Congressional Record, Volume 161 Issue 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)

[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H4570-H4572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

DHS FOIA EFFICIENCY ACT OF 2015

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1615) to direct the Chief FOIA Officer of the
Department of Homeland Security to make certain improvements in the
implementation of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 1615

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 ``DHS FOIA Efficiency Act of
2015''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) Deadline for Updating Regulations.--Not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief
FOIA Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, as
appointed pursuant to section 552(j) of title 5, United
States Code, shall finalize and issue an updated regulation
implementing section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), which
shall include--
(1) public guidance on procedures to be followed when
making requests under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section
552(a) of title 5, United States Code;
(2) updated guidance to the components of the Department
responsible for processing such requests, which may include
information on how to adopt automated processing of requests
made under paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of section 552(a) of
title 5, United States Code;
(3) detailed information on fees and costs associated with
such requests; and
(4) detailed information on the appeals process for such
requests.
(b) Identification of Costs.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Chief FOIA Officer, in
coordination with the Chief Financial Officer of the
Department and the heads of each of the relevant components
of the Department, shall identify the total annual cost to
the Department of implementing section 552 of title 5, United
States Code.
(2) Guidance.--The Chief FOIA Officer shall develop
guidance on reporting standards related to the direct and
indirect costs to the Department associated with the
processing of requests made under paragraphs (1), (2), and
(3) of section 552(a) of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Cost Savings.--The Chief FOIA Officer, in collaboration
with the heads of each of the relevant components of the
Department, shall--
(1) identify unnecessary and duplicative actions taken by
the Department in the course of processing requests made
under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 552(a) of title
5, United States Code, by not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) eliminate unnecessary and duplicative actions taken by
the Department in the course of processing requests made
under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 552(a) of title
5, United States Code, by not later than 12 months after the
identification of such action under paragraph (1).
(d) FOIA Tracking Systems.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief FOIA Officer
shall develop a plan to automate the processing of requests
made under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 552(a) of
title 5, United States Code to the Department. Such plan
shall take into account the specific needs of each of the
components of the Department responsible for processing such
requests and address required and recommended technology
capabilities and elements. Such plan shall include an
assessment of the costs and benefits associated with
establishing and using electronic processing systems to
process requests made under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of
section 552(a) of title 5, United States Code.
(e) FOIA Backlog.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Chief Privacy Officer of the
Department, in consultation with the Chief FOIA Officer,
shall update and issue guidance to the heads of each of the
relevant components of the Department regarding the goal of
reducing the backlog in processing requests made under
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 552(a) of title 5,
United States Code, by 50 percent between fiscal year 2015
and fiscal year 2018.
(f) Report.--
(1) Semiannual privacy report.--The Chief FOIA Officer
shall include in each

[[Page H4571]]

semiannual privacy report submitted under section 1062(f) of
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(42 U.S.C. 2000ee-1(f)) each of the following:
(A) The total costs to the Department of meeting the
requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code,
for the period covered by the report.
(B) An assessment of progress made toward meeting the
backlog goals pursuant to subsection (e) during the period
covered by the report and the periods covered by the two
preceding reports.
(C) An assessment of whether the Department has adequate
staffing and other resources to address the backlog goals
pursuant to subsection (e) for processing requests made under
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 552(a) of title 5,
United States Code.
(D) An assessment of the progress made towards automating
the processing of requests made under paragraphs (1), (2),
and (3) of section 552(a) of title 5, United States Code,
during the period covered by the report.
(2) Fiscal year 2016 requirements.--The Chief FOIA Officer
shall include in the second semiannual privacy report for
fiscal year 2016 each of the following:
(A) A description of any cost savings identified under
subsection (d).
(B) The plan developed under subsection (d).
(g) Duplicative Action Defined.--In this section, the term
``duplicative actions'' means actions carried out by two or
more components or programs that are engaged in the same
activities or provide the same services related to the
processing of FOIA requests to the same beneficiaries.

SEC. 3. PROGRESS ON AUTOMATION.

Upon completion of the plan to automate the processing of
requests made under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section
552(a) of title 5, United States Code, the Chief FOIA Officer
shall provide the plan to the heads of the components of the
Department and seek written feedback from each head of a
component agency regarding the extent to which that component
will adopt the plan, the associated costs, and the projected
timelines.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Carter) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson
Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.

General Leave

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include any extraneous materials on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1615.
In November of 2014, it was reported that DHS had received and
processed the most FOIA requests out of any Federal department. It
holds the largest backlog of unprocessed FOIA requests of any Federal
agency. In fact, since 2010, DHS FOIA requests have increased by over
65 percent, and DHS currently holds almost half of all Federal FOIA
requests of any government agency--about 50,000 of 95,000 requests.
In addition, 3 weeks ago, I was informed that the increase in DHS
FOIA requests was partly due to requests for immigration records for
people requesting information for their future deferred action cases.
My bill, H.R. 1615, the DHS FOIA Efficiency Act of 2015, streamlines
the process to address the tremendous workload and backlog and bring
transparency to the cost of FOIA requests to the Department.
In the recent past, DHS has received poor evaluations regarding its
efficiency in handling FOIA requests. For these reasons, my bill
directs the chief FOIA officer of DHS to work with other officers
within the Department to update their capabilities in handling the
large amount of FOIA requests and identify the total annual costs
associated with processing these requests.
By updating their capabilities and reporting to Congress on how the
Department is addressing their poor performance, my bill will direct
the Department to address its backlog and inefficiencies in an
appropriate and quick manner.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 1615, the DHS FOIA Efficiency Act.

{time} 1645

Mr. Speaker, this legislation, which was unanimously approved by the
committee on May 20, seeks to improve the Department's processing of
Freedom of Information Act requests.
In November 2014, the Comptroller General reported that DHS faces the
largest backlog of unprocessed FOIA requests of any Federal agency.
While resource challenges and inefficiencies in DHS' internal processes
help explain in part the backlog, we must not be complacent and accept
these challenges as excuses for the backlog.
A cornerstone of our democracy is that the government is accountable
to its citizens. The FOIA process is a key mechanism to ensure
accountability. I am pleased that the approach taken under this bill is
consistent with the Department's unity of effort initiative.
Specifically, H.R. 1615 requires that the Department's chief FOIA
officer collaborate with FOIA officials in component agencies to track
the total annual costs associated with processing FOIA requests,
identify and adopt cost-savings measures, and strategize on addressing
the backlog.
Mr. Speaker, I would also note that in committee, measures authored
by Democratic members to promote automation and address staffing
resources were adopted with bipartisan support.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 1615, a bipartisan bill that
seeks to improve the responsiveness of the Department of Homeland
Security to the American public, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I
reserve the balance of my time
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Speaker, timely compliance with FOIA requests is imperative to an
open government. The DHS FOIA backlog has existed for too long and
needs to be addressed.
I thank Representative Carter and Chairman McCaul for their
bipartisan efforts on the DHS FOIA Efficiency Act, which marks an
important first step in addressing this FOIA backlog and promoting
greater automation in the processing of requests.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge my colleagues
to support this strong, bipartisan piece of legislation, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary and
Homeland Security Committees, and I rise in strong support of H.R.
1615, the ``DHS FOIA Efficiency Act of 2015.''
I support this bipartisan legislation, which addresses DHS' FOIA
backlog by requiring the department's chief FOIA officer to issue
updated regulations on obtaining records under the Act.
I am pleased that H.R. 1615 incorporates two key Jackson Lee
amendments offered during the committee markup of the bill.
In 2014, DHS had 67,097 FOIA requests that carried over from 2013;
added 291,242 requests; and processed 238,031 FOIA requests.
The agency still had 120,308 FOIA requests that were carried over
into 2015.
Because FOIA is a critical component of creating our nation's open
and transparent government, the process of citizens getting access to
information regarding government matters of personal or public interest
is important.
DHS's ability to meet public demands for information through FOIA
should not be hampered by a lack of technology.
One of the Jackson Lee Amendments included in the bill directs that
the agency include information on how to adopt automated processing to
meet FOIA obligations triggered by agency: Public Notices published in
the Federal Register; Final rules; decisions, outcome of adjudicated
matters or other agency actions; and obligations to reply to citizen
FOIA request.
Another Jackson Lee Amendment included in H.R. 1615 directs that a
report be drafted that provides an assessment of DHS progress made
toward automating the FOIA process.
That Jackson Lee amendment also provides that upon completion of the
FOIA automation plan that the Chief FOIA officer provides the plan to
the heads of the components of the Department.
Mr. Speaker, it is true as Justice Brandeis famously observed that
``sunshine is the best disinfectant.''
He was speaking of the power of knowledge to illuminate and to
enhance the ability of people to understand and evaluate government
actions when presented with information.
I agree with Justice Brandeis that ``the most important political
office is that of the private citizen.''
I support H.R. 1615 and urge my colleagues to join me in voting for
its passage.

[[Page H4572]]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1615, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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