FOIA News: Fed Reserve should be subject to FOIA, says Senator Toomey

Top Republican Suggests Regional Fed Should Be Overhauled

• Toomey says status quo of regional banks is ‘unacceptable’

• He wants the Fed to be subject to public records request law

By Laura Davison, Bloomberg, Feb. 10, 2022

The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee said Congress should weigh an overhaul of the U.S. Federal Reserve Regional Bank system and consider consolidating regional banks that are “wandering” into issues such as climate change.

Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said Thursday that the 12 regional banks were formed to manage the economies in their districts, but that largely ended in the 1930s as oversight was taken over by the central bank. That’s left the regional banks without a clear mandate, he said.

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Toomey said he is also concerned that the Fed is not being transparent with the public and has been “stonewalling” congressional inquiries into bank decisions. He said lawmakers should consider making the Fed subject to the records request law, the Freedom of Information Act, like other federal entities are.

Read more here.

FOIA News: D.C. Circuit to hear FOIA case on Feb. 11, 2022

On Friday, February 11, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear argument in the case Shapiro v. DOJ, No. 20-5318. Listen live to the argument before Judges Tatel, Wilkins, Rao here. A copy of the underlying decision at issue is here.

FOIA News: Here come the FY 2021 annual reports

Agencies are required to post their fiscal year 2021 annual reports on their websites by March 1, 2022. Here are a few that we’ve found online already.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

• National Mediation Board

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission

• Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

• Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

• U.S. Trade Representative

• National Endowment for the Humanities

• Export-Import Bank

FOIA News: Activists want to revise Obama-era FOIA memo

FOIA Advocates Say Biden Administration Is Ignoring Transparency Issues

New administrations usually issue memos on transparency. The Biden administration has ignored calls to do so.

By C.J. Ciaramella, Reason, Feb. 4, 2022

It's been more than a year since President Joe Biden took office, but his administration has yet to publish guidance to agencies on federal public record laws, a break from tradition that has frustrated transparency advocates.

This week, a coalition of transparency groups sent a second letter calling on the Justice Department to issue a memo on its interpretation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the groundbreaking 1966 law that, in theory, ensures public access to government records.

Read more here.

FOIA News: More from Yale's symposium on "Saving the Freedom of Information Act"

• No FOIA is an Island, by Heidi Kitrosser, Feb. 2, 2022

  Margaret Kwoka’s new book, Saving the Freedom of Information Act, is an impressive and important achievement. The book is grounded in the premise that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was inspired by, and is best directed toward, the goal of facilitating public and journalistic oversight of American government.

• Margaret Kwoka’s “Saving the Freedom of Information Act” as a Model for the Empirical Study of Administrative Law, by Nicholas R. Parrillo, Feb. 1, 2022.

  Margaret Kwoka’s Saving the Freedom of Information Act is one of the best empirical studies ever written on administrative law. Start with the findings, which are sweeping in their government-wide scope and striking in their substance.

FOIA News: Nominations open for government FOIA awards

OIP NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2022 SUNSHINE WEEK FOIA AWARDS

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Jan. 31, 2022

The Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that nominations are open for the 2022 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards, recognizing the contributions of FOIA professionals from around the government.  As the Supreme Court declared, “[t]he basic purpose of [the] FOIA is to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society . . . .”  Agency FOIA professionals are at the center of ensuring that the important purpose of this law is fulfilled and we look forward to celebrating the work of these individuals from around the government.  For this year’s event, OIP is seeking nominations for five categories of awards:

• Exceptional Service by a FOIA Professional or Team of FOIA Professionals

• Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee

• Exceptional Advancements in IT to Improve the Agency’s FOIA Administration

• Exceptional Advancements in Proactive Disclosure of Information

• Lifetime Service Award

Nominations can be submitted by agencies or by a member of the public.  All nominations are due to OIP by Friday, February 25

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA regulatory actions by two agencies

• The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is adopting revised FOIA regulations effective March 3, 2022, which follows a notice and comment period that took place from August 30, 2021, to September 29, 2021.

• The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has proposed to amend its FOIA regulations and will accept public comments on or before March 3, 2022.

FOIA News: Symposium on "Saving the Freedom of Information Act"

Introduction to Our Symposium on Margaret B. Kwoka’s “Saving the Freedom of Information Act”

By Christina Koningisor, Yale J. on Reg., Jan. 31, 2022

This is the introduction to a symposium on Margaret Kwoka’s new book, Saving the Freedom of Information Act. For other posts in the series, click here.

I am very pleased to kick off this two-week Notice and Comment symposium on Margaret Kwoka’s new book Saving the Freedom of Information Act. We have an excellent set of scholars and practitioners lined up to explore the implications of her work. There will be a new post each morning, and the collection in its entirety will be available here.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Pfizer seeks to intervene in vaccine lawsuit against FDA

Pfizer in Texas showdown: Court hearing this week will decide if it can assist FDA in providing COVID documents

By Kevin Dunleavy, Fierce Pharma, Jan. 27, 2022

Texas federal judge Mark Pittman will conduct a hearing on Friday to consider whether to allow Pfizer to participate in the redaction and release of information about the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty.

Earlier this month, Pittman ruled that the FDA would have to turn over 55,000 pages of documentation on the vaccine per month, starting on March 1. This will be a huge task for the regulator, which would need to hire a team of 15 specialists at an expense of “some $3 million,” the FDA said in a Jan. 18 court filing.

Last Friday, Pfizer provided the court a memorandum outlining why it should participate in the process.

Read more here.

FOIA News: GAO releases FOIA performance audit

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has release a 92-page performance audit entitled “Selected Agencies Adapted to the Covid-19 Pandemic but Face Ongoing Challenges and Backlogs.” Highlights of the report are available here.