VA FOIA Reform Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2726) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a plan to reduce the backlog of requests for information made to the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2726

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``VA FOIA Reform Act of 2021''. SEC. 2. PLAN FOR REDUCTION OF BACKLOG OF FOIA REQUESTS.

(a) Plan.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and carry out a plan for the Secretary to meet, by not later than five years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to providing documents and information under such section within the timeframes required by such section. The plan shall include the following:

(1) Improving and acquiring technology, including with respect to searching email and other electronic information, and the timelines for such improvement, to ensure that the information technology of the Department of Veterans Affairs is capable of carrying out the plan.

(2) Identification of efficient procedures, policies, and systems of the Department that could be developed to allow employees of the Department responsible for replying to requests under such section 552 to search and review documents rather than other employees of the Department.

(3) A schedule for carrying out the plan, including key milestones and metrics.

(b) Compliance Assessment.--The Secretary shall request the Director of the Office of Government Information Services of the National Archives and Records Administration to conduct an assessment of the compliance by the Department of Veterans Affairs with section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

(c) Reports.--

(1) Initial report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on implementing subsections (a) and (b). The report shall include the following:

(A) The plan established under subsection (a).

(B) An analysis of the root causes of the backlog of FOIA requests.

(C) Recommendations with respect to any additional resources or legislative action the Secretary determines necessary for such implementation.

(2) Annual reports.--During the five-year period following the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate annual reports on--

(A) carrying out the plan under subsection (a), including any updates or changes made to the plan; and

(B) the compliance by the Department as described in subsection (b).

(3) Publication.--The Secretary shall make publicly available on the internet website of the Department the reports under paragraphs (1) and (2) by not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary submits the reports to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

(d) Backlog of FOIA Requests Defined.--In this section, the term ``backlog of FOIA requests'' means the number of requests, as reported by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the Attorney General in the Annual FOIA Report, made by individuals to the Secretary pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, for documents or information that the Secretary has not fulfilled or provided a response to the individual.

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Mr. TAKANO. 2726.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 2726, the VA FOIA Reform Act of 2021, introduced by Representative Gallego, a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

This bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by Representative Murphy from North Carolina and would modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs' Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, process to help VA meet statutory requirements and improve efficiency.

The FOIA process is essential for ensuring a transparent and accountable VA by allowing the public insight into the workings of a Department that serves millions of veterans each year. However, an enduring backlog of open requests and out-of-date technology have made it difficult for the Department to provide timely access to requested information.

Madam Speaker, this bill would require VA to establish a plan in order to meet all statutory FOIA requirements, identify its technology needs, and carry out this plan within 5 years.

Veterans and their families, employees, and the public who have made FOIA requests at VA have been kept waiting for too long. I hope this bill puts VA on a path to providing FOIA information in a timely manner.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 2726 was reported favorably by the committee, and I ask my colleagues to support the bill.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego), my good friend, author of H.R. 2726, and a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I would like to close by saying I urge all of my colleagues to support the VA FOIA Reform Act of 2021. We need to make sure that our veterans and their families get information that they have requested from the VA in a timely manner.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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