the executive branch of the federal government. It is an essential tool for educational institutions, individuals, free markets and the free press. Federal agencies are required to process FOIA requests within 20 working days, but issues with processing requests in the required time frame have led to a lengthy backlog.

  

Key Findings of the GAO Report

 

• Current state of play. Challenges to processing FOIA requests within the required time frame have caused the backlog to grow from 14 percent in 2013 to 22 percent in 2022.

 

• Worst offenders. At the end of Fiscal Year 2022, the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, State, and Health and Human Services accounted for 80 percent of all backlogged requests across the federal government.

 

• Contributing factors. Agency Chief FOIA Officers cite the rising complexity of FOIA requests, staffing challenges and increasing litigation as contributors to the increase in their agency backlogs.

 

• Previous efforts. In an attempt to reduce backlogs, agencies reported monitoring FOIA performance and request status, communicating directly with requesters, managing staff to close requests, and focusing on procedures and modernizing technology.

 

• Suggested changes. Agency officials and nongovernmental stakeholders suggested in the report various changes to help agencies address backlogs, such as expanding the records agencies must release without a request.

 

• GAO recommendations. To address and reduce agencies’ backlogs, GAO recommends incorporating key elements of effective plans, such as goals, performance measures, and time for implementing actions into agencies’ plans.

 

Read the report HERE.