House Adopts FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act, Will Consider Transparency Bills

Press Release

On a bipartisan vote of 410-0, the House of Representatives today adopted H.R. 1211, the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2014. H.R. 1211 was introduced by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and reported out of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee last year. H.R. 1211 will enhance the American people's access to federal government information by improving the responsiveness of federal agencies to FOIA requests.

"As citizen watchdogs, Americans have the right to keep an eye on their government and are entitled to a federal government that is both transparent and accountable," Chairman Issa said in a statement. "Disclosure should be timely, accurate, and routine. H.R. 1211 enacts commonsense reforms that will reduce the backlog of FOIA requests from federal agencies by strengthening the Office of Government Information Services and creating an online request system. The reforms in the FOIA bill will strengthen agency compliance and make it easier for the public to access information from the federal government."

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