FOIA News: Panel discussion on FOIA

On Friday, May 20, 2022, the National Press Club’s Journalism Institute hosted a remote panel discussion entitled “My First FOIA: Open records are for everyone.” The three panelists were: (1) Kirsten Mitchell, the compliance team lead for the Office of Government Information Services, which is the federal FOIA ombudsman, and designated federal officer for the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s FOIA Advisory Committee; (2) Lulu Ramadan, an investigative reporter at The Seattle Times and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica's Local Reporting Network; and (3) Mark Walker, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, where he previously was its FOIA coordinator, and the president of Investigative Reporters & Editors.

The 58-minute video is here.

FOIA News: 2nd Circuit hears argument in Exemption 5 case

On May 18, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit entertained oral argument in American Oversight v. DOJ, which concerns the propriety of DOJ’s use of Exemption 5 to withhold FBI interviews related to campaign finance investigation of Michael Cohen.

The lower court’s decision is available here.

FOIA News: Progress report at Interior Dep't

Interior seeks FOIA reinforcements amid mixed backlog progress

The agency has cut down on the number of outstanding public records requests for the secretary's office and some other agencies. Other divisions haven't seen progress.

By Michael Doyle, Politico Pro, May 16, 2022

The Interior Department’s latest Freedom of Information Act report reveals both progress and slippage on the persistent backlogs that officials hope to whittle down with the help of a budget proposal coming before Congress this week.

The progress:

In the second-quarter report of 2020, the backlogged FOIA requests at Interior’s Office of the Secretary numbered 1,863. That particular backlog has since been cut to 1,252, according to the new fiscal 2022 quarterly report published this month.

FOIA request backlogs likewise fell compared to a comparable period two years ago at Interior agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Geological Survey, among others

Read more here.

FOIA News: Veterans Affairs using tech to reduce FOIA delays

VA Increased FOIA Processing Thanks to Automation

The agency is using capacities like RPA to expedite FOIA review, decreasing the time between request and document release.

Adam Patterson & Amy Kluber, GovCIO Media & Research, May 11, 2022

* * *

In fiscal year 2021, the agency received more FOIA requests than it did in fiscal year 2019 — from 21,336 to 27,762. From a preliminary glance at the full list of these requests, one can see many of the requests received in 2021 pertained to things like COVID debt relief data, vaccination rates and other matters that were pertinent to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

The amount of requests it was able to process dipped in fiscal 2020. This is in part due to the disruption in working location, the need for increased remote access to systems and the influx of paper mail. Plus, like many U.S. hospitals, the agency had to handle unprecedented numbers of patients sick with COVID-19 and stand up a nationwide vaccination effort quickly.

The number of requests the agency processed, however, rose again in fiscal 2021 and surpassed the amount processed before the pandemic. Part of this is thanks to its FOIA office introducing more automation into its workflows.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA discussion at the National Press Club

Open records: Everything you need to know before filing your first FOIA request

Nat’l Press Club Journalism Inst.., May 4, 2022

Public records belong to the public. So where do we get started tracking them down

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute for "My First FOIA: Open records are for everyone" to learn what government records you have a right to and how to request them. Whether you're a journalist, student, parent, community activist, teacher, business owner, or taxpayer, you will learn how to request public records that can help you in your personal and professional life.

Registration is open for this program, which will take place on Friday, May 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA Advisory Committee to meet on May 5

FOIA Advisory Committee Meets on May 5

OGIS, FOIA Ombudsman Blog, Apr. 28, 2022

The penultimate meeting of the 2020-2022 term of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee is Thursday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. This virtual meeting is open to the public and registration is required for those wishing to make oral public comments. Please register here by 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, to receive an email with instructions for accessing the meeting via WebEx. We also will livestream the meeting on the National Archives YouTube channel (with a slight transmission delay).

Read more here.

FOIA News: AmeriCorps to amend FOIA regulations

The Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps) has issued a proposed rule revising its FOIA regulations “to reflect changes made in the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and to make the regulations more user friendly through plain language.” Public comments may be submitted through July 1, 2022.

FOIA News: Following lawsuit, Pentagon agrees to process requests from Stars & Stripes reporter

DOD agrees to give reporter public records through FOIA but not day in court

By Alison Bath, Stars & Stripes, Apr. 25, 2022

An airman files records in Port Orchard, Wash., March 9, 2022. The Defense Department in a recent court filing agreed to fulfill 15 Freedom of Information Act requests it previously denied to a Stars and Stripes journalist. (Jason Kriess/U.S. Army)

The Defense Department has agreed to fulfill 15 Freedom of Information Act requests it previously denied to a journalist because he worked for a military publication.

In a court filing last week, the DOD, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps and U.S. Central Command said they will no longer refuse Stars and Stripes reporter Chad Garland’s requests for public records made through FOIA requests filed from August 2020 through August 2021.

The department did not say why it suddenly changed course in the filing Wednesday, which came about two weeks after its lawyers filed an answer to Garland’s lawsuit and appeared ready to litigate.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Chief FOIA Officers Council meeting held on 4/21/22

For those that missed the CFO Council meeting on Thursday, we are posting the recording, presentation slides, and agenda.

FOIA News: ICYMI, FBI ordered to speed up processing of Civil War gold docs

Judge Orders FBI to Produce Records on Civil War Gold Hunt

A federal judge has ordered the FBI to speed up the release of records about the agency’s search for buried Civil War-era gold in Pennsylvania.

By Michael Rubinkam, AP, Apr. 18, 2022

The FBI might not have found any Civil War-era gold at a remote woodland site in Pennsylvania — but it's definitely got records of the agency's 2018 dig, and will soon have to turn them over to a father-son pair of treasure hunters.

A federal judge has ordered the FBI to speed up the release of records about the search for the legendary gold, ruling Monday in favor of Finders Keepers, the treasure hunting outfit that led FBI agents to the remote site. The group accuses the Justice Department of slow-walking their request for information.

The FBI must turn over 1,000 pages of records per month, starting in 30 days, and the first batch of records must include a key report sought by Finders Keepers, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered.

Read more here.