FOIA request backlog decades old.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis

The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was enacted 40 years ago to give citizens, journalists, businesses, and public interest groups access to government information, but advocates for open government say the law isn't working as intended. Federal agencies are supposed to respond to requests for information within 20 business days but, in some cases, requesters have waited 20 years for a response.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found the number of pending FOIA requests increased 43 percent from 2002 to 2005 and said the government now has about 225,000 cases backed up.

A report released in July by the Knight Foundation and the National Security Archive watchdog group at George Washington University found unresolved cases dating back 20 years. Complying with the 20-day deadline is "an exception rather than a standard practice," according to the report.

In January 2007, the National Security Archive filed FOIA requests with the 87 federal agencies for copies of their "10 oldest open or pending" FOIA requests. The State Department reported 10 pending requests older than 15 years, constituting the majority of the oldest requests in the entire federal government. The survey also showed several agencies contradicting their own responses to the Archive's two previous "10 oldest" audits. These agencies turned over requests in 2007 that were significantly older than those they produced in 2003 or 2005.

To fix FOIA's problems, Congress has been working on reforms that would speed the process and make agencies more responsible by establishing a system to better track requests, enforcing deadlines, and penalizing agencies for delays. It would also create an ombudsman's office to mediate disputes with government agencies and require the government to pay requestors' legal fees if their information was withheld, according to USA Today.

The bill also would establish a hotline that would allow requesters to track the status of their requests. It would also repeal an odd incentive that encourages agencies to delay complying with an...