[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 40 (Monday, October 7, 1996)]
[Pages 1949-1950]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Electronic Freedom of Information Act 
Amendments of 1996

October 2, 1996

    I am pleased to sign into law today H.R. 3802, the ``Electronic 
Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996.''
    This bill represents the culmination of several years of leadership 
by Senator Patrick Leahy to bring this important law up to date. Enacted 
in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was the first law to 
establish an effective legal right of access to government information, 
underscoring the crucial need in a democracy for open access to 
government information by citizens. In the last 30 years, citizens, 
scholars, and reporters have used FOIA to obtain vital and valuable 
government information.
    Since 1966, the world has changed a great deal. Records are no 
longer principally maintained in paper format. Now, they are maintained 
in a variety of technologies, including CD ROM and computer tapes and 
diskettes, making it easier to put more information on-line.
    My Administration has launched numerous initiatives to bring more 
government information to the public. We have established World Wide Web 
pages, which identify and link information resources throughout the 
Federal Government. An enormous range of documents and data, including 
the Federal budget, is now available on-line or in electronic format, 
making government more accessible than ever. And in the last year, we 
have declassified unprecedented amounts of national security material, 
including information on nuclear testing.
    The legislation I sign today brings FOIA into the information and 
electronic age by clarifying that it applies to records maintained in 
electronic format. This law also broadens public access to government 
information by placing more material on-line and expanding the role of 
the agency reading room. As the Government actively disseminates more 
information, I hope that there will be less need to use FOIA to obtain 
government information.
    This legislation not only affirms the importance, but also the 
challenge of maintaining openness in government. In a period of 
government downsizing, the numbers of requests continue to rise. In 
addition, growing numbers of requests are for information that must be 
reviewed for declassification, or in which there is a proprietary 
interest or a privacy concern. The result in many agencies is huge 
backlogs of requests.
    In this Act, the Congress recognized that with today's limited 
resources, it is frequently difficult to respond to a FOIA request 
within the 10 days formerly required in the law. This legislation 
extends the legal response period to 20 days.
    More importantly, it recognizes that many FOIA requests are so broad 
and complex that they cannot possibly be completed even within this 
longer period, and the time spent processing them only delays other 
requests. Accordingly, H.R. 3802 establishes procedures for an agency to 
discuss with requesters ways of tailoring large requests to improve 
responsiveness. This approach explicitly recognizes that FOIA works best 
when agencies and requesters work together.
    Our country was founded on democratic principles of openness and 
accountability, and for 30 years, FOIA has supported these principles. 
Today, the ``Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996'' 
reforges an important link between the United States Government and the 
American people.

                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 2, 1996.

Note: H.R. 3802, approved October 2, was assigned Public Law No. 104-
231.

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