DHS FOIA Efficiency Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 1615, the DHS FOIA Efficiency Act.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation, which was unanimously approved by the committee on May 20, seeks to improve the Department's processing of Freedom of Information Act requests.

In November 2014, the Comptroller General reported that DHS faces the largest backlog of unprocessed FOIA requests of any Federal agency. While resource challenges and inefficiencies in DHS' internal processes help explain in part the backlog, we must not be complacent and accept these challenges as excuses for the backlog.

A cornerstone of our democracy is that the government is accountable to its citizens. The FOIA process is a key mechanism to ensure accountability. I am pleased that the approach taken under this bill is consistent with the Department's unity of effort initiative.

Specifically, H.R. 1615 requires that the Department's chief FOIA officer collaborate with FOIA officials in component agencies to track the total annual costs associated with processing FOIA requests, identify and adopt cost-savings measures, and strategize on addressing the backlog.

Mr. Speaker, I would also note that in committee, measures authored by Democratic members to promote automation and address staffing resources were adopted with bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 1615, a bipartisan bill that seeks to improve the responsiveness of the Department of Homeland Security to the American public, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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