This is an excerpt from an actual FOIA appeal response letter: Dear [name redacted], Reference is made to your letter to the [agency]…regarding the above referenced file. Through your letter you appeal the determination made…that certain records responsive to your request (or portions thereof) are exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). … Continue reading FOIA Letters and Plain Writing
FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs) have some things in common -- for instance, both provide access to information -- but in practical terms they are very different. If you would like to learn more about both, please join OGIS, the Information Security Oversight Office and the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy for the next FOIA … Continue reading Upcoming Requester Roundtable Discussion: FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs)
FOIA has the most patriotic of birthdays -- July 4, 1966. Last year we commemorated FOIA’s birthday by looking back at the unusual circumstances of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the law and noted that despite a shaky start, FOIA has become part of the foundation of our democracy. We toast FOIA’s 46th birthday … Continue reading Strike up the Band – It’s FOIA’s Birthday!
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, establishes how an agency must administer its FOIA program. While the law contains a lot of useful information—from time limits to fee categories to redactions and more—it doesn’t provide the whole picture. If a FOIA requester needs practical, detailed information about how an agency’s … Continue reading FOIA Regulations: A Valuable Tool for Requesters
For the past two years, the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA’s) Open Government Plan has provided our parent agency with a roadmap to increased transparency, participation and collaboration. Since that time, NARA’s leadership and staff have completed almost 70 tasks spelled out in that document. Never an agency to rest on its laurels, NARA … Continue reading Archives Releases Updated Open Gov Plan
We receive a number of requests for assistance from FOIA requesters seeking an estimated completion date for their delayed FOIA requests. When we contact agencies for the estimated completion date, we sometimes get some pretty strong pushback. That’s understandable, since nobody wants to go on record making a promise when lots of variables beyond his/her … Continue reading Estimating Completion Dates for FOIA Requests: Tips for Agencies
Immigration records offer a wealth of valuable information for immigrants, genealogists, journalists, academic researchers and others. However, several agencies maintain immigration records, so finding them can challenge even the savviest FOIA requester. Join agency representatives and requesters for an OGIS Forum on immigration records on Wednesday, May 23, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. This event, … Continue reading Upcoming OGIS Forum: Immigration Records
The following guest post is from Ryan Alfred, co-founder and president of BrightScope, a financial data and analytics company, launched in January 2009. Mr. Alfred spoke at the March 30, 2012 Smart Disclosure summit, hosted by the National Archives and the White House, about his experiences using FOIA. By including his post on the FOIA … Continue reading FOIA Helps Shine a Light on Retirement Plans
Have you ever wondered why it takes so long for an agency to find responsive records after you make a FOIA request? After all, isn’t there a “Government Google” that allows an agency to search its records with a few keystrokes? Or, have you received a FOIA fee estimate in the thousands of dollars because … Continue reading Searching for Answers about Record Searches?
Describing the scope of a FOIA request -- and on the agency’s side, interpreting the scope of that request -- often feels like more art than science. Requesters naturally describe requests in expansive terms to be sure that they don’t exclude potentially valuable information. On the other hand, agency FOIA staffers often feel like they … Continue reading Scoping Out a Successful FOIA Request
You must be logged in to post a comment.