Rep. Cisneros Authored Legislation on VA FOIA Reform Passes HVAC Committee with Bipartisan, Unanimous Support

Press Release

Today, legislation introduced by Representative Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39) passed through the House Veterans' Affairs Committee with bipartisan, unanimous support. H.R. 7163, the VA FOIA Reform Act would require the Veterans' Affairs (VA) Department to reduce the backlog of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Office of Special Counsel (OSC) requests by 75 percent within three years and proactively make frequently requested information publicly available online. The bill was amended during the committee markup to require the VA Secretary to establish and carry out a plan to meet the requirements of the FOIA Act. Rep. Max Rose (NY-11), an Army combat veteran, is a co-lead of the legislation.

"The backlog of FOIA requests at the VA has left many of our veterans and their families unable to access important documents. I'm proud to champion this effort to increase transparency and accountability at the VA and reduce the FOIA request backlog," said Rep. Cisneros. "I'm grateful that my Republican and Democratic colleagues on the committee voted to pass my bill on a bipartisan and unanimous basis. Especially during this pandemic, access to timely information is critical to making life-saving decisions. "

The VA FOIA Reform Act is supported by The American Legion, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Demand Progress, and the Project on Government Oversight.

On July 23rd, Rep. Cisneros delivered testimony to HVAC on his bill.

Rep. Cisneros is a Navy veteran and member of the House Veterans' Affairs committee.

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