【国会记录第162卷，第93号（2016年6月13日星期一）】【众议院】【H3714-H3719页】2016年《信息自由法改进法案》，梅多斯先生。议长先生，我提议暂停这些规定，并通过法案（第337节），以改善信息自由法。办事员宣读了账单的标题。法案全文如下：S.337由美利坚合众国参众两院制定，在国会召开，第1节。简称。该法可被称为“2016年信息自由法改进法”。第。2《信息自由法》修正案。《美国法典》第5编第552节修改为——（1）第（a）小节第（2）款第（i）子段（a）中，删去“供公众查阅和复制”，并插入“以电子格式供公众查阅”；（ii）删除（D）项并插入以下内容：`（D）所有记录的副本，无论形式或格式如何—`（i）根据第（3）款发布给任何人的；以及`（ii）（i）由于其主题的性质，管理局确定已成为或可能成为实质上相同记录的后续请求的主题[[第H3715页]；或`（II）已被请求3次或更多次；和（iii）在（E）项之后的未指定事项中，在第（4）（A）款中，删除第（viii）款并插入以下内容：“（viii）（I）款，除第（II）款规定外，代理机构不得评估任何搜索费用（或第条所述的请求者（ii）（ii）本款下的复制费），如果管理局未能遵守第（6）款规定的任何时间限制。``（二） （aa）如果管理局已确定特殊情况适用（如第（6）（B）款中定义的术语），并且该机构根据第（6）（B）款的规定及时向请求者发出书面通知，则第（I）款所述的不合格可再延长10天。如果管理局未能遵守延长的时间限制，管理局不得评估任何搜索费用（或者，对于本分段第（ii）（ii）条所述的请求者，则不得评估复制费）。``（bb）如果一个机构确定存在异常情况，并且需要超过5000页的页面来响应请求，则该机构可以收取搜索费用（或者，对于本分段第（ii）（ii）条所述的请求者，复制费）如果管理局已根据第（6）（B）款及时向请求者发出书面通知，并且管理局已通过书面邮件、电子邮件与请求者进行了讨论，或通过电话（或进行了不少于3次的善意尝试）请求人如何根据第（6）（B）（ii）款有效地限制请求的范围。``（cc）如果法院已确定存在特殊情况（如第（6）（C）款所定义），则第（I）款所述的不作为应在法院命令规定的时间内予以免除。'；（C）在第（6）款中—（I）在（a）（I）项中，删除“提出此类请求”及其后的所有内容，加上“确定”；并插入以下内容：“`提出此类请求——”（I）该决定及其理由；`（II）此人有权向该机构的《信息自由法》公共联络处寻求协助；以及`（III）在不利裁定的情况下`（aa）该人有权在机构负责人确定的期限内，在该不利裁定之日起不少于90天内，向机构负责人提出上诉；以及`（bb）该人向该局或政府信息服务办公室的《信息自由法》公共联络处寻求争端解决服务的权利；和（ii）在（B）（ii）项中，删去“机构”并插入“机构，并告知请求者请求者有权向政府信息服务办公室寻求争议解决服务；以及（D）在末尾添加以下内容：`（8）（A）机关应—`（i）仅在``（i）机关合理预见披露会损害利益的情况下，才应`（i）根据本节规定不予披露信息受第（b）小节所述豁免的保护；或`（II）法律禁止披露；以及`（II）（I）在管理局确定不可能完全披露所请求的记录时，考虑是否可以部分披露信息；以及`（II）采取必要的合理措施隔离和发布非豁免信息；以及`（B）本段中的任何内容都不要求披露法律禁止披露的信息，或根据第（B）（3）小节的规定免于披露的信息；（2）通过修改第（B）款的规定h (5) to read as follows: ``(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency, provided that the deliberative process privilege shall not apply to records created 25 years or more before the date on which the records were requested;''; and (3) in subsection (e)-- (A) in paragraph (1)-- (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and to the Director of the Office of Government Information Services'' after ``United States''; (ii) in subparagraph (N), by striking ``and'' at the end; (iii) in subparagraph (O), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (iv) by adding at the end the following: ``(P) the number of times the agency denied a request for records under subsection (c); and ``(Q) the number of records that were made available for public inspection in an electronic format under subsection (a)(2).''; (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following: ``(3) Each agency shall make each such report available for public inspection in an electronic format. In addition, each agency shall make the raw statistical data used in each report available in a timely manner for public inspection in an electronic format, which shall be made available-- ``(A) without charge, license, or registration requirement; ``(B) in an aggregated, searchable format; and ``(C) in a format that may be downloaded in bulk.''; (C) in paragraph (4)-- (i) by striking ``Government Reform and Oversight'' and inserting ``Oversight and Government Reform''; (ii) by inserting ``Homeland Security and'' before ``Governmental Affairs''; and (iii) by striking ``April'' and inserting ``March''; and (D) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following: ``(6)(A) The Attorney General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President a report on or before March 1 of each calendar year, which shall include for the prior calendar year-- ``(i) a listing of the number of cases arising under this section; ``(ii) a listing of-- ``(I) each subsection, and any exemption, if applicable, involved in each case arising under this section; ``(II) the disposition of each case arising under this section; and ``(III) the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4); and ``(iii) a description of the efforts undertaken by the Department of Justice to encourage agency compliance with this section. ``(B) The Attorney General of the United States shall make-- ``(i) each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format; and ``(ii) the raw statistical data used in each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format, which shall be made available-- ``(I) without charge, license, or registration requirement; ``(II) in an aggregated, searchable format; and ``(III) in a format that may be downloaded in bulk.''; (4) in subsection (g), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``publicly available upon request'' and inserting ``available for public inspection in an electronic format''; (5) in subsection (h)-- (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following: ``The head of the Office shall be the Director of the Office of Government Information Services.''; (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: ``(C) identify procedures and methods for improving compliance under this section.''; (C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following: ``(3) The Office of Government Information Services shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between persons making requests under this section and administrative agencies as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation and may issue advisory opinions at the discretion of the Office or upon request of any party to a dispute.''; and (D) by adding at the end the following: ``(4)(A) Not less frequently than annually, the Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President-- ``(i) a report on the findings of the information reviewed and identified under paragraph (2); ``(ii) a summary of the activities of the Office of Government Information Services under paragraph (3), including-- ``(I) any advisory opinions issued; and ``(II) the number of times each agency engaged in dispute resolution with the assistance of the Office of Government Information Services or the FOIA Public Liaison; and ``(iii) legislative and regulatory recommendations, if any, to improve the administration of this section. ``(B) The Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall make each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format. ``(C) The Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of the United States, including the Department of Justice, the Archivist of the United States, or the Office of Management and Budget before submitting to Congress, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the views of the President. ``(5) The Director of the Office of Government Information Services may directly submit additional information to Congress and the President as the Director determines to be appropriate. [[Page H3716]] ``(6) Not less frequently than annually, the Office of Government Information Services shall conduct a meeting that is open to the public on the review and reports by the Office and shall allow interested persons to appear and present oral or written statements at the meeting.''; (6) by striking subsections (j) and (k), and inserting the following: ``(j)(1) Each agency shall designate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior official of such agency (at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level). ``(2) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall, subject to the authority of the head of the agency-- ``(A) have agency-wide responsibility for efficient and appropriate compliance with this section; ``(B) monitor implementation of this section throughout the agency and keep the head of the agency, the chief legal officer of the agency, and the Attorney General appropriately informed of the agency's performance in implementing this section; ``(C) recommend to the head of the agency such adjustments to agency practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may be necessary to improve its implementation of this section; ``(D) review and report to the Attorney General, through the head of the agency, at such times and in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, on the agency's performance in implementing this section; ``(E) facilitate public understanding of the purposes of the statutory exemptions of this section by including concise descriptions of the exemptions in both the agency's handbook issued under subsection (g), and the agency's annual report on this section, and by providing an overview, where appropriate, of certain general categories of agency records to which those exemptions apply; ``(F) offer training to agency staff regarding their responsibilities under this section; ``(G) serve as the primary agency liaison with the Office of Government Information Services and the Office of Information Policy; and ``(H) designate 1 or more FOIA Public Liaisons. ``(3) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall review, not less frequently than annually, all aspects of the administration of this section by the agency to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, including-- ``(A) agency regulations; ``(B) disclosure of records required under paragraphs (2) and (8) of subsection (a); ``(C) assessment of fees and determination of eligibility for fee waivers; ``(D) the timely processing of requests for information under this section; ``(E) the use of exemptions under subsection (b); and ``(F) dispute resolution services with the assistance of the Office of Government Information Services or the FOIA Public Liaison. ``(k)(1) There is established in the executive branch the Chief FOIA Officers Council (referred to in this subsection as the `Council'). ``(2) The Council shall be comprised of the following members: ``(A) The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget. ``(B) The Director of the Office of Information Policy at the Department of Justice. ``(C) The Director of the Office of Government Information Services. ``(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency. ``(E) Any other officer or employee of the United States as designated by the Co-Chairs. ``(3) The Director of the Office of Information Policy at the Department of Justice and the Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall be the Co-Chairs of the Council. ``(4) The Administrator of General Services shall provide administrative and other support for the Council. ``(5)(A) The duties of the Council shall include the following: ``(i) Develop recommendations for increasing compliance and efficiency under this section. ``(ii) Disseminate information about agency experiences, ideas, best practices, and innovative approaches related to this section. ``(iii) Identify, develop, and coordinate initiatives to increase transparency and compliance with this section. ``(iv) Promote the development and use of common performance measures for agency compliance with this section. ``(B) In performing the duties described in subparagraph (A), the Council shall consult on a regular basis with members of the public who make requests under this section. ``(6)(A) The Council shall meet regularly and such meetings shall be open to the public unless the Council determines to close the meeting for reasons of national security or to discuss information exempt under subsection (b). ``(B) Not less frequently than annually, the Council shall hold a meeting that shall be open to the public and permit interested persons to appear and present oral and written statements to the Council. ``(C) Not later than 10 business days before a meeting of the Council, notice of such meeting shall be published in the Federal Register. ``(D) Except as provided in subsection (b), the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendices, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents that were made available to or prepared for or by the Council shall be made publicly available. ``(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of the Council shall be kept and shall contain a record of the persons present, a complete and accurate description of matters discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all reports received, issued, or approved by the Council. The minutes shall be redacted as necessary and made publicly available.''; and (7) by adding at the end the following: ``(m)(1) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall ensure the operation of a consolidated online request portal that allows a member of the public to submit a request for records under subsection (a) to any agency from a single website. The portal may include any additional tools the Director of the Office of Management and Budget finds will improve the implementation of this section. ``(2) This subsection shall not be construed to alter the power of any other agency to create or maintain an independent online portal for the submission of a request for records under this section. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish standards for interoperability between the portal required under paragraph (1) and other request processing software used by agencies subject to this section.''. SEC. 3. REVIEW AND ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS. (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency (as defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) shall review the regulations of such agency and shall issue regulations on procedures for the disclosure of records under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, in accordance with the amendments made by section 2. (b) Requirements.--The regulations of each agency shall include procedures for engaging in dispute resolution through the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government Information Services. SEC. 4. PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE THROUGH RECORDS MANAGEMENT. Section 3102 of title 44, United States Code, is amended-- (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: ``(2) procedures for identifying records of general interest or use to the public that are appropriate for public disclosure, and for posting such records in a publicly accessible electronic format;''. SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act or the amendments made by this Act. The requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized or appropriated. SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY. This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply to any request for records under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, made after the date of enactment of this Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina. General Leave Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 337, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. We stand here today 3 weeks shy of the FOIA's 50th anniversary to strengthen the law that established the public's right to know. Enacted in 1966, FOIA was the product of more than a decade of work on government secrecy by a predecessor committee to the current Oversight and Government Reform Committee. At the time, FOIA was only the third public information law in the world. It was by far the most far-reaching. FOIA established a right to information, which is commonly known as the public's right to know. S. 337 reaffirms the public's right to know and puts in place several reforms to stop agencies from slowly eroding the effectiveness of using FOIA to exercise that right. This bill is a bipartisan effort to improve the public's access to information and transparency in the Federal Government. I would like to thank Senators Cornyn, Grassley, and Leahy for their [[Page H3717]] hard work that they put into writing and passing this bill. I would also like to thank Representative Darrell Issa and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for their work on the House bill, H.R. 653, which passed in January. Through all of our combined efforts, I believe that this is the best bill we can send to the President's desk. I have no doubt that the reforms contained in this bill will significantly improve the American public's ability to exercise their right to access information. The most important reform is the presumption of openness. Now, while some--but far from all--Federal agencies have made an effort to comply with the letter of the law, very few have complied with the spirit of the law. The presumption of openness puts that spirit into the letter of the law. Before claiming an exemption, agencies must first determine whether they could reasonably foresee an actual harm. FOIA includes exemptions because publicly releasing information can sometimes cause more harm than good. But from the beginning, agencies have taken advantage of these exemptions to withhold any information that might technically fit. Under the presumption of openness, agencies may no longer withhold information that is embarrassing or could possibly paint the agency in a negative light simply because an exemption may technically apply. This will go a long way toward getting rid of the withhold-it-because-you-want-to exemption. S. 337 establishes reforms that will bring attention, leadership, and commitment to improvement to all Federal agencies. The Department of Homeland Security is a great example of how attention, leadership, and a commitment to improvement can be more valuable, at times, than additional dollars. From 2009 to 2015, requests sent to DHS nearly tripled. DHS requests accounted for about 40 percent of all the requests governmentwide. As the requests increased, so did the backlog. And in 2014, that backlog at DHS exceeded more than 100,000 requests. However, the agency made a commitment to improve its efficiency and reduce its backlog. In 2015, that backlog was down by two-thirds, to about 35,000. Costs overall went up, but that is expected when requests nearly triple in just 6 years. What is not expected is that the cost per request was cut by 58 percent. In 2009, DHS averaged $255 per request processed, and in 2015, the costs had dropped to $148 per request processed. S. 337 establishes reforms that will ensure all agencies have the attention and the leadership necessary to improve the FOIA process. The bill establishes a Chief FOIA Officers Council, which is directed to develop initiatives to increase transparency and compliance with FOIA and make recommendations for increased efficiencies and share best practices. The bill establishes greater independence of the Office of Government Information Services, which will allow OGIS to give unbiased, unfiltered testimony and recommendations. S. 337 creates an incentive for agencies to comply with the law by preventing agencies from collecting fees for any request for up to 5,000 pages if that request is not completed within the statutory time limits. Out-of-date regulations have been repeatedly used as an excuse to withhold information, delay requests, or otherwise to obstruct the process. S. 337 gets rid of this excuse by requiring agencies to update their regulations so that they are operating under the current law. S. 337 also simplifies the process of submitting requests by establishing an online central portal that will allow a member of the public to submit a request to an agency at a single Web site rather than forcing the public to navigate each agency's different process and Web site. These reforms and others packaged in the FOIA Improvement Act will go a long way to improving transparency and bringing agency leadership attention to improving the public's ability to exercise their right to know. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this giant step forward to improve FOIA and the public's access to information. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1700 Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, also known as the public's right to know or Transparency in Government Act. It is fitting that we pass this bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act just a few weeks before the 50th anniversary of this important law. The National Archives and Records Administration currently has on display the original Freedom of Information Act in celebration of the anniversary on July 4. It is inspiring to think that 50 years have passed and that document is still the most important tool that the public has to access information about their government. When FOIA was passed in 1966, it was only the third freedom of information law in the entire world, and it was by far the most powerful. Now countries all over the world have transparency laws that are modeled on our Nation's FOIA law. We are here today in the ongoing quest to improve FOIA and to keep it current with changes in technology. I want to thank Congressmen Issa and Cummings for introducing the House version of the bill and Senators Leahy and Cornyn for taking the lead in the Senate. This bill is the result of many voices providing feedback and helpful critiques. That is the way a good law is made. Advocacy groups such as OpenTheGovernment.org and the Sunshine in Government Initiative have been critical to the success of this legislation. The FOIA Improvement Act is a bicameral, bipartisan bill. With its passage today, it will now go on to the President for his signature. The bill would codify the presumption of openness standard that President Obama put in place on his first day in office. Under this standard, agencies will be required to err on the side of transparency when responding to requests. The bill would also put a 25-year sunset on exemption 5 of FOIA, the deliberative process exemption. It would modernize FOIA by requiring the Office of Management and Budget to create a central FOIA Web site for requesters to submit their request, making it more efficient and accessible to the public. This bill would strengthen the independence and the role of the Office of Government Information Services. OGIS has served a critical role since it was formed in response to the last FOIA reform Congress adopted in 2007. I would like to take a moment to thank the hardworking Federal employees who serve as FOIA officers. They are dedicated professionals who care about making FOIA work. It is critical that Congress provide the funds necessary for agencies to have strong FOIA programs with experienced and trained FOIA professionals. It is not reasonable for us to ask agencies to do more if we do not give them the resources to do it. The FOIA Improvement Act would require each agency to designate a chief FOIA officer. The chief FOIA officer would have responsibility for ensuring that FOIA is implemented efficiently and appropriately in the agency. I hope this addition to FOIA will help elevate the importance of FOIA in agencies that have not always given it the attention it deserves. Thank you to the many FOIA professionals who have provided feedback on the bill over the past 3 years. Thank you also to the FOIA requesters who provided feedback, requesters such as Nate Jones from the National Security Archive and David McCraw from The New York Times. They all provided useful suggestions for reform. I understand that some proposals did not make it into the final bill, but they did shape the debate and will help us as we look forward to future reforms. A Los Angeles Times editorial said: ``worthy of not only Obama's signature, but also his vocal support.'' A New York Times editorial said: ``This is a rare chance to log a significant bipartisan accomplishment in the public interest.'' Enactment of this legislation will be an important step forward for transparency. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from [[Page H3718]] New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) for her support on this bill. I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa), who has spent a considerable amount of time not only on the House version, but really helping shape the debate on making sure that the public interests of America is protected. Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, this has been a long time coming, and there is a lot of thanks to go around. Certainly for Senator Cornyn and Senator Leahy, this is going to be a proud week with the passage of this bill in the House and, ultimately, it going to the President. I don't believe this would have been possible without the partnership that Elijah Cummings and I formed some years ago. The House has led in not just one, but in two Congresses, sending to the Senate very tough language dramatically improving what we see as the flaws in FOIA that have developed. Congresswoman Maloney, very rightfully so, said there are a lot of things that the interest groups and Congressman Cummings and myself and, perhaps, everyone else who will vote on it here today would like to have seen. I don't want to belabor the point, but when this bill becomes law and is signed by the President, there will be enough left for a new bill to start again. Having said that, we celebrate today the fact that we have made some milestones. Codifying in law the presumption of openness and, once and for all, ending the deliberative process' unlimited length and reducing it to 25 years long, long after a President has left office, is a good start. I want to note that, in the original House bill--one area that I was particularly pleased that Mr. Cummings and I were able to come to an agreement on--if an agency unreasonably delays, there should be a result. If someone has to sue, whether it is The New York Times or an interest group, and, ultimately, the government is unreasonable and is withholding, reasonable fees should be recovered. That isn't in the bill. I hope that it will be in future legislation. The fact is that this bill includes some very important points, not the least of which will be making more public and accessible the repeated request for various parts of FOIA, and, of course, reducing the delays and the time lag. Having said that, through the establishment of a board and the recognition that only through diligence and closing the quality circle that occurs can we come back to this body and say more needs to be done and name it. But today is a day for celebration. I want to thank Mr. Cummings one more time, Chairman Chaffetz, the Members of the House and the Senate, urge the passage of the bill, and recognize that this is, in fact, a 50-year-old law. It has stood the test of time. It has proven to be an asset for the American people and for their right to know. We will build on this. Lastly, and Congresswoman Maloney named it, there were countless outside transparency groups that spanned from the farthest left of our country's politics to the farthest right of our politics, all of whom wanted more open access to their government. Today, we are achieving it. We still will have a government that knows far more about us than we know about our government; but today, we are opening the possibility that, in a timely fashion, more often more people who have a vested interest in knowing something that the government has done or is doing will have the ability to get that information. I thank Congressman Meadows for making this bill possible today. His leadership has been critical, and his friendship has been critical all along the way. Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), who has led many of the discussions in this body on criminal justice reform and reform in so many ways, including this bill that he helped author with former Chairman Issa. Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I want to thank Mr. Meadows and Mr. Chaffetz and, certainly, Speaker Ryan for getting this bill to the floor. I associate myself completely with the words of the former chairman of our Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Mr. Issa. I don't think there has been anyone who has worked harder on getting this bill to the floor than Mr. Issa. Without a doubt, his fingerprints are all over it. I really do, from the depths of my heart, thank him for all that he has done to make this happen. The FOIA Improvement Act is a product of a 3-year journey--that is a long time--that began when Representative Issa and I first introduced the basis for the bill in 2013. Mr. Issa worked with me on the House version of this bill, and Senators Leahy and Cornyn took the lead in the Senate. Again, I want to thank the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Jason Chaffetz, for his work on FOIA reform and for his support bringing the bill to the floor. He has proposed some additional initiatives that did not make it into this version of the bill but that deserve continued attention. Even in our negotiations, I give it to Chairman Chaffetz. You know, a lot of times when you are trying to work things out and get things done between the House and the Senate, there has to be some compromise. There are a lot of good things that he wanted in the bill that I strongly supported, but we were not able to get them in. For example, one of his provisions would have required every agency to accept FOIA requests by email. This is a simple improvement that every agency should adopt, and I look forward to working with Chairman Chaffetz in the years ahead on such commonsense reforms. I would like to recognize a few of the staff for both Representatives Issa and Chaffetz who deserve recognition, strong recognition, for the work they put into this legislation over the last few years: Tegan Gelfand, Ali Ahmad, and Katy Rother. I want to thank them for all of the work that they have done in making this happen. In addition, advocacy groups, as Mr. Issa mentioned, such as OpenTheGovernment.org and Sunshine in Government Initiative, as well as experts such as Anne Weismann at Campaign for Accountability, have been critical to the success of this legislation. Finally, I would like to take time to thank our Speaker. His office has been extremely helpful, and he also deserves credit for bringing this bill to the floor today. It simply would not have been possible without his leadership. The FOIA Improvement Act is a truly bicameral, bipartisan bill. With its passage today, it will now go on to the President for his signature. It builds on the work of the Obama administration, which has done more to advance transparency than any administration in history. {time} 1715 The bill would codify the presumption of openness standard that President Obama put in place on his first day in office. The bill would also put a 25-year sunset on exemption No. 5 of FOIA-- the deliberative process exemption. It would modernize FOIA by requiring the Office of Management and Budget to create a central portal to allow FOIA requests to any agency through a single Web site. The Office of Government Information Services, which is the FOIA ombudsman that was created by Congress in 2007, would become more independent under this bill and would be allowed to submit testimony and reports directly to Congress without going through political review. Finally, FOIA officers could share best practices through a Chief FOIA Officers Council that would be established under the bill. These are just some of the examples of the many improvements to FOIA that are contained in this legislation. The FOIA Improvement Act is a big step forward in transparency, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and ``fix FOIA by 50.'' Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for his insightful, well-thought-out words on behalf of this bill. Indeed, Mr. Issa and Mr. Cummings have been a moving force and, really, one of the primary forces as to why we are here today; so I just want to acknowledge that. [[Page H3719]] I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I join my voice with Ranking Member Cummings' in being associated with the words from my friend and colleague from the great State of North Carolina in support of this important legislation and to also compliment not only Elijah Cummings for his leadership, but former Chairman Issa for making this a priority and for helping to move it to the floor and make it happen. This is a good, bipartisan bill. It was worked on diligently by both sides in both the House and the Senate. It is an important step forward for transparency. It is a strengthened bill. It deserves the support of everyone on both sides of the aisle, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I acknowledge the, really, unbelievable work of the staff. Many times, as you well know, Mr. Speaker, we will get up and work very hard, but it is the countless hours on behalf of our staff that really allows us to move legislation forward; so I wouldn't want this day to go by without acknowledging their support and work. Also, I acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Chaffetz in his being able to not only navigate this bill before and, hopefully, to the President's desk for signing, but certainly in his leadership on transparency and in making sure that the government of the people is accountable to the people. I urge the adoption of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rigell). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 337. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________