[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10447-H10452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ELECTRONIC FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1996

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3802) to amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 
popularly known as the Freedom of Information Act, to provide for 
public access to information in an electronic format, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3802

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Freedom of 
     Information Act Amendments of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
       (1) the purpose of section 552 of title 5, United States 
     Code, popularly known as the Freedom of Information Act, is 
     to require agencies of the Federal Government to make certain 
     agency information available for public inspection and 
     copying and to establish and enable enforcement of the right 
     of any person to obtain access to the records of such 
     agencies, subject to statutory exemptions, for any public or 
     private purpose;
       (2) since the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act 
     in 1966, and the amendments enacted in 1974 and 1986, the 
     Freedom of Information Act has been a valuable means through 
     which any person can learn how the Federal Government 
     operates;
       (3) the Freedom of Information Act has led to the 
     disclosure of waste, fraud, abuse, and wrongdoing in the 
     Federal Government;
       (4) the Freedom of Information Act has led to the 
     identification of unsafe consumer products, harmful drugs, 
     and serious health hazards;
       (5) Government agencies increasingly use computers to 
     conduct agency business and to store publicly valuable agency 
     records and information; and
       (6) Government agencies should use new technology to 
     enhance public access to agency records and information.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
       (1) foster democracy by ensuring public access to agency 
     records and information;
       (2) improve public access to agency records and 
     information;
       (3) ensure agency compliance with statutory time limits; 
     and
       (4) maximize the usefulness of agency records and 
     information collected, maintained, used, retained, and 
     disseminated by the Federal Government.

     SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO ELECTRONIC FORMAT 
                   INFORMATION.

       Section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(f) For purposes of this section, the term--

[[Page H10448]]

       ``(1) `agency' as defined in section 551(1) of this title 
     includes any executive department, military department, 
     Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or 
     other establishment in the executive branch of the Government 
     (including the Executive Office of the President), or any 
     independent regulatory agency; and
       ``(2) `record' and any other term used in this section in 
     reference to information includes any information that would 
     be an agency record subject to the requirements of this 
     section when maintained by an agency in any format, including 
     an electronic format.''.

     SEC. 4. INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT AND 
                   INDEXATION OF RECORDS.

       Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in the second sentence, by striking ``or staff manual 
     or instruction'' and inserting ``staff manual, instruction, 
     or copies of records referred to in subparagraph (D)'';
       (2) by inserting before the period at the end of the third 
     sentence the following: ``, and the extent of such deletion 
     shall be indicated on the portion of the record which is made 
     available or published, unless including that indication 
     would harm an interest protected by the exemption in 
     subsection (b) under which the deletion is made'';
       (3) by inserting after the third sentence the following: 
     ``If technically feasible, the extent of the deletion shall 
     be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion 
     was made.'';
       (4) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (5) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
       ``(D) copies of all records, regardless of form or format, 
     which have been released to any person under paragraph (3) 
     and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, the 
     agency determines have become or are likely to become the 
     subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same 
     records; and
       ``(E) a general index of the records referred to under 
     subparagraph (D);'';
       (6) by inserting after the fifth sentence the following: 
     ``Each agency shall make the index referred to in 
     subparagraph (E) available by computer telecommunications by 
     December 31, 1999.''; and
       (7) by inserting after the first sentence the following: 
     ``For records created on or after November 1, 1996, within 
     one year after such date, each agency shall make such records 
     available, including by computer telecommunications or, if 
     computer telecommunications means have not been established 
     by the agency, by other electronic means.''.

     SEC. 5. HONORING FORM OR FORMAT REQUESTS.

       Section 552(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)'';
       (2) by striking ``(A)'' the second place it appears and 
     inserting ``(i)'';
       (3) by striking ``(B)'' and inserting ``(ii)''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
       ``(B) In making any record available to a person under this 
     paragraph, an agency shall provide the record in any form or 
     format requested by the person if the record is readily 
     reproducible by the agency in that form or format. Each 
     agency shall make reasonable efforts to maintain its records 
     in forms or formats that are reproducible for purposes of 
     this section.
       ``(C) In responding under this paragraph to a request for 
     records, an agency shall make reasonable efforts to search 
     for the records in electronic form or format, except when 
     such efforts would significantly interfere with the operation 
     of the agency's automated information system.
       ``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `search' 
     means to review, manually or by automated means, agency 
     records for the purpose of locating those records which are 
     responsive to a request.''.

     SEC. 6. STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.

       Section 552(a)(4)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``In 
     addition to any other matters to which a court accords 
     substantial weight, a court shall accord substantial weight 
     to an affidavit of an agency concerning the agency's 
     determination as to technical feasibility under paragraph 
     (2)(C) and subsection (b) and reproducibility under paragraph 
     (3)(B).''.

     SEC. 7. ENSURING TIMELY RESPONSE TO REQUESTS.

       (a) Multitrack Processing.--Section 552(a)(6) of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(D)(i) Each agency may promulgate regulations, pursuant 
     to notice and receipt of public comment, providing for 
     multitrack processing of requests for records based on the 
     amount of work or time (or both) involved in processing 
     requests.
       ``(ii) Regulations under this subparagraph may provide a 
     person making a request that does not qualify for the fastest 
     multitrack processing an opportunity to limit the scope of 
     the request in order to qualify for faster processing.
       ``(iii) This subparagraph shall not be considered to affect 
     the requirement under subparagraph (C) to exercise due 
     diligence.''.
       (b) Unusual Circumstances.--Section 552(a)(6)(B) of title 
     5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B)(i) In unusual circumstances as specified in this 
     subparagraph, the time limits prescribed in either clause (i) 
     or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) may be extended by written 
     notice to the person making such request setting forth the 
     unusual circumstances for such extension and the date on 
     which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No such 
     notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension 
     for more than ten working days, except as provided in clause 
     (ii) of this subparagraph.
       ``(ii) With respect to a request for which a written notice 
     under clause (i) extends the time limits prescribed under 
     clause (i) of subparagraph (A), the agency shall notify the 
     person making the request if the request cannot be processed 
     within the time limit specified in that clause and shall 
     provide the person an opportunity to limit the scope of the 
     request so that it may be processed within that time limit or 
     an opportunity to arrange with the agency an alternative time 
     frame for processing the request or a modified request. 
     Refusal by the person to reasonably modify the request or 
     arrange such an alternative time frame shall be considered as 
     a factor in determining whether exceptional circumstances 
     exist for purposes of subparagraph (C).
       ``(iii) As used in this subparagraph, `unusual 
     circumstances' means, but only to the extent reasonably 
     necessary to the proper processing of the particular 
     requests--
       ``(I) the need to search for and collect the requested 
     records from field facilities or other establishments that 
     are separate from the office processing the request;
       ``(II) the need to search for, collect, and appropriately 
     examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records 
     which are demanded in a single request; or
       ``(III) the need for consultation, which shall be conducted 
     with all practicable speed, with another agency having a 
     substantial interest in the determination of the request or 
     among two or more components of the agency having substantial 
     subject-matter interest therein.
       ``(iv) Each agency may promulgate regulations, pursuant to 
     notice and receipt of public comment, providing for the 
     aggregation of certain requests by the same requestor, or by 
     a group of requestors acting in concert, if the agency 
     reasonably believes that such requests actually constitute a 
     single request, which would otherwise satisfy the unusual 
     circumstances specified in this subparagraph, and the 
     requests involve clearly related matters. Multiple requests 
     involving unrelated matters shall not be aggregated.''.
       (c) Exceptional Circumstances.--Section 552(a)(6)(C) of 
     title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``(i)'' 
     after ``(C)'', and by adding at the end the following new 
     clauses:
       ``(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 
     `exceptional circumstances' does not include a delay that 
     results from a predictable agency workload of requests under 
     this section, unless the agency demonstrates reasonable 
     progress in reducing its backlog of pending requests.
       ``(iii) Refusal by a person to reasonably modify the scope 
     of a request or arrange an alternative time frame for 
     processing a request (or a modified request) under clause 
     (ii) after being given an opportunity to do so by the agency 
     to whom the person made the request shall be considered as a 
     factor in determining whether exceptional circumstances exist 
     for purposes of this subparagraph.''.

     SEC. 8. TIME PERIOD FOR AGENCY CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS.

       (a) Expedited Processing.--Section 552(a)(6) of title 5, 
     United States Code (as amended by section 7(a) of this Act), 
     is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subparagraph:
       ``(E)(i) Each agency shall promulgate regulations, pursuant 
     to notice and receipt of public comment, providing for 
     expedited processing of requests for records--
       ``(I) in cases in which the person requesting the records 
     demonstrates a compelling need; and
       ``(II) in other cases determined by the agency.
       ``(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), regulations under this 
     subparagraph must ensure--
       ``(I) that a determination of whether to provide expedited 
     processing shall be made, and notice of the determination 
     shall be provided to the person making the request, within 10 
     days after the date of the request; and
       ``(II) expeditious consideration of administrative appeals 
     of such determinations of whether to provide expedited 
     processing.
       ``(iii) An agency shall process as soon as practicable any 
     request for records to which the agency has granted expedited 
     processing under this subparagraph. Agency action to deny or 
     affirm denial of a request for expedited processing pursuant 
     to this subparagraph, and failure by an agency to respond in 
     a timely manner to such a request shall be subject to 
     judicial review under paragraph (4), except that the judicial 
     review shall be based on the record before the agency at the 
     time of the determination.
       ``(iv) A district court of the United States shall not have 
     jurisdiction to review an agency denial of expedited 
     processing of a request for records after the agency has 
     provided a complete response to the request.
       ``(v) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 
     `compelling need' means--
       ``(I) that a failure to obtain requested records on an 
     expedited basis under this paragraph could reasonably be 
     expected to

[[Page H10449]]

     pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an 
     individual; or
       ``(II) with respect to a request made by a person primarily 
     engaged in disseminating information, urgency to inform the 
     public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government 
     activity.
       ``(vi) A demonstration of a compelling need by a person 
     making a request for expedited processing shall be made by a 
     statement certified by such person to be true and correct to 
     the best of such person's knowledge and belief.''.
       (b) Extension of General Period for Determining Whether To 
     Comply With a Request.--Section 552(a)(6)(A)(i) of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``ten days'' and 
     inserting ``20 days''.
       (c) Estimation of Matter Denied.--Section 552(a)(6) of 
     title 5, United States Code (as amended by section 7 of this 
     Act and subsection (a) of this section), is further amended 
     by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(F) In denying a request for records, in whole or in 
     part, an agency shall make a reasonable effort to estimate 
     the volume of any requested matter the provision of which is 
     denied, and shall provide any such estimate to the person 
     making the request, unless providing such estimate would harm 
     an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) 
     pursuant to which the denial is made.''.

     SEC. 9. COMPUTER REDACTION.

       Section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
     in the matter following paragraph (9) by inserting after the 
     period the following: ``The amount of information deleted 
     shall be indicated on the released portion of the record, 
     unless including that indication would harm an interest 
     protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the 
     deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the 
     information deleted shall be indicated at the place in the 
     record where such deletion is made.''.

     SEC. 10. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

       Section 552(e) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(e)(1) On or before February 1 of each year, each agency 
     shall submit to the Attorney General of the United States a 
     report which shall cover the preceding fiscal year and which 
     shall include--
       ``(A) the number of determinations made by the agency not 
     to comply with requests for records made to such agency under 
     subsection (a) and the reasons for each such determination;
       ``(B)(i) the number of appeals made by persons under 
     subsection (a)(6), the result of such appeals, and the reason 
     for the action upon each appeal that results in a denial of 
     information; and
       ``(ii) a complete list of all statutes that the agency 
     relies upon to authorize the agency to withhold information 
     under subsection (b)(3), a description of whether a court has 
     upheld the decision of the agency to withhold information 
     under each such statute, and a concise description of the 
     scope of any information withheld;
       ``(C) the number of requests for records pending before the 
     agency as of September 30 of the preceding year, and the 
     median number of days that such requests had been pending 
     before the agency as of that date;
       ``(D) the number of requests for records received by the 
     agency and the number of requests which the agency processed;
       ``(E) the median number of days taken by the agency to 
     process different types of requests;
       ``(F) the total amount of fees collected by the agency for 
     processing requests; and
       ``(G) the number of full-time staff of the agency devoted 
     to processing requests for records under this section, and 
     the total amount expended by the agency for processing such 
     requests.
       ``(2) Each agency shall make each such report available to 
     the public including by computer telecommunications, or if 
     computer telecommunications means have not been established 
     by the agency, by other electronic means.
       ``(3) The Attorney General of the United States shall make 
     each report which has been made available by electronic means 
     available at a single electronic access point. The Attorney 
     General of the United States shall notify the Chairman and 
     ranking minority member of the Committee on Government Reform 
     and Oversight of the House of Representatives and the 
     Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committees on 
     Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate, no 
     later than April 1 of the year in which each such report is 
     issued, that such reports are available by electronic means.
       ``(4) The Attorney General of the United States, in 
     consultation with the Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget, shall develop reporting and performance 
     guidelines in connection with reports required by this 
     subsection by October 1, 1997, and may establish additional 
     requirements for such reports as the Attorney General 
     determines may be useful.
       ``(5) The Attorney General of the United States shall 
     submit an annual report on or before April 1 of each calendar 
     year which shall include for the prior calendar year a 
     listing of the number of cases arising under this section, 
     the exemption involved in each case, the disposition of such 
     case, and the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under 
     subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4). Such 
     report shall also include a description of the efforts 
     undertaken by the Department of Justice to encourage agency 
     compliance with this section.''.

     SEC. 11. REFERENCE MATERIALS AND GUIDES.

       Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding after subsection (f) the following new subsection:
       ``(g) The head of each agency shall prepare and make 
     publicly available upon request, reference material or a 
     guide for requesting records or information from the agency, 
     subject to the exemptions in subsection (b), including--
       ``(1) an index of all major information systems of the 
     agency;
       ``(2) a description of major information and record locator 
     systems maintained by the agency; and
       ``(3) a handbook for obtaining various types and categories 
     of public information from the agency pursuant to chapter 35 
     of title 44, and under this section.''.

     SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this 
     Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (b) Provisions Effective on Enactment.--Sections 7 and 8 
     shall take effect one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Horn] and the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Maloney] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California [Mr. Horn].
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I will take 2 minutes, and then I am going to 
yield to the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Tate] for the explanation 
of the bill.
  The hallmark of a free society is that those who are governed have 
access to the information within the control of those who govern.
  James Madison put it very well when he wrote very elegantly over two 
centuries ago:

       A popular government without popular information or the 
     means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a 
     Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern 
     ignorance, and a people who mean to be the governors, must 
     arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.

  Madison, whom we honor with the Madison Library of the Library of 
Congress, was certainly one of the most thoughtful of our founders and 
considered by many to be the Father of The Constitution.
  In this spirit, 30 years ago Congress passed the Freedom of 
Information Act, commonly referred to as the FOIA. The committee report 
that accompanied the original act summarized it as providing a ``true 
Federal public records statute by requiring the availability, to any 
member of the public, of all executive branch records'' described in 
that act. Since its enactment, the annual number of requests which 
departments and agencies received has grown to more than 600,000 
requests a year.
  The benefits that the Freedom of Information Act provides the public 
matter deeply to Congress. In 1995, the very first report issued by the 
House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight was A Citizen's 
Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 
1974 to Request Government Records. This popular publication, available 
from the Government Printing Office helps average citizens understand 
their right to obtain government records.
  H.R. 3802 clarifies that records kept electronically are subject to 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The bill also makes 
procedural changes in the administration of the law. It strengthens 
agency reporting requirements. It also requires that more information 
be available to the public via the Internet.
  The Electronic Freedom of Information Amendments of 1996 was 
introduced by the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Tate], our 
subcommittee's ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. 
Maloney], the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Peterson], and myself. We 
were the original cosponsors.
  I understand that Senator Leahy intends to offer this identical bill 
on the floor of the other body as a substitute to S. 1090. The Senate 
Committee on the Judiciary had previously favorably reported that 
legislation. We have worked very closely with Senators Leahy and 
Specter and the administration in producing a bill that now enjoys 
broad support.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Washington [Mr. Tate], my colleague, the prime author of this 
legislation.

[[Page H10450]]

  Mr. TATE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Clinger and 
Representative Horn for their hard work and leadership.
  As chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee--
Chairman Clinger has played a vital role in bringing H.R. 3802--the 
Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996--before us 
today.
  And Chairman Horn of the Subcommittee on Government Management, 
Information and Technology--has served on the front lines in our 
efforts to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of Government 
operations.
  I have been fortunate to work alongside Representative Horn in the 
area of Federal information policy and the Electronic Freedom of 
Information Act amendments.
  I would also like to acknowledge the support of Representative 
Carolyn Maloney and Representative Collin Peterson. Their contributions 
have ensured that H.R. 3802 is a truly bipartisan effort.
  Opening the work of the Federal Government to the watchful and 
vigilant eyes of the American taxpayers and the public is an effort 
that both parties and the administration can and should embrace 
wholeheartedly.
  Thirty years ago--Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act 
[FOIA] to advance one of the basic tenets of our Constitution--that our 
Federal Government is always open, accessible, and accountable to the 
American people.
  Government works best under the watchful and vigilant eyes of its 
owners--the American people.
  The more visible and accessible we make the work of the Federal 
Government--the easier it becomes for all of us to stem Government 
excess and curb Government abuse.
  Before the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act--agencies and 
departments of the Federal Government regularly restricted the public's 
access to information.
  FOIA was enacted in order to honor--preserve--and promote the 
public's right to know--ensuring that Government information is--with 
few very exceptions--public information.
  Unfortunately--time after time--FOIA's promise to make Government 
information open and accessible has been broken.
  On many occasions--simple requests for information have languished--
unanswered--for years.
  In addition--many agencies have not responded to the needs of a 
public that has already moved into the information age--continuing to 
focus on answering with volumes of paper rather than with CD-ROM's or 
computer disks.
  In the 30 years since the implementation of the original Freedom of 
Information Act--our Nation has witnessed enormous technological 
advances.
  My area of the country--the Puget Sound region in Washington State--
is the home of Microsoft--the largest computer software company in the 
world.
  My district has welcomed a manufacturing plant for Intel--the largest 
of the Pentium chip that goes into computer throughout the world.
  And my hometown of Puyallup has been to a manufacturing plant owned 
by Matsushita--one of the largest computer chip producers in the world.
  These technological marvels have made the laptop computer--cellular 
phone--fax--and internet possible--bringing the public into the 
information age.
  It is only fitting that we now work to use modern-day technology to 
deliver common-sense efficiency and Government accountability to the 
American people.
  H.R. 3802 puts FOIA information on-line on agency websites, ensuring 
that citizens in every home--in every town--and in every city--across 
the Nation will be able to access Government information from the 
comfort of their own homes.
  My neighbors will be able to turn on their computers--click onto the 
internet--and download information made accessible by the Electronic 
Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996.
  Our Government should be user-friendly by making an effort to deliver 
information to Americans in the format of their choosing.
  H.R. 3802 requires Federal agencies to make a concerted effort to 
produce records in the preferred format--such as CD-ROM or computer 
disk--ensuring that Government information is not only readily 
available but also readily usable.
  The use of the latest technology by Government agencies will harness 
the benefits of computer technology and deliver to everyone increased 
Government accessibility.
  This legislation also addresses the problems many citizens face when 
requesting Federal records--unacceptable delays in getting an answer.
  This bill encourages Federal agencies to develop multitrack 
processing based on the complexity of requests.
  For example--simple requests should be answered as if they were going 
through the express lane at your local supermarket--quickly and 
efficiently.
  Those who seek information which relates to life or safety or is of 
urgent public interest will receive the timely processing that they 
need.
  In addition--agencies are given an incentive to actively work with 
the public to deliver the most useful information as fast as possible.
  These changes send a clear message that the Federal Government--and 
its public servants--must always strive for increased Government 
openness--efficiency--and accountability.
  Openness--efficiency--and accountability are the hallmarks of the 
Electronic Freedom of Information Act amendments. The American people 
expect their Government to deliver no less.
  In a March 21 letter to Chairman Horn, I and Representatives 
Scarborough, Davis, Fox, Bass, and Flanagan urged House consideration 
of EFOIA and I am delighted to have H.R. 3802 before us today on the 
House floor.
  I thank all my colleagues on the Government Reform and Oversight 
Committee for their hard work and support in ensuring that the 
advancement of free information to the American people is pursued on a 
bipartisan basis.
  H.R. 3802 has received endorsements from a broad array of groups--
including Americans for Tax Reform--the Newspaper Association of 
America--the National Association of Broadcasters--and the American 
Library Association.
  The Freedom of Information Act turned 30 this year--it's time to 
bring the law into the modern information age and require the Federal 
Government to deliver cutting-edge service to the American people.
  We in Congress--as their public servants--should aspire to nothing 
less. I urge all my colleagues to support the Electronic Freedom of 
Information Act of 1996.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
   Mr. Speaker, like much of the work that the Committee on Government 
Reform and Oversight has done this year on legislation, this bill is a 
triumph of policy over partisanship. In the most partisan Congress in 
memory, this committee has passed several bills with broad bipartisan 
support that will collectively save the taxpayers billions of dollars 
and make Government work better for the average American taxpayer; the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, the debt collection bill which Treasury 
estimates will save taxpayers $10 billion over 5 years, the Federal 
Acquisition Reform Act, the Single Audit Act, and the General 
Accounting Office Act, to name a few. These achievements are a credit 
to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger] and the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Horn], who chairs the Subcommittee on Government 
Management Information and Technology on which I serve as the ranking 
member. They are also a credit to a ranking member of the full 
committee, the gentlewoman from Illinois [Mrs. Collins], whose 
leadership will be greatly missed when she retires at the end of the 
year. On this particular bill I want to thank the gentleman from 
Washington [Mr. Tate], for his active leadership and Senator Patrick 
Leahy who has been the driving force behind the bill in the Senate.
  I appreciate the majority's willingness to adopt my amendments, in 
particular one amendment that would track how agencies are responding 
or not responding to Freedom of Information requests. As Senator Leahy 
testified at our committee hearing, long delays in access can mean no 
access at all.

[[Page H10451]]

   Mr. Speaker, in short, the Electronic Freedom of Information Act 
will bring the Freedom of Information Act from the technological stone 
age into the information age. It has been 30 years since President 
Johnson set upon signing the original Freedom of Information Act, and I 
quote:

       This legislation springs from one of our most essential 
     principles, a democracy works best when people have all the 
     information that the security of the Nation permits.

  That principle still holds true today, but as written, the Freedom of 
Information Act is woefully outdated, drafted for a time when personnel 
computers were unheard of and cyberspace was no more accessible than 
outer space.

                              {time}  1500

  This bill will change all of that. It clarifies that there is no 
legal distinction between Government records stored on paper and 
Government records stored electronically, that records maintained in an 
electronic format can be subject to FOIA requests.
  Government agencies are increasingly storing their information on 
personal computers, computer databases, and electronic storage media 
such as CD-ROM's. But some Government agencies have denied freedom of 
information requests for information stored electronically. They are 
seeking the green light from Congress to provide access to that 
information, and this bill gives it to them by placing substance over 
form instead of form over substance.
  The rationale for this provision is obvious. Today our information 
warehouses are on computer and compact disks, not in huge buildings in 
industrial zones. By using technology, Government bureaucrats can avoid 
going through endless file cabinets hunting for information, often to 
provide identical or overlapping information from previous FOIA 
requests. And ordinary American citizens can access that information 
without leaving their desks or driving to the post office, or in some 
cases having any contact with Government workers at all.
  With Government downsizing, Government employees' workloads are 
mounting, so avoiding the need for contact with them at all can 
dramatically expedite fulfillment of freedom of information requests, 
as in the case of identical FOIA requests which have been filed before.
   Mr. Speaker, the bill also forces agencies to exercise foresight 
when installing computer systems which must help expedite agency FOIA 
requests and operations, rather than impeding them. Furthermore, it 
would encourage agencies to offer online access to Government 
information, effectively transforming an individual's home computer 
into a Government agency's public reading room.
  Most importantly, the bill would tackle the mother of all complaints 
lodged against the Freedom of Information Act: that is, the often 
ludicrous amount of time it take some agencies to respond, if they 
respond at all, to freedom of information requests.
  By the time freedom of information requests are fulfilled, the 
information is often useless to the requester, if the requester has not 
died of old age. If you request a document from the FBI, you may be 
forced to wait for more than 4 years before you receive it, if not 
longer.

  This bill will make several commonsense changes. It will establish 
that all freedom of information requests are not created equal. The 
bill creates a compelling need standard, warranting faster FOIA 
processing.
  Two categories of compelling need would be created. In the first 
category, the failure to obtain the records within an expedited 
deadline poses an imminent threat to an individual's life or physical 
safety. The second category requires a request by someone, and I quote, 
``Primarily engaged in disseminating information,'' and ``urgency to 
inform the public concerning actual or alleged government activity.''
  This would apply to our good friends from the media. Marlin Fitzwater 
once talked about the need to constantly feed the beast, meaning the 
media, with information. This provision will help keep the media 
informed in a quicker and faster way.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill would further differentiate and prioritize FOIA 
requests based on size, giving requesters an incentive to frame 
narrower requests. Agencies would no longer be able to delay responding 
to FOIA requests on the grounds of ``exceptional circumstances'' if 
those circumstances are nothing more than the predictable agency 
overload.
  This clause would strengthen the requirement that agencies respond to 
freedom of information requests on time. However, this bill does 
recognize the great demands placed on agencies to fulfill FOIA requests 
by extending the deadline for responding to requests to 20 workdays 
from the current 10-day workday requirement, which is simply unworkable 
for many agencies.
  The bill also gives agencies an incentive to comply with statutory 
time limits by allowing them to retain half of the fees. The amendment 
that I introduced, which has been adopted, acknowledges that we need to 
make agencies more accountable to the public by requiring them to 
report to Congress and the public on their efforts to comply with FOIA 
or their failure in complying with FOIA. Information delayed is 
certainly information denied.
  The bill requires each agency to report on its FOIA workload during 
the year, the number of requests received and completed, as well as the 
amount of backlog and the steps the agency is taking to reduce it. Each 
agency will also report on how long it normally takes to process the 
request. Finally, each agency will report on the resources, dollars, 
and persons devoted to responding. This will allow us to make a 
judgment about whether adequate resources are being devoted to these 
requests and whether agencies are making a sufficient effort to comply 
with the law of the land.
  The bill also requires agencies to become more user-friendly to the 
public, informing average Americans in a readily understandable way how 
one makes a FOIA request, how long it takes for normal requests to be 
processed, how the Government responds to a request, and in what 
circumstances the Government is not required to fulfill the request.
  One issue not addressed in this legislation is the recent D.C. 
Circuit Court decision in the case of Armstrong versus the Executive 
Office of the President. In that decision the court ruled that the 
National Security Council is not an agency. This is contrary to 20 
years of freedom of information practice and contrary to the way 
Congress has treated the National Security Council in other 
legislation. I hope the courts will correct this error; but if they do 
not, I am sure that we will address it in the 105th Congress.
  To summarize, Mr. Speaker, this is a comprehensive, bipartisan bill 
that facilitates the dissemination of public information. It makes the 
Freedom of Information Act for the 1990's instead of for the 1960's. It 
helps make Government truly for the people, not just for Government 
insiders. In passing it unanimously, the Committee on Government Reform 
and Oversight has proudly lived up to its name.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say in closing on this I thank, again, the 
gentleman from Washington for his very constructive ideas, and the 
gentlewoman from New York for her most helpful suggestions. She has 
mentioned a few of them. The Subcommittee on Government Management, 
Information, and Technology held a very thorough hearing on H.R. 3802.
  This has truly been, as have most of the bills from this 
subcommittee, based on bipartisan cooperation. Good ideas know no 
bounds, and what we need to do is get the good ideas into legislation. 
This is one aspect of that.
  We mentioned earlier the 600,000 requests a year. The gentlewoman 
from New York mentioned the 4-year lag to get a file out of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation. That is simply unacceptable in a free society. 
How are we going to solve that? As we suggested in the hearings, and 
this was, again, both sides of the aisle suggesting it to the executive 
branch, we need the Cabinet officers in charge of particular 
departments to take this seriously, to look at how their needs and how 
they might better staff and organize to serve the public and the media 
with this information. The agencies need to put a price tag on the 
service. Do not necessarily come to Congress to solve

[[Page H10452]]

every fiscal problem that arises. The Secretary should be looking at 
reprogramming money within the department so the public and the media 
can be served.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we expect agencies to look for reprogramming funds. 
We also expect the appropriations committees to take this up piece by 
piece as to how well the agencies are dealing with serving the public 
in the freedom of information area.
  I would hope that all parties in the legislative and executive 
branches take this matter seriously. In the coming year we will be 
watching the degree to which the backlog is reduced through the 
oversight conducted by our Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from California [Mr. Horn] that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3802, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, on that, I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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