[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10270-10272]
[From the U.S. 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).

[[Page 10271]]

       (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 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.

[[Page 10272]]

  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.
  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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